Entitlement in America - The Slippery Slope to Socialism and Beyond

Entitlement programs in America are so many and so expensive at this point that they are crushing our economy. What are the consequences socially and economically of creating entitlement programs that foster a society that is increasingly dependent on the Federal Government to provide for its needs/wants?

We use the term entitlement in the USA, but the rest of the world and history calls it Socialism.

Socialism is defined as:

1.
a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2.
procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3.
(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

In our society, the "community as a whole" is represented by our Federal Government. Entitlement programs are a "system of social organization that advocates the vesting of ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital", by "the community as a whole" or in Americans' case....the government, which represents or manages the community as a whole.

Here is why entitlement, then socialism, then (according to Marx) communism doesn't work and why as we edge closer and closer to socialism in America we will continue to see economic decline and the loss of our freedoms.

When you advocate "the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc." to the government, then what you have done is shift the balance of power in your country from many to a few. In theory this could work if the minority in power is devoid of corruption and always chooses to do what is in the best interest of the majority. The big problem with this model of government and its fundamental flaw is that once all of the power is in the hands of a few they will eventually mismanage it, create a giant imbalance between social classes, and once in that position they will give into greed and fear and do anything possible to ensure they keep their power and wealth. After all, the alternative to power and wealth in a socialist and then communist society will eventually be poverty and loss of freedom, as history has shown.

When you have a few with all the wealth and power just watch the lengths they will go to in order to keep it. Maybe we should ask those who lived in the former Soviet Union, or those who live in China or North Korea. Maybe we should think about looking to how things were working in Iraq or how they are now in Iran. In order for those governments to keep their wealth and power many of their citizens are over taxed, jailed, murdered, or otherwise silenced. Their votes or voices mean nothing. Their governments will go to nearly any length to keep them down in order to allow itself to remain powerful and wealthy.

We can ignore the very slippery slope we are on in the USA as we pursue a path that continually puts more and more power into the hands of the government or minority, but there will be a point of no return eventually where the USA that so many fought and died for will cease to exist and the prosperity our country has known for so long and the freedoms we have enjoyed will disappear with it.

Entitlement....Eventual Socialism

You say tomato, I say tomaatto. You say potato and I say poe ta toe....right?

History has shown that each society that adopts the rule of many by a few is generally poverty stricken, stripped of freedom, and will at some time or another revolt. Our own history as a nation proves this to be accurate.

A quote from Albert Einstein is now almost cliche and somewhat over used, but completely applies. He described insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

I know that various leaders in our government want to be progressive. They are extremely well educated and intellectually polished. No government should give itself too much credit though. The rule of many by a few has not ever resulted in a nation such as the United States of America and the adoption of such a government will destroy it and the freedoms it has granted to its citizens. It will also rob everyone who is oppressed of their hope for something better because the best will have become oppressed, just like them.

I will end my remarks with this.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to THE REPUBLIC for which it stands, one Nation UNDER GOD, indivisible, with LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.