Has anyone here........................
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Has anyone here........................
| Wed, 10-29-2008 - 6:14pm |
I'm a lurker, I read the posts often. Sometimes, I agree and sometimes, not. But, I am always interested. So, with all the discussion of spreading the wealth around,

I'm going to counter by asking you a question.
How many former communist countries completely emulate the United States, or even go beyond, by not having Social Security, unemployment insurance, or completely private medical care?
And the companion question is how many of the former communist countries instead have political, social, and economic structures that instead resemble the rest of Europe, the Europe that the American right wing loves to categorize as "socialist"?
And, if they do follow the European model, is the reason they do so because there is absolutely NO similarity between European socialism and communism, despite the repeated attempts by the American right wing to link the two?
dablacksox
Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.
dablacksox
Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.
I have lived in a number of socialist-style countries.
Great questions. It didn't answer my post but, it's given me something interesting to think about. I don't know how well I can answer them. I might have to think about them a little while and ask my dh, Nick.
Having lived in a former USSR country and England, I would say that I tend to view Communist & Socialist countries through my slightly tilted "American" eye-glasses & my husband, who grew up in the former USSR, views them (& America) through his "soviet" eye-glasses. This election season has caused many spirited debates in our house. ;-D
I don't know if this answers your questions very well. But, after the fall of the USSR, there was little change in the every day life of the people. Social Services stayed pretty much the same. But, due to economic crisis, there were less medications, food and so on. My husband's family savings almost completely disappeared over night.
Most European Countries do very well. But, I have no
Deven, homeschooling mommy of Kol, Jul, Elle, Liv & baby #5 due 11/16. Three Sweethearts in Heaven;
;-P Not bad for 11 years of marriage!http://fromthedepthsofacreativeheart.w
I lived in Israel for two years, with a Kibbutznik boyfriend, and I lived in Romania not too long after the fall of communism.
I thought true communal living was pretty cool, cool enough that I'm really longing to join the co-housing community that just opened in my city.
See I agree with you. We don't have enough people in the health care field.
Free health care sounds great but I've seen it in practice and it's not. Don't get me wrong. It's ok for the everyday. For the healthy person. But, what about those with serious problems.
Don't even start me on rest homes or orphanges.
Besides, if someone is getting paid regardless of if they provide you service or not, why are they going to care?How many government employed workers strive for excellence?
Some do, I know. But the good ones become burned out taking up the slack for the bad.
Deven, homeschooling mommy of Kol, Jul, Elle, Liv & baby #5 due 11/16. Three Sweethearts in Heaven;
;-P Not bad for 11 years of marriage!http://fromthedepthsofacreativeheart.w
Make sure you have a really great relationship with your doctor.
Deven, homeschooling mommy of Kol, Jul, Elle, Liv & baby #5 due 11/16. Three Sweethearts in Heaven;
;-P Not bad for 11 years of marriage!http://fromthedepthsofacreativeheart.w