I thought it was interesting that the discussion of capitalization vs. socialism came up. I have never understood why we seem to think that everything has to be one or the other.
Those who are so against socialism might study it a little and I think they would discover that there is little to fear. To say socialism is the next step before communism is to say that pot smoking leads to the use of heroin.
The way I see it (and I typically vote Republican though have been known to vote for "the man") (1) The heart of man is evil above all else (read that somewhere) so trusting that the profanely wealthy will see the need to help their fellow man, is absurd. To the corporate CEO, the important thing is the bottom line. There is no such thing as "enough money". "OK, I have enough money now, so I'll give all my employees a living wage so they won't have to work two jobs to support their family.
I live in Florida where the wealthy come to die. They buy insanely expensive homes in gated communities, many of them for 55 and older (wouldn't want any of those children running around!...), they drive beamers or Mercedes or Jaguars, belong to the country club, play golf and say, "I have all my grain in my barn, I have my home, my cattle on a thousand hills and their favorite song is, "I Did It My Way", by Frank Sinatra and many of the men, especially in the Fort Lauderdale area frequent the many strip clubs while their wives sit in their lavish homes planning their next shopping trip to Saks... They make a yearly stab at 'charitable' events so they can get their names and photos in the paper and say they 'gave'. They truly think they deserve first priority treatment because they have wealth and with it power while there are those in their own community suffering, wondering how they will be able to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and buy the next installment of groceries to feed their family.
Many of them don't receive the health care they need because they can't afford the co-pay or if they could, they couldn't afford to get the prescription filled.
The red tape and paperwork, the documentation needed to get on WIC or medicaid or even unemployment is astronomical. Out of frustration, many give up and just go home.
Meanwhile he hospitals are becoming megamedical complexes run like a corporation.
Instead of giving their employees a living wage, companies like WalMart warn their new employees during orientation against the evils of unions and to be on the look out for union advocates among them while they start their employees out at $7 an hour.
(2) Many of the poor, and to me that is anyone who makes less than 30,000 a year, have given up and/or are so busy trying to juggle children, daycare, and at least one job many work two, that they don't have time to further their education.
The college students in my small town spend as much time as possible sleeping around, drinking and taking drugs while their unwitting parents pay out the nose for their education and for it they gain bragging rights and standing in their social groups.
Our society is sick, but we can glean the good points from socialization without being a socialist, we can take the good points from capitalism and utilize them without being a card carrying capitalist. We need government programs but not as many, to make sure that men do give through taxation.
That same $100 bucks that the wealthy male retiree put in the thong of the stripper at Cheetah's would have paid for a 3 yr.old to go to the doctor and get the antibiotic she needed and maybe her mom wouldn't have had to be degraded by taking off her clothes for him.
You can't mandate morality, but you can make laws and programs that ensure that the poor and helpless don't fall through the cracks and wind up in our ever growing penal system.
For all of us who think GW or Kerry were the answer...Both are members of the Skull and Crossbones Club. What does that tell you? It is time for us to remove our respective heads from our anal passages and see what is really happening around us.

Birds of a feather flock together. No to Hillary!
Yes to Condi. I do admire her, even though she is in the Bush administration!! I believe she is still her own person.

My parents live in New Port Richey Florida but they are not wealthy. They live comfortably. I think it's unfair to feel that wealthy people should be responsible for the well-being of others. Many wealthy people do indeed, give vast sums of money for good causes. How much will society expect them to give? Is not the middle class just as able to be held accountable to help their fellow man?
My father's aunt and uncle were very wealthy and known throughout this area as such. It use to annoy me when the girls from my high school would tell me how they went to my great aunt every time they needed a donation for something. While it was a worthwhile endeavor they were collecting for they let me know in their own way that that's all they cared about, was the money she graciously donated to them whenever they asked.
I'm just saying that we need to get away from the thinking that wealthy people should be responsible to take care of others who need it. We should all look into our own pockets when it comes time to give and not just expect wealthy people to do it.

Ladybug, I didn't know you were a Republican! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Daisygirl

Hi Daisygirl, sokay! I'm not a Republican at all.

No Way! I would never vote for Hillary Clinton. She has always been extremely Liberal in her views , but now that she is considering a run for the White House she has moved more to the Center. I think that is duplicity and all for show. If she cannot be honest about her positions before she runs what would she do if elected?

Ladybug,
I do apologize if I left you with the impression that I think wealthy people are solely responsible for the welfare of others.

I know there are a lot of wealthy people who have been blessed, they know where those blessings are from and give to others.

What I'm referring to are those who don't acknowledge that they are tiny specks of sand in the universe and that if it weren't for their creator, they would have no significance at all as would any of us.

There are just as many greedy needy. I'm not referring to the charitable contributions that are extorted from those of means. What I'm referring to are the personal contributions from a heart that sees the need in an individual's life and responds out of gratitude for what they have been given and that they actually HAVE the means to give.

My grandmother was very comfortable also and when she died there was a big family feud over who got what and my mom got nothing. When my husband died, the things of value he left behind were the kindnesses shown to me and my daughters and family and the many friends he made. His work is sitting in a warehouse, his ashes are with me, his money is gone. What is left are the wonderful kindnesses he showed to others and his selfless giving.

When greed puts people out of work so that they can drive their Porsche's and their Jaguars and they vie with each other to see who can big the bigger more ostentatious palace, that is wrong and when children go hungry and the elderly dig through the trash for food, when a family panics because they are one paycheck away from homelessness and there is no food in the house, that is wrong, wrong, wrong.