The more I think about it the more I think that the world would be far better off if we could do away with capitalism as it is today.......I'm not talking about a Stalinism version of communism, but something more middle of the road.......what do you all think about the idea of a strong socialist presence in our government, and would you vote for it??[/b]
What do you all think of having a socialist government??
- Thread starter progressive
- Start date
Any kind of government that enjoys taking money from hard working folks to give to those who don't want to work by raising taxes does not get my support.
We live in a free society. We have a right to work hard and be able to keep most of what we earn.
We live in a free society. We have a right to work hard and be able to keep most of what we earn.
well to be fair, that is not what socialism is all about, its not about taxing the worker to give handouts to the poor........at least thats how i see it
everyone dosen't want to work for the government........you idea would kill the innovative human spirit...
....what exactaly are you saying.....do you want more social programs or is it that you want the government to control everything?
socialism does work in certain areas.....esentially when something is needed to be provided for every citizen.....ex)health care.....also privatizing military and other services essential for soverigh control would be a stupid idea....
....what exactaly are you saying.....do you want more social programs or is it that you want the government to control everything?
socialism does work in certain areas.....esentially when something is needed to be provided for every citizen.....ex)health care.....also privatizing military and other services essential for soverigh control would be a stupid idea....
hells no, i would never want for the gov to control everything, like i said, middle of the road......like say for example, if the gov was to own all the means to energy production and other utilities on a not for profit basis just like socialized medicare, then we could all be better off
There is a balance that can be achieved between socialism and what we refer to as capitalism. Scandinavian countries, Sweden in particular has done very well with a balanced system. They pay high taxes but nobody starves, Orphans are taken care of by the state, everyone gets help in the way of a mortgage, if they want it to buy their home, Health care is free. Every male does time in the military. Full socialism? I don't think so.
i pretty well agree with everything you said, and sweden has been a perfect example of that ideal balance
....gotya :wink:
...ummm I really dont think this would be a good idea though .....the Candian government is notorious for being inefficient....liberal or conservative. I think Treudau tried this during his time in office and it just diden't work..... I dont really have to explain the NEP do I.
Canada is too vast a country where regionalism is importaint.... not all parts of the nation feel represented in Ottawa...therefore for the federal government to take full control of things such as natural resources and local major industries would be the break up of Canada. Ontario and Quebec with its population would have all the clout......and feeding the industrial base in eastern Canada would be first and foremost.... as was seen in the past.
...the country of Sweden was used as a example for its successful socialization.....hmmm Sweden as a whole has a very tiny population(8 million)as well as a country which is similar in size to a Canadian province....so the regionalism of a country like Canada does not exist.
Nascar_James said:
Answer - Over half my income goes to taxes, and the Corporate welfare bums get so many incentives and writeoffs, most of them don't pay much tax. Far less than they paid (as a %) than 40 years ago. I'm for radical government change, perhaps toward a government that represented the people instead of corporate interests.
RE: What do you all think
There is no reason why this kind of socialism cannot work. Our size and diversity would be strength, not a weakness, when implementing this kind of plan. Energy is coming from more places than Alberta...a lot more places, and a lot of different kinds of enegy...and a crown corporation could best develop that.
We've seen the strength of crown corporations as opposed to private enterprise in this country. Saskatchewan had electricity everywhere long before Alberta did because Tommy Douglas used a crown corporation. Manitoba makes huge profits off it's government-owned hydro. The same goes for phones service. Health care is cheaper because the government runs it. The provinces with government insurance have far more affordable auto insurance rates.
There are plenty of examples out there of government doing a far better, fairer, and more affordable job than private industry is capable of.
There is no reason why this kind of socialism cannot work. Our size and diversity would be strength, not a weakness, when implementing this kind of plan. Energy is coming from more places than Alberta...a lot more places, and a lot of different kinds of enegy...and a crown corporation could best develop that.
We've seen the strength of crown corporations as opposed to private enterprise in this country. Saskatchewan had electricity everywhere long before Alberta did because Tommy Douglas used a crown corporation. Manitoba makes huge profits off it's government-owned hydro. The same goes for phones service. Health care is cheaper because the government runs it. The provinces with government insurance have far more affordable auto insurance rates.
There are plenty of examples out there of government doing a far better, fairer, and more affordable job than private industry is capable of.
RE: What do you all think
The Green Party is a great example of a gov't that has socialist ideas, as well as fiscally conservative ideas. This is a real possible option - a new balance.
L8R
The Green Party is a great example of a gov't that has socialist ideas, as well as fiscally conservative ideas. This is a real possible option - a new balance.
L8R
I'd be quite happy to get back to the progressive economics we had right after WW2, strict currency controls, ample tarriffs to protect and promote industry, progressive income taxes, affordable credit.. all part of a sovereign and national economic policy. That's all been lost now, free trade, monetarism (the international casino of currency speculation), regressive sales taxation and no national policy of industrial development. Canada is not alone but, this paradigm is driving the world into an unprecedented economic malaise.
Re: RE: What do you all think of having a socialist governme
Do you really think governments can be more efficient than the private sector at doing these things? Greed is a powerful motivator.... the private sector is always trying to make a product better, to make the means of production and distribution more efficient. In the government there are no incentives for efficiency; in fact, the opposite is true - people love to build their own little fiefdoms.
Governments are not very good at anything except wasting our money. Leave the business of business to the private sector.
progressive said:
Do you really think governments can be more efficient than the private sector at doing these things? Greed is a powerful motivator.... the private sector is always trying to make a product better, to make the means of production and distribution more efficient. In the government there are no incentives for efficiency; in fact, the opposite is true - people love to build their own little fiefdoms.
Governments are not very good at anything except wasting our money. Leave the business of business to the private sector.
PoisonPete2 said:
I was in the same boat as well, Pete. When living in Quebec, I was literally losing 50% of my total income to federal and provincial taxes. Here a few years back, the president passed a tax cap law. I think the cap is 33%.
In the US, both the individual and corporations get tax breaks. This allows corporations to hire more for their workforce as well as folks taking more money home.
Nascar_James said:
Yes but most people would rather they were, "hire more for their workforce" within the area they got the tax brake as apose to a thrid world counrty where they can pay the works 25 cents per hour and don't have to worry about labourt laws.
This is why tax brakes to small and medium size buisnesses work much better at building your economy then throwing our hard earned money at these massive coperation.
Tresson said:
Right on! That is one of the biggest scams going. Politicians love to give targeted tax breaks (read: subsidies) to large corporations so they can stand on the podium and babble about how much this means to the city/province/country. Meanwhile the backbone of this country's economy is small business - where is their subsidy. Regional development corporation like ACOA are some of the worst for this. It would be so much better to use this money to cut the business tax rates across the board.
:evil: Stupid, incompetent governments! :evil: