Socialism

The McCain campaign and its supporters are claiming that we will have “socialism” if Barack Obama is elected. That kind of sloppy talk reveals ignorance about the meaning of the word “socialism” and about the principles that guide Obama and the Democratic Party.

McCain insists that Barack Obama’s plan to repeal the tax breaks given to wealthy Americans by the Bush Administration is socialism. It is no such thing. It is simply a return to the tax rates that prevailed during the Clinton Administration when we experienced enormous prosperity. America has had a graduated income tax since at least 1913. It is not a redistribution of the wealth. The idea behind it is that wealthier people can afford higher tax rates than middle income and poor people. It is not socialism. It is simple fairness.

Socialism is a system in which the production and distribution of goods is owned by a centralized government that plans and controls the economy. That is something very different from a democracy that supports free enterprise and seeks only to regulate commerce for the benefit of the populace.

Our forefathers envisioned a liberal democracy by inserting the “Commerce Clause” into the Constitution. In Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, the Constitution states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce among the states and with foreign nations. Connected to this specific power is the general power "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing Powers." (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18).

The Constitution has several provisions guaranteeing free enterprise. But nowhere does the Constitution guarantee enterprise free from any control or regulation by the government. Who would want that? Who would want to abolish all laws preventing fraud, prohibiting child labor, controlling monopolies, protecting consumers, and encouraging competition? Who would want to do away with the food and drug laws, environmental laws, product safety, air safety, and job safety laws and regulations? Such laws are not socialistic. They are the opposite of socialism. They are not enacted to eliminate capitalism. They are enacted to make commerce work better and to protect people.

The conservative Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democrat—Barack Obama-- for the first time in its 150-year history. It describes him as a “pragmatic centrist.” That is a long way from being a socialist.

Obama is more conservative than those of us who would like to see a single-payer health insurance system. His program would keep all private and employer-based health insurance in place, and would provide only that people without any insurance be able to buy health insurance from the federal government. If you look at Obama’s programs, you can see that they are aimed at strengthening free enterprise.

If John McCain thinks Obama’s policies are socialistic, what are McCain’s policies? McCain wants the government to buy-up $300 billion worth of bad mortgages. Why is that less socialistic than Obama’s proposals? McCain calls for tighter regulation of the banks and securities industry? Why is that less socialistic than Obama’s proposals? Let’s face it, McCain knows very well that Obama is not a socialist, but he is willing to say anything now that his poll numbers are low.

True liberals seek to prevent government from interfering with our freedoms. A liberal’s idea of democracy is for government to help people do things that they cannot do for themselves. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are not forms of Socialism. They are humane programs aimed at making life bearable for seniors and poor people.

Some people have claimed that the government bailout of financial institutions (supported by McCain and carried-out by the conservative Bush Administration) is a form of socialism. On the contrary, it is a program that fits perfectly with the doctrine of free enterprise. The government is not taking-over the banks, it is simply investing cash in the banks in order to make them solvent and better able to carry-out their business of lending money.

The current financial crisis did not arise from too much government regulation. It resulted from the cancellation by a Republican President and Republican Congress of laws and regulations that would have prevented the banks and brokers from playing dice with the mortgage market. As the recent crisis has demonstrated, capitalism works best when it is properly regulated. Barack Obama and liberal Democrats do not seek socialism. They seek only to regulate capitalism for the benefit of all Americans.