Even if I agreed with your definition of socialism (and I don't) we don't have "collective workers rights" in this country, if anything they are becoming the thing of the past as unions are losing their power and influence. Neither workers not the government interfere with or are involved in Exxon's or Aetna's or Dell's day to day activities, business decisions and distribution of profits. There are certainly minor regulations related to things like environment, security, safety etc, businesses and individuals are taxed and the tax system is progressive but it's a far cry from socialism. You said I was painting it in black and white but what do you call equating taxation with socialism?
To approach this from a political science point of view.... From the Websters link above: 1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state 3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done I think 3 is key. Socialism is another form of unequal distribution where the state controls the means of production. The USSR and other failed socialist states never reached communism, which according to Marx, is a Utopian society where the state withers and goods and services are distributed 'to each according to need and from each according to ability'. Some of the European democracies have touches of socialism where key industries are state owned and significant resources are re-distributed.
================== Acronym; Actually try to avoid toll roads/traffic fines; & chose to pay an occasional voluntary tax on gun with walnut stock
Most big cities now have a "business tax", which is seperate from a business income tax and sales taxes. It's a tax you pay up front to have a business. You also forget that most (all?) states have a gas tax in addition to the federal tax. Most (all?) states make more money on a gallon of gas than the "Price Gouging" oil companies, and so does Uncle Sam. "Greedy Oil Companies" make about 10-12 cents a gallon in profits. There's also a 911 telephone tax and a tax for making phone service available to rural areas.
What do you call it when someone forces you to give them money? On the Sopranos they call it "protection". US Politicians call it taxation.
Our politicians are well on their way to destroying the government we know. Just when they thought they had everything locked up in their districts, i.e., gerrymandering ensuring high incumbency, they have planted the seeds of a runaway debt (geometric to exponential in the past six years) that will force drastic government cutbacks and a revamping of the entire benefits state. The public response to illegal immigration and energy prices is just the groundswell -- it's fun to watch 'em scramble. Eventually, citizens will want to become politicians to serve the public, not for the cushy benefits.
New study about the wealthiest nation on earth: http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=367876 Where i live EVERYBODY is insured for healthcare. But we have less billionaires. How do you mesure wealth? By the quality of live of the average worker, or by the quality of live of the 100 richest persons?
No, in U.S.S.R. people were taxed,in North Korea people are being taxed, in Cuba people are being taxed. In former Czechoslovakia we were fucking taxed. Fucking idiots. Where the fucking money for bureaucrats were coming from do you think? You are freaking brain dead. Regarding the stupid picture, there were bunch of guys like that in Politbyro in Prague you stupid idiots and they were as much richer than the rest of us just like this guy in the picture. Does it matter what you call it, tax or whatever??? Yeah there are no taxes in socialism sure. You talk bullshit just like them when they were telling us we had everything for free, in America you had to pay for everything. If you tell me there wasn't real socialism in Soviet Union, Eastern Europe etc.(I know people like you like to say that) there has never been any other socialism. At least you can leave the U.S. any time. I was sentenced to 2 years in prison for leaving country "illegally". You probably have no clue what I am talking about. P.S. If I get banned by moderator for language I will be OK with it. I cannot read such a non-sense and leave it as it is. Get it into your skulls guys you know shit about socialism And theory is useless.
Truly socialist countries and governments don't collect taxes, they don't need to as they simply OWN everything - that's the nature of true socialism. Governments not owning the means of production but collecting taxes to sustain their activities have absolutely nothing to do with socialism. Taxes existed in feudal societies in the medieval world - peasants and serfs paid taxes to the king, to the church, to the landlord, they paid taxes for the land, for the army, for marriages and death, for the air they breathed and for the food they ate. Paying taxes has nothing to do with becoming a socialist country. I don't know about that but fortunately for you they don't ban for ignorance and stupidity. Reading comprehension problems? I said exactly the opposite, I said that there was indeed real true socialism in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, that this country has absolutely nothing to do with socialism and that equating taxation with socialism is absurd.