why police and fire departments are not socialism

If we were purely capitalistic, each person would have to hire their own firemen.". Today, We Should Do the Same for the Global South. Uses, mentions, and misuses of the word are spiking once more. It is but an example of the central government is infringing on the traditional domain of the states. Key questions about that state activity always need to be asked: does it reinforce or undermine the power of those who own capital? If done without any intent of having an open mind about a particular subject, then it becomes the sworn enemy of logic willful ignorance. Police officers are often cross-trained to perform multiple functions, although such cross-training is usually limited to functions directly related to law enforcement, such as K-9, investigations, and school resource officer. Between input and output, in turn, are the processes by which the former arefashioned into the latter. The best way to defend capitalism, Reagan declared, is to make more capitalists. Theres a sense in which he was right, of course, in that ESOP beneficiaries gain capital incomes to supplement their labor incomes and grow more proactive and engaged in the effective running of their firms. You have to pay a fare to use public transportation. No. There are many sub-questions that this question implicates, to each of which many distinct answers have historically been given. When that is the case, societies whose members hold democratic values treat those matters as political meaning the full polity, or what our Greek philosophical forebears called the polis and afford the full demos Greek for the people a say in deciding upon them. Fire departments, libraries, schools, and the various agencies (that dont produce much, they are more a licensing, regulation, and enforcement entities) are all arguably socialist. What happened: NPR reported that DeSantis signed a bill that will end the special tax district that Disney World theme park was in the boundaries of. That's not socialism, they say, but communism. (KCTV/Gray News) - The Kansas City Police Department has been in a standoff for several hours with a suspect who shot three SWAT officers during a search warrant at a home.Police knocked on the door of the home on Blue Ridge Boulevard near 23rd Street South around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and announced their presence. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. These direct forms of influence are not the only way that powerful interests shape government action. Why police and fire departments are not socialism? Others arebasic operational activities that any modern government, regardless of its ideological orientation, would carry out (the census, fire departments, garbage and snow removal, sewers, street lighting). Who would have thought? An argument could easily be made that roads led to the boom in fossil fuel consumption, hardly rendering socialism a beneficial thing that we all should want. The list goes on and on. Trevor Loudon is an author, filmmaker, and public speaker from New Zealand. In a free society, citizens recognize that certain threats cannot be dealt with by individuals alone. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. If you spend much time on social media, youve probably seen the memes purporting to show just how socialist the United States already is by listing a bunch of government programs, services, and agencies. under our present form of socialism? And that's just not right," says San Francisco Fire Capt. To avoid national bankruptcy and the mass destitution of the elderly and middle classes that will inevitably follow, these corrupt schemes must be phased out, beginning as soon as possible. Thus all three have occasioned political contestation for as long as there have been politics. Often, if capitalists arent induced to make investments through business subsidies and other incentives, they simply will refuse to invest. Socialism is about redistribution of wealth. There are no more "workplaces". They would be one of the most important institutions in any socialist society worthy of the name. This in turn leads to a decline in its legitimacy and its level of popular support. Its because these bureaucracies provide terrible service and concentrate huge amounts of money in governmental hands. All economies are in effect hybrid, and what makes each one what it is is its particular degrees of socialism and individualism along the full trio of variable dimensions of production. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, Trevor Loudon is an author, filmmaker, and public speaker from New Zealand. The first is that all modern economies are what economists call ' mixed .'. -Are hospitals socialist? There have been a number of large-scale government initiatives since the 1980s, even during periods of Republican political dominance. The theory is that under this system, labor cannot be exploited. (LogOut/ Use a private highway and you pay a small electronically collected fee, just as most public tolls are collected now. I believe the vast majority of transport infrastructure should be privately owned and maintained. If they were socialist, each firefighter would own a part of their respective company. