Southern Avenger

« The NYT's on Lincoln Giving License… | Correcting Will Moredock on Ron Pau… »

Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Price of "Progress"

Posted by Jack Hunter on Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 12:13 PM

In an interview with Philadelphia-based radio host Michael Smerconish, President Obama said the following about critics who called his healthcare proposal “socialist:” “FDR was called a socialist when he passed Social Security. JFK and Lyndon Johnson - they were both accused of a government takeover of health care when they passed Medicare. This is the process that we go through, because understandably the American people have a long tradition of being suspicious of government until the government actually does something that helps them.”

Obama is right. What we often call “socialism” is simply the same old welfare state most Americans have come to accept as their birthright.

For the Left, national healthcare is simply the next step in the U.S. finally joining the more “progressive” Europe, Canada and other Western nations. Given Americans’ longstanding comfort with the vast welfare state constructed by FDR, LBJ and others, the Democrats’ perspective on healthcare doesn’t seem the least bit irresponsible or even extreme, as Obama points out. For liberals, that the U.S. has even taken this long in implementing a national healthcare program is proof positive of American backwardness.

But the U.S. is not and cannot be Europe. Not because our current socialism is necessarily unsuccessful or even because the American people won’t tolerate it. We can’t afford it.

Topics: National Politics

Comments (2) RSS

Showing 1-2 of 2

Add a comment

And they were socialists. This country allowed me to educate myself in a needed profession, work very hard and manage my own money. This has produced no need for any government health care program. This is slowly being taken from my children and grand children by programs such as this.

Posted by GeorgeII on August 28, 2009 at 10:29 AM | Report this comment

Too true. I was allowed to educate myself in a public school and then I went to college on an earned ROTC scholarship, then I pulled myself up by my bootstraps for a job in the armed services. Whoops... that's all socialist, too. I also drove to work today on an interstate... double whoops. We should definitely disband all those welfare programs.

Posted by factoryconnection on August 28, 2009 at 1:50 PM | Report this comment

Jack Hunter
Columnist

The "Southern Avenger" Jack Hunter is a conservative commentator (WTMA 1250 AM talk radio) and columnist (Charleston City Paper) living in Charleston, South Carolina.