Conservative Knows Nothing about Democratic Socialism

[AProgressiveThinker]

Watch a Progressive thoroughly debunk a clueless right-winger

[tenorly]

1. "Oh, yuh? Then how come we're so much richer than Europeans?" asks the tea head.

Answer: "We were once; but that's no longer the case."

In terms of wealth, the U.S. is still number one by far in terms of number of millionaire adults (14 million; compared to 2.5 million for the runner-up, France); but that's mostly because of our much larger population. The median U.S. adult is now 27th in terms of net worth.

The number one cause for this lag (though certainly not the only one): astronomical health care costs.

Median net worth per adult (US$ 000), from the 2014 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report:

Australia________225
Belgium________173
France_________141
United Kingdom__131
Japan__________113
Singapore_______109
Switzerland______107
Canada__________99
Taiwan__________65
Germany________54
United States____53
Chile___________17
China__________7
Brazil__________5
South Africa_____4
World__________4
Russia__________3
Indonesia_______2
India___________1

* http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1312773/credit-suisse-global-wealth-report-2014-1.pdf

[sab390]

3. Oh rats

I just spat out this rant and here you come with a sane, calm set of facts. I don't think either one will do any good.

[tenorly]

4. Was that you in the Rutgers hoodie? Amazing work!

It really goes to the core of many of the arguments people have about social democracies - which, as you pointed out, most people confuse for outright communism (courtesy of decades of corporate-sponsored propaganda).

My post was mostly meant as a footnote to yours. It's data which, if more voters knew of it, would probably shake up many of the misconceptions they have about social democracies in general (imperfect as they are).

I feel many right-wingers would be shocked to learn that middle-classl households in advanced social democracies are, typically, much better off. The day voters see abuses like our higher education system and "your money or your life" health care system as a tax, public policy will start to really change in this country for the better.

Thanks again for doing what you do, Sab390. All the Best.

[sab390]

5. No

But it expresses everything I would have liked to have said. I was talking about my post. Like the man in the hoodie I am also not a socialist and hate being labeled as such by the media. But, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and I like the goal of socialists and even communists better than this greedy, power mad group in there now. Many of these people in power today are just plain sick. What scares them the most is that in socialist democracies everyone does OK. If their base knew that the poor of the SDs are doing much better than they are maybe we could get their vote.

[tenorly]

6. I see. Thanks!

I feel pretty much the same way. Worse yet, many among the elites no longer feel they need the "real economy" (as they disdainfully describe it). It interferes with their God complex, you see.

[sab390]

2. I am not a socialist

But I will be glad to stand with them against this shit. I would rather live in their world than this lonney toon, ignorant, hateful Ayn Rand Reaganite Channey pisshole we have gotten into. Choosing between what this idiot is selling and a socialist try at a civil society, I'm with them.

[TrollBuster9090]

8. Technically, we're all socialists. There is no country in the world that doesn't have at least

a few socialist institutions.

Public funding of schools is socialism.
Public funding of the armed forces is socialism.
Ditto for police, firefighters, road workers, waterworks, public roads.
Ditto for Medicare and Social Security.

All countries use a mixture of socialist and free-market policies. They only differ in where they draw the line between public and private services. In the USA, medical care is mostly on the free-market side of the line. Whereas in Canada and Europe, medical care is on the socialist side of the line.

[TrollBuster9090]

7. Steve Crowder seriously makes me want to puke.

Of all the detritivores you find living under the Republican Party rock, he's the lowest of the low. He makes James O'Keefe look downright respectable by comparison.