What socialism has brought to the U.S.

Socialism.  That one word is all conservatives need to hear to turn away and shout no, no, no!

As I've written before, I have been a left winger, then a right winger, and now on the left again.  When i was on the right it seemed blatantly obvious to me that any road toward socialism was a road to tyranny - Venezuella, Nicaragua, Cuba, and of course the worst of all the Soviet Union.

But, as I have also written before, it is now clear to me that capitalism without socialism is a tyrannical nightmare of Oligarchy and Fascism.  Just as socialism without capitalism is a tyrannical nightmare of Communism and scarcity.

But, is socialism bad?  Really?  How about socialism in America?  Do we have some?  Is it bad?

Here are things that we have in America that are either socialist or were brought about by people others denounced as socialist.  A good definition of socialism is it is "taxpayer funds being used collectively to benefit society as a whole, despite income, contribution, or ability."

• The Military/Defense - paid for entirely by taxpayer dollars to benefit everyone regardless of who they are

• Highways/Roads -paid for entirely by taxpayer dollars to benefit everyone.

• Public Libraries - almost entirely paid for by tax dollars to benefit all.

• Police - paid for by taxpayer dollars as a public service for all

• Fire Dept. - taxpayer dollars pays for it all for the benefit of all

• Bridges - taxpayer dollars gets your across the rivers

• Public Landfills -public projects paid for by taxes

• War - the biggest socialist projects in history are taxpayer funded wars

• Farm Subsidies - taxpayers support farms to keep them going, which is good, but unfortunately corporate farming probably gets most of the benefits

• CIA - taxpayer funded to keep us all safe

• FBI - totally taxpayer funded benefit for society

• Congressional Health Care -taxpayers pay for congress's health care

• Polio Vaccine -Dr Salk gave the vaccine to the government which vaccinated America and ended the terrible polio scourge.

• EPA - necessary socialist intervention to keep air and water healthy

• Social Security - we pay taxes to support the elderly (we are investing in our own retirement but the money the government collects gets paid out now to care for the elderly - our time will come soon enough)

• Museums - many museums exist because of government, i.e. taxpayer, money

• Public Schools - public schools largely funded by taxpayer dollars for the benefit of all (except the wealthy who get private schools and some Christians  and others who home school).

• Jail/Prison System - mostly publicly funded, but some are private prisons, which is probably a bad idea to have profit connected to arrests and imprisonment.

• Corporate/Business Subsidies - governments use taxpayer dollars to encourage and support selected enterprise - sometimes wisely and sometimes corruptly.
• Veteran's (VA) Health Care - taxpayer dollars to take care of our military in need. 
• All Elected Government Officials - all paid for by taxpayer dollars.

• Food Stamps -taxpayers help pay for food for those that can't properly feed themselves, and I don't believe the typical conservative rant about fat people of color getting steaks in front of them at the grocery while the poor white conservative is buying peanut butter.

• Sewer System - taxpayer funded sanitation

• Medicare - taxpayer funded health care for those who are mostly beyond their earning years

• Court System -taxpayer funded justice system which is the necessary heart of capitalism, as well as personal justice and protections.

• G.I. Bill - taxpayer money that says thank you for your service

• Hoover Dam - one of the many very productive Great Depression public works projects.

• State/City Zoos - many are there because of taxpayer dollars

• IRS - taxpayer funded collection of taxpayer dollars necessary to run the government that is the necessary force that allows and provides a civilized world.

• Free Lunch Program - taxpayers pay for food for children who need it 

•  The Pentagon - entirely funded by taxpayer dollars

• Medicaid - taxpayer dollars for those poor enough to be unable to provide their own health care.

• FDA - taxpayer dollars gives us food and drugs that don't kill us

• Health Care for 9/11 Rescue Workers - taxpayer dollars say thank you to our heroes.

• Disability Insurance (SSDI) - taxpayer dollars for those injured and unable to take care of themselves.

• Town/State Run Beaches - access to public beaches are because of the taxpayer dollars and our governments

• Corporate Bailouts/Welfare -  corporations are major beneficiaries of taxpayer dollars

• State Construction - potholes, piping, bridge and road repairs etc, all from taxpayer dollars.

• Unemployment Insurance - taxpayer dollars for a time for those who lose a job in a very uncertain economy

• City/Metro Buses - taxpayer dollars for transportation for the less well off

• State Snow Removal - taxpayers pay to keep the roads and thus commerce and education open

• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) - taxpayers pay for some of actual news rather than propaganda from some of the more suspect sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - taxpayer dollars protect our health

• Welfare - taxpayer dollars help the poor who spend all of it to stay alive, which is a 100% payback into the stimulation of the economy

• Public Street Lighting -taxpayer funded safety

• FEMA - taxpayer dollars respond to the terrible disasters that seem to be multiplying every year

• Public Defenders - taxpayer dollars help provide some semblance of justice for the poor.

• S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) - taxpayer dollars for uncovered children

• Amtrak - taxpayer dollars transport millions

• NPR - taxpayer dollars pay for some of the news to a nation that needs it.

• The Department of Homeland Security - taxpayer dollars for protection from terrorism

• OSHA - taxpayer dollars to protect workers

• State and National Monuments - taxpayer dollars to help provide love of this country

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - taxpayer dollars to regulate agriculture and provide safety

• Government Scholarships - taxpayer dollars to educate us

• Census Bureau  - taxpayer dollars to try to ensure proper head count to allocate voting apportionment as well as needed info for governmental programs (too bad one party is trying to fudge the count!)

• Department of Energy - taxpayer dollars to oversee nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, energy conservation, radioactive waste disposal, and energy production.

• Customs and Border Protection  - taxpayer dollars to protect our borders and keep Republicans happy

• Department of Education - taxpayer dollars overseeing and assisting education

• Secret Service - taxpayer dollars protect the president

• Department of Justice - taxpayer dollars enforce the law

• National Weather Service - taxpayer dollars provide safety.

•  Government - an essentially socialist enterprise which is created in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...

• Law - is a socialist enterprise that makes democracy possible, makes capitalism competitive and thus possible, makes life in the world livable.

• Civilization - without taxation that is used to provide the above "socialist" benefits, we have no civilization, we revert to savages.

All paid for by funds from the taxpayer for the social good - socialism.

So, maybe everyone isn't going to like everything on this list, but one thing I can say, it is an American list, not a Venezuelan list or Cuban list or Soviet list.  So, maybe it is time to stop being scared into not thinking when someone throws the word socialist at us.  Maybe some socialism is actually pretty darned good.

I used an article from the liberal blog dailykos.com to put together the above list.