Those countries aren't worried about being world powers. Why should we?
And Canada and Britain are NOT small countries, relatively speaking. Neither is France. They are all socialist.
And don't fall down the slippery slope people. Just because we adopt socialist tendencies does NOT mean that the government will own your body and labor. You would see NO dramatic change from the current state of our nation and your daily experience if we were to adopt more socialist trends.
I say, bring it on..... Unless you're UBER rich, then socialism will only benefit you. I say, take the wealth from those who pillaged and raped to get it in the first place. They didn't earn it and it's not theirs (fired up yet?)
Everything that is pushing this government towards socialism is fucking illegal in the constitution for starters...
Many of the major problems of this country stem from socialistic thinking. Such as Clinton pushing for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and other banks to start giving out loans to people who couldn't pay them back. You can't just give undeserving people money, and expect for the people who worked their asses off, and stayed in control of their budgets to pay it all off. It is ridiculous and should be criminal.
You think socialism is so good? Go try to see a doctor in Canada... I bet you can't get that operation you need within the next 10 months...
I like to have choices. I don't want an extremely overpowered government making 100% of choices, centrally. They do not know what is best for me, or even my general demographic...
I come from a well off family. I would consider our family, rednecks with money. Our money is also new money, and money our family has earned. You think my dad wants to help support somebody working behind the counter of a gas station, making shitty money, not working to elevate their lives; all the while, he has worked his ass off for 30 years, from rig builder to structural engineer for Transocean.
Fuck giving people hands out. I would have thought most people on this board would be open minded about religion, politics, etc. Because socialism and communism only cater to the weak, which goes against nature in itself(survival of the fittest).
Don't get me wrong, I am all about helping people, but I would like to choose who I help, and I don't want it bringing down my quality of life in the process.
My family helped numerous illegal families back in the early 90s to get a good life started. We would gave them $1000s of worth of stuff all the time, and made sure their kids had wonderful Christmas's. Those same families, once they got their lives established, basically became dickheads towards my family. Their kids, after 10 years of US education, still speak Spanish as their first language.
You can only be Mr. Nice Guy, and get walked on for so long. I enjoy working for a better life, and I would like to know that my hardwork isn't going to be simply divided up among people who didn't put in their share.
The biggest problem: PEOPLE NEED TO STOP LIVING OUTSIDE OF THEIR MEANS! Live the life that you have earned(you can still be a good person).