Why are so many people uptight about the word socialist?

[Alan]

Yes, you can be a conservative and still drive on socialist roads. But that would make one a Roads Socialist. One could identify as "Fiscally conservative, socially conservative, but roadly socialist."

If a road is funded by use taxes, such as state and federal fuel taxes, tolls and permit fees collected from commercial carriers, is it really socialist?

If socialism is good for the military, why shouldn't it be good for healthcare?

Protection against foreign enemies is the primary responsibility of the federal government, I'm not sure where healthcare fits into the enumerated powers.

[Gregg]

There is a spectrum of public and private spheres of activity. The different between right and left is that the right is more suspicious than the left of government as the answer to any given problem.

True that. Of course the suspicions held by the left regarding privately based problem solving also holds some water. I recently read an interview with Bill Gates, in The Atlantic if I remember correctly, and he spoke to the inefficiencies of the private sector. One example he gave was how many venture capital investments fail for every success. Government will never be the panacea that some think it can be, but there are problems who's scale means they can only be solved by an institution with the scope of the government. Defense, probably healthcare in the broadest sense of the term, possibly the smart grid, transportation infrastructure, etc. The investments are too big and the ROI is too obtuse for those things to work in the world of quarterly reports. To me the issue of more government vs. less government is overshadowed by getting the best people IN government.

[LDAHL]

Exactly! If socialism is good for the military, why shouldn't it be good for healthcare?

If aspirin is good for headaches, why shouldn't it be good for cancer?

Different problems require different solutions. Conservatives are less likely to use government as a sort of duct tape for a wide range of issues. That doesn't mean that public sector solutions are never appropriate.

[jp1]

If a road is funded by use taxes, such as state and federal fuel taxes, tolls and permit fees collected from commercial carriers, is it really socialist?
Protection against foreign enemies is the primary responsibility of the federal government, I'm not sure where healthcare fits into the enumerated powers.

It's questionable whether use taxes do in fact pay for the roads. http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/who-pays-roads

One could argue that congress has the duty, or at least the right, to legislate regarding healthcare in the same section 8 of the constitution where the power to protect against foreign enemies is "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States". I'd consider general welfare to realistically include healthcare.

[Ultralight]

It's questionable whether use taxes do in fact pay for the roads. http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/who-pays-roads

One could argue that congress has the duty, or at least the right, to legislate regarding healthcare in the same section 8 of the constitution where the power to protect against foreign enemies is "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States". I'd consider general welfare to realistically include healthcare.

Liberal hogwash!

[Rogar]

One could argue that congress has the duty, or at least the right, to legislate regarding healthcare in the same section 8 of the constitution where the power to protect against foreign enemies is "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States". I'd consider general welfare to realistically include healthcare.

I tend to also think of the reference to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Not to totally discount the constitution, but it also seems to me an issue of just doing the right thing, regardless. I consider the Golden Rule to have precedence over the constitution in most cases, if not all.

[LDAHL]

It's questionable whether use taxes do in fact pay for the roads. http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/who-pays-roads

One could argue that congress has the duty, or at least the right, to legislate regarding healthcare in the same section 8 of the constitution where the power to protect against foreign enemies is "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States". I'd consider general welfare to realistically include healthcare.

Couldn't you use "general welfare" to justify pretty much anything you viewed as good?

[Ultralight]

Couldn't you use "general welfare" to justify pretty much anything you viewed as good?

Yes. You could do the same.

[bae]

I suppose if you are going to define "socialism" as "anything the government does" then you can make all sorts of debating points. But it sort of reduces the utility of the word.

[Ultralight]

I suppose if you are going to define "socialism" as "anything the government does" then you can make all sorts of debating points. But it sort of reduces the utility of the word.

Exactly!