Basically the Op of this meme is saying since we have pubic funded entities then not electing Bernie and demonizing the word "socialism" make you a hypocrit.

FBS

Some of those 'promote the general welfare', and are valid functions of government.

The others are just welfare.

I typically don't combat with retards

How about i stop paying taxes, ss, ect too.

Dust off and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

 
You Sir, are a man of very few posts...

 
and where to draw the line is just an opinion, and opinions vary


It is hard to argue that single payer healthcare doesn't 'promote the general welfare', but whether it is a valid function of government depends on who you talk to.

And that's why the left wins the proganda war and gets the retard vote.

LOL.

Let's see how pro government they are when a republican / conservative is in the white house...

I am 100% fine giving up every one of those and/or using pvt options instead. Now let's talk about my new 0% tax rate...

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Apart from Medicare, SS, and schools, ALL of that shit is a simply a function of government, whether that government is Capitalist Democratic, Socialist, Communist, or a Theocratic Monarchy.  Fuck, Saudi Arabia has roads, doesn't mean they're socialist.

 

I would love to be able to opt out of social security and medicare if that meant not having to pay the tax


Public schools are not a socialist program and neither are law enforcement or the fire department or public roads

Septic tanks and well water work perfectly well in my AO.

The post office is already a private entity because it sucked ass under government control

The U.S. government created the internet, but it was restricted to military usage. Private enterprises manage and maintain the internet that we use today.

Basically, some teenage or early 20s liberal idiot created that meme and has no idea what they are talking about.

My thought exactly.

Five out of seven of those things have been thoroughly fucked up by the government to the point where they're only barely functional.

So you tell me.

Socialism involves direct government control over large parts of the economy.

Capitalism allows for government participation in the market, but doesn't assign control of the market to the government.

Take Social Security. It is a social welfare program run by the government, involving direct transfers from some people to other people.  But individuals can participate in other old age plans, or even opt out from it.  Under a truly socialist pension scheme, 401k plans and pension plans wouldn't be allowed - the government would directly control the entire old age pension system.  One could argue that, with the plethora of laws and regulations, the Feds are approaching that point. But it's not there yet, and THAT's what opponents of Bernie's type of socialism oppose.

The things they are talking about besides SS and medicare are infrastructure, not social programs. They are basic requirements for any modern civilization. Paying taxes for roads and police/firemen benefits all tax payers evenly as they are services anyone can use. Paying astronomically higher taxes for some slack ass to get a degree in 16th century abstract art or lard shits and cigarette smokers to get free health insurance, benefits no one.

Sounds good to me.

I wish I could find that meme that said "communism summed up in one pic"

It was a photo of a residential district in Russia (I assume).  It look like a never ending sea of section 8 apartments here in the states.

Using existing forms of very simple socialism to sell you complete socialism is dishonest.

These things are already being paid for by your taxes, without being able to opt out. You have already been forced into paying for social security and medicare, so of course you would want to get that back in the future. More socialism means being forced to pay more taxes and fewer choices.

Who wants to be forced to pay more and limit choice?

I can't tell you OP.  I don't speak retard and there is no way I could communicate effectively with moran that thought that shit up.  The only strategy I can offer you is to get a 20 oz framing hammer, shove that meme in their face and smack them between the eyes while screaming, "Bernie bad! BERNIE BAD!" Rinse, repeat till they get it or stop twitching.

Send him a link to the...

National Debt Clock

Valid functions of State and municipal governments should not be
confused with the role of the national government in a dual federal
republic. The issue really isn't should the citizens 'band together' and
pay for those things collectively - roads, firehouses, police officers,
etc. Those are important and we can all, ALL, agree that it makes sense
that we build and maintain those functions of government. Instead, the
issue behind the question is: When and how did this become a role for
the national government? Its not and the conflation of the two is what
is causing so much confusion (and division).
Example: If you want to live in San Francisco and allow yourself to be
party to high tax rates and generous social programs, you should be
able. By all means, advocate with your neighbors to build the community
you all want to live in - at the local level, you a voice that is
un-hearable in national politics. But national socialists think one
government should rule them all; and that is not the vision of our
founders and is what contributes to the crisis of nationhood we have now
in the electorate.  

