“Barack Obama's Stealth Socialism”
Note: The original editorial, quoted in italics, is from "INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY" Posted 7/28/2008
My comments about this article are by “Jim.” Quotes from the article in Investor’s Business Daily are by “IBD.”
Election '08:
IBD: Before friendly audiences, Barack Obama speaks passionately about something called "economic justice." He uses the term obliquely, though, speaking in code. socialist code.
Jim: Is this meant to be a scary term? (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
IBD: During his NAACP speech earlier this month, Sen. Obama repeated the term at least four times. "I've been working my entire adult life to help build an America where economic justice is being served," he said at the group's 99th annual convention in Cincinnati.
And as president, "we'll ensure that economic justice is served," he asserted. "That's what this election is about."
Obama never spelled out the meaning of the term, but he didn't have to. His audience knew what he meant, judging from its thumping approval.
It's the rest of the public that remains in the dark, which is why we're launching this special educational series. "Economic justice" simply means punishing the successful and redistributing their wealth by government fiat. It's a euphemism for socialism.
Jim: I will temporarily stop reading here for a few minutes and add my comments. What we are seeing NOW is "Socialism" for "Capitalists" on the DOWN side - that is, when the economy is suffering the inevitable occasional deep recession that any complex system will see as part of the expected and constant cycling that such systems inherently "have to" experience, particularly when they do not have well designed regulations and ethical, competent regulators to manage them.
A personal note: I understand complex electrical, mechanical & economic systems - I did my Masters Thesis on a business system that had constant sales inputs with violent ups and downs in n the production scheduling and employment requirements.
Unpredictable events are simply inherent in complex systems.
However, Conservatives who buy the supposed "invisible hand" of the "free market," an oxymoron by the way, as a regulating and controlling force are quite pleased on the Up Swing of the economic cycles. They can cash in with hefty profits that unbridled capitalism can and does provide those who already are the "haves" and/or happen to be quite lucky. However, as is being made clear in newspapers and on network TV, they are perfectly happy to accept Government intervention during the frequent and hurtful significant Down Swings. It is aptly called "Socialism for the Rich and Free Market Capitalism for the poor."
IBD: In the past, such rhetoric was just that - rhetoric. But Obama's positioning himself with alarming stealth to put that rhetoric into action on a scale not seen since the birth of the welfare state.
Jim: "Welfare State" is just a catchword most Conservatives use to describe any attempt to establish measures to try to level the playing field. Not withstanding the exceptions, Capitalism as we know and experience it favors the "haves" and makes it difficult for the "have-NOTS" to gain a share of the goods and services commensurate with their inputs.
Don't try to argue that there is a 1000 times greater effort and results from the CEO who gets an annual compensation of $14 million compared to the manual laborer who is paid minimum wage. They just have a well greased skid in the way of an old-boys-club where they put themselves on each other's boards of directors and award each other obscene pay and bonuses!
