Let’s look at the Worlds Socialists countries

"And HERE is a list of Socialist countries ATS!!"


*Lists all Capitalist countries*

Uber face palm.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom

Simple solution: move.

As soon as anyone is 18 and considered an "adult" in the USA, they can move. It's a foreign concept to Americans, I realize that -- as most people move HERE, not FROM here.

When people in other countries around the globe don't like the country the find themselves in, guess what they do? The move! They immigrate to another country!

Exactly.

Once I was out, I woke up and realized I had been brainwashed into believing the US was the best in everything, (even in things that they were terribly failing at),
that everywhere else in the world, people are miserable and living in poverty.

No country is perfect, they will have different benefits and draw backs- you pick one that is closest to what is important to you.

One example is- some countries use overt force to keep their people inside it's borders, (N. Korea...)
Others use subliminal programming in media and education instead, as a covert form of control (U.S.A....)

*shrug* In the end, it's like individual people, nobody is perfect. No country is either.

originally posted by: xuenchen
Lot's of those countries have high poverty.

All failures. I bet unemployment is higher than people think too.

Population below poverty line: Countries Compared

If your going to use statitics at least use ones that actually back up your claims as that shows Canada and Denmark are way above the USA and Sweden/Finland and Norway are not even listed.

originally posted by: NateTheAnimator
a reply to: xuenchen

The chart you linked puts the U.S about 5% higher than the socialist countries that Willtell mentioned in regards to being below the poverty line.. I would have to say that correlates with the lack of spending on social programs and social nets to keep workers from going under financially to crooked banks and greedy corporations. The U.S is a failed capitalist nation state in terms of its economic policies.

The failures of Socialism.

All nations have high debt.

Fail.

originally posted by: xuenchen

originally posted by: NateTheAnimator
a reply to: xuenchen

The chart you linked puts the U.S about 5% higher than the socialist countries that Willtell mentioned in regards to being below the poverty line.. I would have to say that correlates with the lack of spending on social programs and social nets to keep workers from going under financially to crooked banks and greedy corporations. The U.S is a failed capitalist nation state in terms of its economic policies.

The failures of Socialism.

All nations have high debt.

Fail.

Again wrong.

The Scandinavian country’s all have either low deficits or Running a surplus.


You really have little to no knowledge of what you’re talking about.

a reply to: Willtell

These are all countries with mixed economies with more social programmes than the US.

Does that make them socialist? No.

Does that make them capitalist? No.

Does that make them fairer societies than the US? Some of them.

Plenty to think about. Plenty to learn.

However, the word "socialist" - like "gun control", another nuanced issue - seems to make TPTB's minions foam at the mouth. Going by some of the posts here, there is no debate to be had, nothing to be learned.

Sheesh.

The form of a government or economic system is less important than the quality of the people implementing that system. There have been very benevolent dictatorships and monarchies (not many, to be sure, but some) that have done very well by their populations. And we in the US are in the midst of seeing what can happen even in a representative republic when people of low quality are the implementors.

As it happens, I work every day with a group of people who live in a self-described socialist economic system. I will not be disclosing the name of the country for privacy reasons. As with all human systems, it is not perfect there, and they do pay higher taxes than I personally do, but:

- They have more accessible health care, and they are not concerned about one big illness or injury driving them bankrupt. Doesn't happen there. A fair amount of my "less taxed" income must be set aside as emergency funding to finance health care should I need it. So our actual tax rates are probably pretty close to the same... theirs is just more honest, while here everybody puffs their chest out about low taxes, but we in the US have to save money away for health care. Total cost: nearly equal.

- They have a better work situation than we do here, even though we all work for the same company. New employees there get 30 days vacation for example, compared to new US based employees that get 14 days.

- They have more expendable income. Young-ish folks that live there can afford to come to the US during their 30 day vacations, just to explore. Traveling there is out of the question for me, for both time and money reasons, and I am a very senior employee.

- They are NOT oppressed. They criticize their government and politicians just fine.

- They are in general more relaxed than the US folks. They do not worry about going broke from being sick, they get good support from the company for new children, they get decent rest periods from working (and are considerably less burned out), etc. They get this good support from the company because their country's laws require it.

- They can privately own firearms, albeit with a bit more paper work than in the US. They do not have the mass shooting problems we have here.

In short, there is nothing wrong with a Socialistic system, given high quality people implementing it. Most if not all "Socialistic" adventures in history have been highly oppressive regimes who used the term "socialism" as a label when in reality it was the people in charge basically just sucking all the wealth out of the rest of the country for their own personal gain. Hmmm, that sounds familiar, where else have we seen that recently? Oh yeah, the US Congress.

a reply to: Edumakated

It is amazing how they always leave out that the US military is what keeps many of these little countries from being over run. If the US wasn't having to step up and play bodyguard for all these other countries,

The U.S. doesn't " Protect " these " Little Countries "

The U.S. only " Protects " it's own self interest and U.S. investment in these " Little Countries "

If the U.S. is the worlds " Protector " , where was it when Ukraine was over-run a few months ago?