 

 
 

It's pretty simple really... Taxes do not equal socialism. Even a libertarian utopia will have taxes in some way.

Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown were killed by socialism. How cool is that?

Muh roads.

Also, the internet was borderline useless until it was privatized. The feds at first wanted to prohibit any commercial activity on it.

Cars, computers, Electricity to your house, Steel, lumber, pretty much everything in your house, and all the food you eat and the pesticides/genetics/farm equipment that allow us to grow enough food to eat for everyone...All brought to you by Capitalists.  So go fucking starve to death and get off your capitalism machine and shut your cunt mouth.

They don't understand what socialism is. Because it's not that.

My water company is privately held

Infastructure and bloated programs that by all rights are failures and are bankrupting Merica. Look at how much of the budget SS and Medicare/aid suck dry.

Last I checked I paid for my internets.

Someone doesn't understand the definition of Socialism.

The same way I do all of them: "You don't multiply wealth by dividing it."

Right .A return to simple Government like before the progressives took it over is alright by me.

Said the whore. . .

It's "Promote the general welfare" not "promote the general public to be on welfare"!

Firewall blocking image, so no idea.

And the government runs most of those completely shitty.

Social Security: Unsustainable, literally a ponzi scheme.
Medicare: Unsustainable. Supplement plans available because it's coverage can be shitty.
Public Schools: Failing and shitty.
Postal Service: Outdated, inefficient, and insolvent.

The government generally does things shitty which is why the market should be allowed to do things unless there isn't another way.
Police for example deal with the law and they need to be overseen by elected officials.
Socialism wants to put the government in charge of the market forces which is asking for failure.

The meme demonstrates that moral relativism, rent-seeking and economic illiteracy are rampant and we're doomed because of these things. We've reached critical dumb mass. It also shows that govt. schools are "working" - working to remove and critical thinking, morality and economic literacy from the general populace. The only morally legitimate function of government is to protect individual rights.  With all this in mind, here we go.

1. SS and Medicare. Fine.  Forced participation and I've paid into it.  I'll gladly give it up if I can quit paying into it.  I'm also not counting on either to get me through to my dirt nap.

2. Public roads and highways.  For the most part, their existence can be justified for 2 reasons. First, for defense (again a proper function of govt, and no, I'm not placing your cul-de-sac under this - see next point).  Second, they're (supposed to be) mostly funded by gas taxes, which are for all intents and purposes use taxes.  Those using them are paying for them.

3. Public schools.  Fine.  Govt. schools have become havens for rent seekers.  I don't have kids.  If we're going to have public schools (I'm still against them), then they should be for the really poor kids and we should stop encouraging people who can't afford kids to have them.  The rest of you need to cut-back on vacations, nice cars and houses, etc. and quit expecting the rest of us to subsidize you.  The notion that kids are an entitlement has been too engrained into our society and that ship needs to be turned around.

4. Police and to some extent fire.  Functions of protecting individual rights.  Again, moral relativism at work.  Lumping this in with SS and water shows that.

5. Postal service.  I don't care if it goes away - whether or not the Constitution covers it.  At least I don't have to use it and if I do, then I pay for it.  There's still a voluntary aspect to it and I have other choices.

6. Sewer system. Some federal regs aside, sewer systems aren't nationalized.  Some people are on septic systems and public utilities generally are localized at the municipal level.  There's no reason that these couldn't be privatized to at least some extent.

As we can see from the above list, only 2 items are really proper functions of a govt. If we were in a more socialist or commie country, then the list would be longer.  It would include even more moronic sh!t like "think socialism is bad, then don't go see a doctor (oh, wait), remove your shoes from your feet..."  You get the idea.

No social security?  Check.  I don't use it and don't expect to ever.

No Medicare?  Check.   Ditto.

I drive on public roads, but I'd be ok with privatizing those, too honestly.  Eliminate all gas taxes and vehicle registration and associated car taxes in exchange for subscription roads?  I'd be ok with that.

I don't have kids and I never attended public schools.

