Letter to the Editor / LET’S BE CLEAR

By Roger C .Kostmayer

Dr. Tim Weaver recently wrote an excellent and well documented piece warning us about the flaws and falsehoods of politicians spreading fear by “crying socialism”. 

 The US is the richest country in history and is now, and forever should be, a Constitutional democracy with a capitalistic and entrepreneurial economy.  Fortuitously, our nation has many social benefits that reflect Americans’ compassion, sense of fairness, human equality and social values – and these investments help the economy in many ways.  Obvious examples include free education, international and local safety and security, health care, social security retirement income, transportation and communications.  These social investments are part of what makes America great.  What’s wrong with that?

There is no pure capitalism, which some describe as “the law of the jungle” where power and wealth rule without regulation or checks and balances.  Nor should there be.  Neither is there pure socialism where citizen committees and bureaucracies control all economic and political decisions.  Nor should there be.  The American democracy experiment is designed to be flexible and pragmatic, as long as the goal is the welfare of all the people. 

 So far, America has achieved most of the good aspects of other models, and avoided most of their bad aspects.  We are now in the midst of rejecting racism, fascism, authoritarianism and those politicians from the “NO” party who shout “socialism”.

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