Welfare State

Good morning all!
     This morning I'd like to share with you a spirited conversation I recently had with a colleague regarding socialism. For the sake of this post I will call him "Archie".
     We had just attended a meeting and everyone had left the conference room but Archie and I. He had been sitting towards one end of the table and slowly walked to the seat directly opposite me and stood, watching. I was organizing some paperwork for another meeting that I was to attend within the next half hour when I realized he was still in the room. I looked up and raised my eyebrows expectantly.
     "You got a minute, Emily?" he finally asked.
     "Sure. What's up?" Archie and I have known each other for many years. We had nothing more than a professional relationship, but I liked and respected him. He's a solid guy.
     He sat down and leaned forward. "I'm a little concerned." He looked worried.
     "About what?" We served on a committee together and were collaborating on a couple of projects. I assumed it was something to do with work.
     "About your political views."
     I chuckled and returned to my organizing. Surely, I thought, he was kidding.
     "I'm serious. What's going on with you?"
     I looked up again, shocked. Caught completely unawares, I just shrugged my shoulders.
     "The whole socialism thing." His face was serious.
     I suddenly became defensive. "What about it!?" Looking back, I was probably a little snappier than I had intended.
     "Are you turning into some kind of communist?" He stared at me like he was trying to look inside my head.
     I wanted to laugh but I was quickly getting upset. I opened my mouth to speak but Archie interupted me.
     "I saw some of your books the last time I was in your office. You can't be serious. I mean, c'mon!"
     "Do you even know what socialism is, Archie?" My paperwork was now forgotten.
     "Damn right I do," he sat up straight and clenched his fists. "It's the first step towards communism!"
     "Are you...." he didn't let me get started.
     "You want to take our country and turn it into a welfare state! You want Americans to turn into a bunch of lazy a$$#@!%$! I can't believe you! You want to give our country over to the bums in the street!"
     "Hold it!" We both stod now and I leaned across the table with my finger pointing directly in his face. "In about two seconds I'm going to come across this table and slap the $#!& out of you!"
     Archie took a step back. I'm short and slight but I inherited a nasty temper from my father. He'd obviously never seen it before. I took a deep breath.
     "What's government for, Archie?"
     "What?" He looked confused.
     "Answer the question." I pressed him. "What is government for?"
     "I....I...." he stammered. "I don't know." He was thinking hard. "To...."
     "Why do we even have a government?"
     "I don't Emily....I guess I never really thought about it...." he was back on his heels.
     "To protect us? To take care of us? To help us?"
     "Yeah, sure." He nodded, but his eyes were skeptical. He thought for a second and I was his eyes change. "Yeah. To proetct us. To let us live a good life."
     "All of us?" I asked.
     "Yeah, all of us." He nodded again.
     "Does that apply to the old and the sick?"
     "Of course." Archie looked indignant.
     "How about those down on their luck?" He nodded. "Those whom life had thrown a curve ball? Those that, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves unemployed, without healthcare benefits, unable to pay their bills?" His nodding slowed. "Those with less opportunities than most?"
     "This is still America, Emily! Everyone has the same opportunities."
     "Do they, Archie?" My hands were on my hips. "Do the children of poor and middle-class families have the same opportunities as the children of millionaires and billionaires? You know which ones I'm talking about...." He gave me a blank look now. "What about all the spending cuts the conservatives are proposing? Who's that going to hurt?"
     He had no answer.
     "I'll tell you who it's going to hurt. The poor. The elderly. The sick. The middle class." I ticked these off on my fingers.
     Archie finally realized he needed to put up a defense. "What about our taxes? Do you want us to become like the Europeans?" He was becoming emotional about the thought of losing his hard earned money. "I, for one, don't want to pay in excess of 50% of my pay so that the poor can sit around and collect for nothing! I don't want to sacrifice my standard of living!"
     "Listen to yourself, Archie!" I was getting angry again. "You're right. If America became socialist today, your taxes would probably go up. Mine too. And we already pay income tax and sales tax. But we also pay a lot out of pocket to secure our future, don't we."
     He looked confused again.
     "I'm talking about things we pay for like life insurance. Health insurance supplements. Retirement programs. 401k's. Optical. Dental. None of these are payed for with our taxes. What about all the charities and foundations that rely on private donations. There are too many to count and they perform necessary functions that fall through governmental cracks. Now imagine if all these things were payed for by the government, through taxes, and not one citizen would ever have to worry about them again.
     "Never have to worry about getting sick, or retiring, or our children's schooling, or police protection, or road repairs, or clean water. Sounds kind of utopian, I know, but it's not. It won't be easy. We all have to contribute. All of us. The wealthy too. And we all have to work if we are able. That means more regulation to cut down on welfare and disability fraud. We would have to get stricter with healthcare fraud too. And labor unions would have to operate within reason. No free rides.
     "And if some of our standards of living would drop, it would be materialistically. But overall, the quality of life in America would improve. We say the words: "One nation, under God..." but we can't truly be one nation until we are in fact one nation: all working together as one to make America a better place for all. Not just for the aristocratic elite."
     Archie's head was cocked to one side like a puppy.
     "Let's talk more later....I've got a meeting...." I left the room.

ejgw