5 ms·
So what is actually wrong with it? Nothing you mentioned sounds bad at all (and the translation of that article seemed pretty poor, so hard to draw conclusions
by glesica 13y ago
So what is actually wrong with it?
Nothing you mentioned sounds bad at all (and the translation of that article seemed pretty poor, so hard to draw conclusions). I would LOVE to live in a more "socialist" country. I'd much rather be poorer in a place where my basic needs are met and I don't have to fear starvation or freezing to death if I catch an unlucky break. Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, I'd rather lower all the boats but make sure that none of them sink.
- notanidiot5 13y agoYes, because we see news reports of poor American citizens dying everyday because of starvation. Keep pushing your propaganda though.
- smtddr 13y agoDon't forget, for most Americans... one unexpected hospital bill is all that stands between them and financial ruin. USA can be an okay place to be as long as you don't get sick...
- vasilipupkin 13y agoMost Americans have insurance so your assertion is dubious
- twoodfin 13y agoThe vast majority of Americans even pre-ACA had either government-provided insurance or employer group insurance, neither of which would lead to "unexpected hospital bills". Even the existing private insurance market was pretty reliable here ("rescission" was vanishingly rare). So I'm curious how you came up with "most Americans".
- yodsanklai 13y agoI live in a more socialist country where health care and education are free, and where we have have a good balance between work and personal time and I hope it'll stay the same despite the international pressure. I don't know why "socialism" is such a bad word in the US. Probably propaganda from the rich to keep their privileges. I had the chance to live in the US for a couple of years (it was a child dream of mine to do so) and now I have much more mixed feelings about its ideology. Overall, I think I have a better life in Europe.
- smtddr 13y ago>>Probably propaganda from the rich to keep their privileges. Not probably. It's exactly that.
- swamp40 13y agoI can't believe no one has challenged you on this remark for 5+ hours.
- vasilipupkin 13y agoNot at all - a "socialist" system involves doubling taxes On the middle class - that's really tough to sell to....the middle class, shockingly
- alan_cx 13y ago1) Are US taxes half EU taxes then? 2) "Middle class", do you mean working classes? 3) Why do so many people think its a choice between the two, socialism and capitalism? What people want is a sensible compromise where both systems work to service all of society's needs, instead of a single system which can only benefit one part of society. No one serious thinks pure, exclusive socialism is the answer to anything? Its not. Neither is pure exclusive capitalism. Simply, capitalism raises the money to pay for socialism to provide a useful work force and services for capitalism. We need a balance.
- ezequiel-garzon 13y agoAbsolutely! Although she's been politically forced, Merkel is setting up minimum eages in Germany, while Raul Castro has issued some (however mildly) free-enterprise initiatives, and something like that is coming up in China. Leave dogma to the ivory towers.
- vasilipupkin 13y agoOf course, even the U.S. is not pure capitalist system - we have a multitude of programs that are design to support the poor
- Natsu 13y agoAccording to the article he is a former bank robber who had shootouts with the police. I hope he's changed since then, but robbing banks tends to lead to long prison sentences in any country I know of (unless you're a banker, but that's another story...). Now, I'm not claiming to know anything specifically wrong with him, though an endorsement from the Daily Mail generally has the opposite effect for me.
- mistermumble 13y agoSo are you saying that 14 years is not a long prison sentence? By the way, that is about 10% longer than the average prison sentence for bank robbery in the US. See http://www.popcenter.org/problems/robbery_banks/4 http://www.popcenter.org/problems/robbery_banks/4
- Natsu 13y agoQuite the opposite, I'm saying that it is long, but such sentences are normal for people convicted of bank robbery.
- singold 13y agoAlso take into account that it is not the same to be in prison on a democracy that in a dictatorship.
- Natsu 13y agoWell yes, it's true that I have no way of knowing that he was actually guilty, that he got a fair trial, etc. But assuming he actually was guilty (a potentially bad assumption), then the prison sentence itself was not objectively unreasonable (it's within striking distance of an average sentence), though the prison conditions very well might have been unreasonable.
- singold 13y agoI agree that the "sentence" is probably reasonable, but I was thinking more about the prison conditions, isolation, torture, etc.