Pardon me for using a simple high-profile example to make the point. Detailing the failings of socialism in a mathematically provable form would take far more t

Pardon me for using a simple high-profile example to make the point. Detailing the failings of socialism in a mathematically provable form would take far more text than you are willing to read. As you note, it is very hard to empirically establish without ambiguity the economic realities of taking from those who earn and giving it to those who don't. Perhaps, given the understandable disagreements, we should adhere to the notion of individual freedoms which the Founding Fathers enacted for the USA and let those who wish to pool their wealth do so, and those who would rather decide for themselves do so; alas, we face the votes of those seeking to force, thru threat of government-sanctioned violence, others to adhere to economic principles they deeply disagree with.