Obama is Not Finished Either

The title of this article is a play on the previous entry regarding Governor Romney.  No one thinks that President Obama is anywhere close to finished.  In fact, he continues to lead in the polls.  However, the right-wingers are blaring the socialist horn again.  Yes, President Obama did tell Joe the plumber that he wanted to spread the wealth around.  And, a recording (from several years ago) was just released that has President Obama stating that he: believes in redistribution – just enough to so that everybody has a shot.

Take these two statements and it is easy to deem that President Obama is a socialist.  Once you are on the slippery slope of socialism, you cannot be that far away from being a full-blown communist.  Well, that is the scare tactic of this week’s anti-Obama attack.  Forget it – it does not work.

First of all, Americans is a socialist society – we just do not admit to it.  What else would define Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?  What about food stamps, public education, government backed college loans, and Pell Grants?  The education items are certainly funded with redistributed wealth to give everybody a shot.  And, who would want to do away with helping somebody “get a shot” with a good education?

Secondly, the term socialism has become so pejorative that using it is unfair.  It has been closely connected with communism.  And, communism has been closely connected with totalitarianism.  In America today, calling someone a socialist is the equivalent of calling the person Fidel Castro or Joseph Stalin.  It’s just not fair.  Just imagine if socialism was not connected with communism and totalitarianism - imagine if it were just associated with the good stuff we do (e.g.: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, education, housing, foreign aid, etc.).  Socialism in that light alone is a good thing – if properly administered.

Where the debate needs to be focused is not whether the candidates are socialists.  The debate should be about how socialistic is each candidate.  Both candidates are certified socialists: President Obama is more forthright in his socialist beliefs.  However, Governor Romney is not going to cut the Medicare benefits of senior citizens (or even anyone that is already fifty-five years old).  The quantity of redistribution that is required in our socialistic society is the key to defining the candidates.  How high will our individual tax rates be?  How much are we going to spend on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing, education, job training, etc…?  What is the return on investment of those programs that are being paid for with redistributed wealth?  Where is the standard of living point that we draw the poverty line – and what are we willing to do to assure that everyone lives at, or above, that point? 

And, the question needs to be asked:  can we afford to be as socialistic as we are right now?  If so, how?  If not, where do we make reductions?

We will have to wait to see if one of the debate monitors follows up on these questions.