Socialism

During the presidential campaign, both McCain and Palin said Obama’s tax plan seems to be socialism, because the idea of increasing taxes on people making more than $250,000 and giving a tax cut to lower income earners is socialist ideology. Although, McCain charged socialism on the campaign trail, he voted for a $700 billion bailout of banks, which most Americans consider to be much more socialistic than Obama’s tax policies.

Eight years ago, an audience member asked McCain: “Why is it that someone like my father who goes to school for 13 years gets penalized in a huge tax bracket because he’s a doctor.”

McCain replied: “I think it’s to some degree because we feel obviously that wealthy people can afford more.... Here’s what I really believe, that when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”

The credit crunch and the decline in the stock market could be the leading edge of a deep recession that could reach nine percent unemployment. We are in a crisis, which requires various degrees of government intervention in the economy without it approaching the traditional definitions of socialism.

James Politi an economic and trade correspondent for the “Financial Times,” believes we’re still a far cry from socialism, because the traditional definitions of socialism include the government taking control of huge chunks of the economy, allocating resources and deciding prices.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs wrote in “Fortune” magazine: “America can pull through the current economic crisis with a dose of political maturity and a bit of luck. Success will mean the end of the Reagan era, of an ideology that has brought the country to its knees.”