We keep hearing from people about how we are becoming a socialist country with Barack Obama leading the way. Never mind that the likely chief source of news for these folks are the great founts of conservative wisdom Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Ann Coulter. My question is this: How many people who complain about this creeping socialism are really willing to act on their convictions? Granted the super-rich can do away with social benefits. But how about the rest of us?
Here is what I mean. Are conservatives willing to give up their Social Security checks and Medicare benefits? How many of the tea party protesters are receiving unemployment checks? Have they decided to give up unemployment as a welfare state benefit? Are conservative farmers willing to give up farm subsidies? Any kind of tax rebate and incentive programs are socialist concepts. Should we disband those? If a conservative is injured on the job is she willing to give up on diasability benefits and worker's compensation?
The flip side is equally frustrating. Welfare should be for those who really cannot work, not users and takers. Nothing should frustrate us more than a perfectly healthy person choosing to suck off the system with food stamps and welfare benefits while the rest of us go to work every day and pay our taxes. A person like that suffers no real disability except in character.
We have had elements of socialism in our culture for at least 75 years. The truth is that we have a mixed economy, part capitalist and part socialist. The real problem is not capitalism or socialism. The real problem is a spiritual one. Both theories have their pluses and minuses. I think the real question has to do with the abuses in each. The medieval Catholics believed there were seven deadly sins. One of the seven is sloth and the other is greed. Socialism tempts people to be slothful and lazy because they can free-ride on someone else's efforts. Capitalism tempts people to be greedy because they can make obscene profits by exploitation of others efforts and capital.
It certainly is good to debate whether we are leaning to heavily toward socialism or weighing out the abuses of unrestrained capitalism. But in the midst of the politics I hope we don't forget that the real challenge is in our hearts, not our wallets.