I've never called the police or the fire department.  For that matter, I'm not counting on either to protect me from anything.

Postal service?  lol.  That seems like a contradiction in terms.

I don't use a public sewer.  I buried my own septic tank and dug my own drain field.

And the US government did not create the internet as we know it today.  Or else 99.99% of the people using it would not be.

The Founders must not have thought it too important.

By design, roads, schools, police and fire services are all pay as you go.
They serve the general public good, so were administered by the government.

Roads are paid with user taxes, gas taxes and car tabs.
Schools, police and fire services are paid with similar user taxes based on location of residency, property taxes.

And then the Socialists got into the system and fucked it all up.
They tried to apply "justice" principles, social engineering, reallocation, etc.

Social Security, in principle, should be administered similarly - self funded.
But the government reallocates the money to a variety of, usually wasteful, things.

Medicare is similar, medical costs rose rapidly putting it often out of reach of the uninsured BECAUSE the government got involved in it.

Try again.

I would encourage it.  And then lets talk about pay to play.  That should cut to the heart of the problem.

I would give up all that shit and have it privatized, in many cases it already has been and works better.

-look how bad our public roads are and that government only fixes the ones that get their construction buddies the best contracts
-I will never use Medicare/Medicaid, and it doesn't reimburse shit
-I will never see a SS check
-public schools turn your kids into Maoist retards with grandiose expectations for limited effort
-the postal service sucks, if I need to send something important I use FedEx or UPS
-my water/sewer system is semi-private already
-I'm all for privatization of Police and Fire Departments

Pay for what I use, not pay for what I don't.

Fuck your Socialist garbage.

I know quite a few posting here would be just fine with almost, if not all, of that.

Can someone post the OP's image on some other source.

As it stands right now I'd have to counter with red X's or a white rectangle.

Pretty easy actually.

Government healthcare inequitably reallocates money from some to others.  
There is not a general welfare, some receive a greater benefit than others.
The healthier you are and the higher your income, your benefit decreases as compared to the average.

Roads, police, fire, schools, etc. all provide general societal benefits equally to all citizens.

If you go beyond the introductory part of Article 1, Section 8, you will see that there are 17 enumerated powers.  None of them include single payer healthcare.  It's not hard to argue.

Something is only a valid function of govt. if it serves to protect individual rights.  Aside from the taxation to accomplish that, anything the govt does beyond that is redistributive in nature, and by definition is violating others' rights.  That's my view, but it's logically consistent.  If you don't have any business doing something, then generally speaking, neither does the govt.  Getting them to do that something for you doesn't make it right.  It makes it legal.

Socialism means government control of production.
Your friend is ignorant.

Well considering that TAXES pay for 100% of items on the list lets see how well the government is handling your money and the monies of the other 322,980,000 citizens of this country:

Social Security Un-funded liability: $14,700,647,900,000.00 and counting. That's $45,515.66 per citizen that is owed to the federal government

Medicare Un-funded liability: $27,605,199,900,000.00 and counting. That's $85,470.31 per citizen that is owed to the federal government

Public roads and highways: American Society of Civil Engineers "2013 Infrastructure Report Card" grade: D+. Estimated investment need by 2020...$3.6 Trillion or  $11,146.21 per citizen

Public school systems: The US spends more than any other country on the world on edjumacation, spending on average $11,000.00 per elementary student and $14,000.00 on average for high school students, yet we rank overall 14th in the world in performance.

Police and Fire Services: These are necessary services to promote domestic tranquility. I gladly pay taxes for these services despite tax dollars sometimes being mis-managed.

Postal Service: In the third quarter of 2015 the USPS posted a loss of $500,000,000.00. Another loss on top many years of losses and deficits that the Postal service has achieved in recent history.

Flushing the toilet: Refer to the above infrastructure report or get on a septic system.


There, that's not too hard is it?

Sources:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/oecd-education-report_n_3496875.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/american-schools-vs-the-world-expensive-unequal-bad-at-math/281983/

http://www.rstreet.org/2015/08/17/four-charts-explain-the-postal-services-financial-struggles/