re: Socialism creep....Inflation and school supplies

no doubt.

for my youngest it's simple: PB&J all day.
for my oldest...eeesh, he's got a food critigue's palette, so he's always demanding something new and different. and like you said, it has to go into a bento box type of container that can be kept cold. right now we're making him adult lunchables.

but yes, the cost of buying and refreshing all of that has gone up. not fun,
but again, if people can't afford children. they shouldn't have them. we should be minimizing government safety nets, not increasing them.

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Well, I'm an independent voter, but I will respond. Of course the mainstream Democrats are concerned, because they've spent years beating back the more progressive voices in their party. Most of the Democrats in power, especially the older ones, are liberal in name only. They love money and power just like Republicans. Both are worthless as tits on a boar hog.

The newer progressive wing makes good points about certain economic issues, like wealth disparity, but they get way off base on ridiculous social issues. I do not like their virulent attacks on Christians. It's a fascist tendency, but of course the far right has its own fascist tendencies.

But the truth is economies function best and people fare better overall when there's a rational mix of capitalism and socialism in an economy. Even in the U.S., where the construction of our railroads were essentially a capitalist-socialist enterprise. Catholic nuns brought hospitals and universal healthcare to this country. Employee owned companies are a great way for workers to build equity, and equity is where long term wealth and stability are established.

The Democrats are not as smart as they think they are. In fact, they've been totally out flanked by the GOP, especially in the judiciary. And the country is sick and tired of hearing about trans rights and how the Dems pander to a very small voting block. It's a stupid strategy.

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Great post.

I often dream of a political party that could simply bracket all the divisive social justice stuff and mainly just focus on economic issues with the tenet of that being, like you said, that the best periods of American life have been a result of a healthy relationship between capitalist and socialist ideas.

Capitalism rewarding small business entrepreneurs and promoting investment and innovation.

Socialist ideas rewarding all the people who work hard to make the whole system work by reaping more benefits of economic success --not struggling with health care costs etc -- instead of that success merely being reflected in record profits for shareholders whose political influence continues to skew the scales farther and farther.


I suppose my perspective comes from having family and friends in the south who are mainly socially conservative and tons of friends in NY who are the polar opposite.

Their concerns are identical in terms of economic forces at play.

The divide is all on -- to my mind -- social issues which are not nearly as significant as the economic ones and used to play them against each other politically.

Yeah, it’s all part of the almighty powerful Jews’ plans.

Never mind the fact that Jews are probably the most persecuted group of people over the last two thousand years.

Crazy how the world’s puppet masters keep getting F’d over via confiscation of their wealth and the never ending genocide of their people despite being the world’s overlords.

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What are these good arguements? All I have ever heard tends to fall towards the old "if you made it rich, you did it off the backs of others and stopped them from making it rich". This is beyond false, so what are the good arguements?

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The argument is that it destabilizes society. One of the big issues we've been facing is the decline of our manufacturing base. This provided solid, middle class jobs in the 40's-60's. It's particularly acute in areas like Memphis which lost International Harvester and Firestone plants. Today in Memphis, you're basically affluent or poor. There's not much in-between, and you can easily see the results.

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No it wasn't. Just like roadway construction is not a mix. Government spending on infrastructure is not and never will be socialist. The argument is common, but false. Just like the whole "military is socialism".

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Well, you're incorrect. The government provided loans and financing which made it possible. That's "the people" providing financing. Where the people made the means of production possible. I studied this topic extensively as an undergraduate History major.

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That is not close to socialism either. The Catholic church is closer to a private business

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The point is not that the Catholic Church is socialist. The point is that the Catholic Church brought universal healthcare to America, which is precisely the same as what is offered in European countries which are commonly referred to as socialist. Universal healthcare is unjustly demonized as socialist.

Socialism is an economic and political system where the community or the government owns and controls the major means of production, like factories and resources, instead of private individuals. The main goal is to share wealth fairly and make things for use rather than for private profit.

We are already in the beginning stages of socialism when it comes to healthcare. We don't have universal healthcare yet, but insurance is a form of socialism in that everyone puts in a little and everyone gets care. So there's my creep.

inflation is the creep that leads to socialism in my opinion. My opinion is also not wrong or right. The more everyday items cost, the less there is for wants and desires. People will just not put in as much and then we will all be stuck relying on our AI overlords to provide for us.