Oh i forgot........................There are no U.S. owned companies in Ukraine.

a reply to: crazyewok

Rubbish

Big debt. Huge FAIL



Big Bust Outs

Tick Tick Tick

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: crazyewok

Rubbish

Big debt. Huge FAIL

Big Bust Outs

Tick Tick Tick

No not "rubbish".

We have been through this song and dance before and you REFUSE to learn.

There is a diffrence between deficit and debt.

A high debt but no deficit is not a problem as you are PAYING THE DEBT BACK.

A low debt but high deficit is a problem.

A high debt and high deficit is a disaster waiting to happen.

IE

I have a credit card with £10K debt. But I pay the intrest off each months + a small extra chunk without borrowing more. That is not a problem.

originally posted by: lavatrance
a reply to: Willtell

I"m in Canada. You don't understand socialism at all. You've heard of stallinistic soviet russia right? We'll we're basically right there. Hmmmmm where should I start....
1) cameras on every street corner
2) a million different policing agenies watching your every move
3) your money isn't safe in banks, it can be taken by the CRA at anytime with no cause
4) everything is about 4 times as expensive as the US
5) half the popuation is employed by government to do stupid jobs. Especially lots involving policing the average working stiff.
6) Stupid laws, They lock you up for almost anything.
7) propaganda galore, every other tv commerical is from the go=vv of Cdn telling you how to live your life.

it's the total and complete nanny state. It's total madness. Anyone who actually would want to live here is a fooking moron. All we are is a slave colony of england. it's totally nuts. It's one big prison. Trust me you do not want socialism just so you can get free access to big institutions that want to either brainwash you or kill you. Yes the health care is handy in case your break an arm (tramacare only). But the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits. Socialist countries are the worst places in the world trust me. Stay far away from them and they're do good fasode. They're essencially technocracies that don't want even free range hens (us) . They want the hens crowded into factory farming.
Trust me, do not model socialist countries. That would be nuts.

I find your analysis of our home and native land pretty amusing. Can I politely submit ...

a reply to: crazyewok

Misery loves company.

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: crazyewok

Misery loves company.

That makes no sense.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: nwtrucker

Canada, except the Territory of the Yukon, doesn't have 'free medical' there is a monthly payment, no prescription coverage nor dental.

That's incorrect.

I've never paid any kind of "monthly payment" to our national healthcare ever. A small percentage of the income tax taken from my paycheques goes towards our nation healthcare system... the same as any other country that has UHC.

I have no idea where you get this "monthly payment" thing from.

But you are correct that our healthcare system does not cover prescriptions or dental.

He was mentioning the provincial medical plans, not national. Here in BC we have the Medical Service Plan. It's mandatory; it's not cheap. Not so sure about the Yukon.

originally posted by: TheTory
He was mentioning the provincial medical plans, not national. Here in BC we have the Medical Service Plan. It's mandatory; it's not cheap. Not so sure about the Yukon.

$150 / month (the MSP maximum - Family of 3 or more, Income over $30,000) is fairly cheap coverage.

Premiums - Province of British Columbia

a reply to: peck420

That's not cheap.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I'll go one better, the US can provide paper, envelopes, postage and pens for the people wanting out to petition those Socialist Utopias for admission. We could even give them a free boat ride there for the next five years.

That is a socialist program I could get behind.

originally posted by: TheTory
a reply to: peck420

That's not cheap.

In Ontario, it's not a monthly cash payment, it's...as mentioned above...worked out in the whole income tax scheme. I don't feel it, and as I have also said before, the end result was the curing of my cancer for $32 out of pocket...parking at the oncology centre.

Drugs, visionary, dental, etc are all covered to varying degrees by a not-bad benefits package from work. The current government would seem to be looking again at national pharmacare.

The whole system, of course, is only as good as the last time one used it, but on the whole, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I go to my GP...if things are urgent, they're taken care of. If not, one might wait for a specialist appointment. Some don't want to wait, and go to the States. I've never felt the need, nor has anybody I have known.

originally posted by: onequestion
It just seems crazy to me that we require so much socialism.

Why can't these billions of people pick themselves up by their bootstraps and work hard and become computer programmers?

No reason why they shouldn't if given the opportunity (more likely to get that in a social democratic country), but if billions of people did do that then programming would become the equivalent of burger flipping with wages to match it.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: MystikMushroom

How about you Socialists move to one of the numerous countries listed and I will stay? Seriously, there aren't many places left to go for people that just want to breathe without some overbearing government taxing the air.

The fact that Obama got elected twice, and the Democrats will win another POTUS election means you are in the minority.