Can We Have Socialism in America
We currently have a few Democrats pushing a socialist agenda in America. What countries in the world claim to be socialist? The countries currently following the Marxist-Leninist principles are the Laos People's Democratic Republic, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
When we look at countries such as these, I don’t think they are countries our own country, the United States of America, would wish to emulate. Are there socialist nations that remain capitalist we may like to examine to see how they work?
Some partially socialistic countries are Norway, Sweden and Denmark. These Nordic capitalistic countries have become so successful they are able, through taxation, to have very benevolent programs run by the government. Among these are healthcare, education, and caring for the poor and disadvantaged. This of course sounds great. Any country that provides universal healthcare and education to any level the individual wishes to achieve will always be more successful than a country that cannot take care of its own.
Currently the United States is among the latter. We have become a country no longer able to care for its own. It is very likely if you are poor or elderly you may not have health care. Compared to Norway in 2016 with 3,909 homeless, that number is dwarfed by the city of Phoenix, Arizona with 11,314 homeless in 2014. In 2018 there were over 500,000 homeless in the United States. Could it be foreclosures, evictions and job losses put them there? Are any of us far away from that? On average, only 15 people sleep on the streets of Oslo, the capital of Norway, per night.
Why does the richest capitalist country in the world have such trouble caring for people in need? I think perhaps it boils down to one thing.
We have far too many special interest groups running nearly everything in the United States of America. Our gigantic insurance companies have perverse incentives to make more and more money. The more a surgeon charges for his surgery, the more money the insurance company makes. They love surgeons and physicians who overcharge. Most doctors today have jobs in which they answer to corporations. They are paid by how much money they put on the books. In fact, if they do not put enough money on the books, they will get the proverbial pink slip.
It is so sad that a compassionate profession such as medicine, once so highly esteemed in our country, no longer has the sympathetic touch. Everything has become long distance with doctors spending more FaceTime on their computers than face to face with their patients.
I personally cannot remember the last time I saw a doctor sitting on a patient’s bed holding their hand and telling them about their day and asking their patient how their own day went. Tell me, does that happen anymore? Can the richest country in the world find the answers? Will we find solutions before corporate greed kills this once great nation?
God bless America God bless you all from the Maverick Doctor,
Rick R. Redalen, M.D.
Pick up a copy of my book “God’s Tiniest Angel and the Last Unicorn,” available on Amazon.
Dr. Rick is a retired American physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has done mission work around the country and around the world. He is now on a mission to improve healthcare in America. Visit maverickdoctor.com or email him at rickr@maverickdoctor.com.