Rod Wrote:
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> Absolutely, it is the right wingers that call
> social programs socialism.

Not in my experience. It's usually leftists trying to convince conservatives that socialism is great by claiming all social services (such as fire, police, etc.) are "socialist programs", thereby making the stretch that socialism is good. They also like to claim that "democratic socialism" (as if there were such a thing) works great in places like Scandinavia. Except it doesn't.

All the social programs Norway and Sweden have depend heavily on a free-market, capitalist economy to support them. Just because that works in a largely homogenized culture with a relatively small population, comprised of mostly honest people who would never consider defrauding and gaming the system, doesn't mean it would work here. None of our large, government run programs work worth a crap and few are without corruption at some level. Ever ride Amtrak? Try to collect unemployment or disability insurance benefits? Go to the DMV? VA, Medicare, TSA? All disastrous programs wrought with corruption.

Anyone over 40 years of age should be able to look back and see that the more government gets into our lives, the worse life gets. It's not complicated.