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has brought much-needed relief to the working poor, but it also serves as an indirect subsidy for low-wage employers. Our national debt now stands at $15.8 trillion , up from $10.6 when Obama took office. The other word we use to describe our polity another Latin one this time to complement the Greek is also suggestive here: we call our polity a republic, from the Latin res publica, or thing of the public (sometimes also translated into the suggestive word commonwealth hmm common / wealth). Are Libraries Socialist? The 2009 stimulus plan likely saved the country from another Great Depression, but it was inadequate to the scale of the crisis and weighted in favor of tax cuts for businesses who simply pocketed the cash instead of hiring new workers. By the end of last year, the contributions of just 158 families and the companies they own (a staggering $176 million) made up about half the total funding in the 2016 presidential race. But ESOPs are publicly subsidized thats how we, the public, make those additional capitalists Reagan was talking about. They are a public resource, and one that incurs a personal financial burden if you would like to use them in addition to the social contribution. The DSA calls for the fostering and facilitating of more and more employee-owned firms throughout our economy, just as Republican Abraham Lincoln and other 19th century Labor Republicans did. That oligarchy might agree with popular demands at the time, or it might not. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In particular, they argue, many people tend to associate any kind of government institution, even the DMV, with socialism. The following is a letter to the editor that was published in the Loveland Reporter-Herald in April 2019, reproduced in its entirety. For too long now, fire departments across the United States have been socialist organizations, resulting in taxes on the American people. No private interests should have any say over policing or the administration of justice. If we can remove socialist governmental control and corruption from these vital sectors, expect to see an economic boom; massively cheaper health, housing, and utility costs; and a large increase in quality of life for the nations elderly and chronically illand the rest of us. If you spend much time on social media, youve probably seen the memes purporting to show just how socialist the United States already is by listing a bunch of government programs, services, and agencies. On May 31, 2012, Alison Fraser of Heritage testified to the House Budget Committee that today, federal spending is at about 23 percent of [Gross Domestic Product], and debt held by the public is approximately 70 percent. This is, of course, completely immoral and antithetical to the principles of a free and just society. We will lose our kids and the future of this country if we allow this corrupt mess to continue. Subscribe today and get a yearlong print and digital subscription. Senator Sanderss Corporate Accountability and Democracy Plan, on which full disclosure this author assisted, does likewise. For the most part, yes. Michael McAuliff of the Huffington Post pointed out that the federal government spends huge amounts of money to support all those professions. This is true, yet the federal government does things frequently that many consider to be outside of the proper scope of the federal powers. And these claims continue to this day. This isnt because I want to see the elderly and ill starving and dying in the streets. But still not consistent with the concept of the means of production., Are the Police socialist? The theory is that under this system, labor cannot be exploited. In came a large, older fellow who took one look at my cover, Return to Capitalism, and with a finger pointed at me, said, "We already live in a capitalistic country. He is best known for his book Enemies Within: Communists, Socialists and Progressives in the U.S. Congress and his similarly themed documentary film Enemies Within.. This is not the case. The fourth best option is complete state control, funding, and direction of all educationalso known as socialism. Heck, they called the New Deal itself socialist. They are a public resource, and health care is becoming subsidized more and more. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia, pretty much all of Western Europe, etc. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who knows socialism better than anyone, often plays this deceptive game. For if some people disproportionately benefit relative to others under productive arrangements that are primarily socially or publicly determined as are ours by our publicly promulgated and enforced property law, contract law, employment law, business law, tax law, banking law, etc. That in turn is no more radical than everyones right to a living wage job, decent housing, affordable healthcare, and a useful education. If we care about our children, this is the direction we must go. When hundreds of thousands of people of color remain jailed for nonviolent cannabis offenses while a multi-billionaire convicted in court of securities fraud is simply pardoned, isnt it clear whose socialism ours is? , revised Privacy Policy why police and fire departments are not socialism Terms of use best way to defend capitalism, declared... Quot ; says San Francisco Fire Capt forms of influence are not the only way that powerful interests shape action. 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