I Think That I'm A Socialist

Seriously. I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

I saw a car today with a "bumper" sticker oddly placed in the center of their back windshield that said "Don't blame me… I didn't vote for socialism" with an Obama "O" in socialism. First off, old dude - you're an idiot. Obama is a capitalist, just like you. Second off, so what? Who cares WHO you voted for? Trust me - those of us with a socialist bent who voted for Obama aren't jumping for joy with him right now either. (You know… those of us who were called "fucking retards" by Rahm Emmanuel.)

I would love to see a socialist takeover of health care to the extent that every man, woman and child in America has good, basic heath services. Personally, I think that the private insurance companies would do fine with people who would like MORE than basic health services. Especially if they wised up and started covering things like plastic surgery and Viagra.

But I'd like to go a step further… I'd like to see the government take a hand in housing as well. I think that it's pathetic that the richest nation on earth… a place that would seriously support a man for president who owns so many houses that he had to have a fucking ASSISTANT count them for him… has anyone who is homeless. Again, every man, woman and child in America should have some kind of basic housing. Studio for a single person or a couple with no kids, two bedroom for a couple or person with a child and a three bedroom for a couple or person with a child of each sex. And I'm not talking about the rat and roach infested slums that pass for public housing now. I mean good, basic apartments.

While we're at it, why is anyone in America starving? Why can't we socialize food to the point that everyone is guaranteed enough to eat every day? I'm not talking about steak and lobster here, either. I'm talking about beans and rice and veggies. Seriously, do you think that any American who didn't HAVE to rely on that WOULD? I certainly wouldn't. I like beans and rice and veggies, but I also love pizza and hamburgers and an occasional steak. Who would that hurt?

And hey - while we're actually taking care of Americans here, even if it IS only in fantasy land… why are our oil and energy needs being left up to private greed? I think that household energy needs should be taken care of for people under a certain income level, and that the government should start providing basic, additive-free gasoline at a reduced rate. I'm pretty sure that we could do that pretty easily just from our own oil reserves. So what about the oil companies? First off… who cares? Second off, I think that they'd be fine providing unleaded gas with their magical additives (my car, for instance, gets much better mileage on Shell gas than anything else) and premium gas. Or, if you wanted to base it on income, then a gas card would be issued for… say… $100 worth of gas to all people and families that fall under a certain income level. That should be more than enough to get someone from home to work and/or daycare and back every day.

So let me ask you now… moderate socialist to rabid capitalist… who would these changes hurt? They would make America a better place to live, and all of these industries would still have a place. Granted, oil companies and health insurance companies would no longer be able to book the almost unlimited profits that they've been pocketing for the last decade or two, but again… who cares? As a proponent of a reasonably free market (which may exclude me from being a socialist, now that I think of it) I think that the competition from the government would even make these companies step up their games a little bit. Start offering a little more for a little less to increase their profits. Don't you?

Peace.

Rev. Randal