[b said:
Quote[/b] ]We got what? Healthcare, benefits, etc. that yanks don't have. Get your terms right.
And we pay for it with 50% of our paycheck every year if you're a member of the middle class too don't we? And we pay more income tax when we get a salary range! Let's not forget the 7% GST (plus the PST you have to pay unless you're living in Alberta or the Yukon) that is added on whenever you buy something, and you can only conclude that we pay A LOT for these benefits. It's not like the government just gives this stuff away for free you know. If you don't use it a lot, than you're better off in the US where you can make AND SAVE a heck of a lot more money. Also, you CAN get health insurance in the US (it's not like it's an impossibility), and the income tax rates are significantly lower (
http://www.taxforms.com/GreatlandProducts/PDF/3691NL.pdf).
And the fact that none of the Communist states have never been a "by the book" Communist state demonstrates that that theoretical system is difficult, if not impossible, to implement. When you need walls to keep people in your country, you have a problem.
Where would you rather live right now; The United States, with their rampant capitalism, or any blatantly socialist state? Me? I'd pick the US over any socialist country any day.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Socialism is state intervention through democracy.
Is it?
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]so·cial·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ssh-lzm)
n.
1. Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.
2. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.
Socialism
n 1: a political theory advocating state ownership of industry 2: an economic system based on state ownership of capital [syn: socialist economy] [ant: capitalism]
What part of that definition, provided by dictionary.com, says "through democracy"? Left-wing means more government control on the political spectrum you know, and is therefore LESS democratic. Which definition of socialism are you using? Traditional socialism is likely not what you're talking about.
How long did you live in China, just out of curiousity?
I found this quote to be interesting.
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill