Mohamed Younis, Gallop: Four in 10 Americans Embrace Some Form of Socialism
* 43% of Americans say socialism would be a good thing for the country
* 51% believe socialism would be a bad thing for the country
* Americans split on viewing economy as free market or government controlled
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans today are more closely divided than they were earlier in the last century when asked whether some form of socialism would be a good or bad thing for the country. While 51% of U.S. adults say socialism would be a bad thing for the country, 43% believe it would be a good thing. Those results contrast with a 1942 Roper/Fortune survey that found 40% describing socialism as a bad thing, 25% a good thing and 34% not having an opinion.
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Update: Young Americans Want Socialism (March 10, 2019)
WNU Editor: This is a growing trend.
3 comments:
Even in a healthy economy there is a need for some social programs and as the people lose ground in the economic world the need for social programs increases. 30 million are unable to afford healthcare and should Trump be successful in eliminating Obama's healthcare program another 22 million will join that crowd.
When you trap a vicious animal in a corner, even a small thing like a rat will attack. It is always best to give the trapped a way out, a way to survive.
When the destitute reached a critical mass the French monarchy toppled because it failed to look after the people. There is a lesson there that should not be ignored.
Agreed. Unless you're a multi millionaire, you're not really in a safe spot. One major health care expense can easily wipe out several hundred thousand in one go and many on eg oncology/cancer drugs will need that kind of money to just stay alive for 5-10 years.
Then the random layoffs (everyone gets pulled statistically at least 2-3 times during time of employment, some more often still), the fear of being sued in the US is also crippling to small business owners, then the student loan debt - the only debt you cannot default on (you can go shopping like a maniac but don't you dare spend money on education and lose a job.. there's no way out for you then)
I think 2020 will be hard to won for Trump even despite the superficially very good market data. The people are not benefiting from a billionaire becoming richer..
The middle class is a nightmare not a dream any longer. And being poor in a hyper self promoting Instagram/superficial world is not exactly good on your mind either.
There was a dreadful period in the early 1980s when interest rates soared due to baby boomer demand for products and houses. At that time companies hard pressed dumped staff like crazy. Some of it was due to the increase in automation and electronics that eliminated a lot of lower level jobs, but it also hit management, some of it senior.
At that time on the GO Train I overheard a conversation where two people working for large companies discussed how they chose who was to go, who was to stay. One company making the assumption that all their people were good employees simply flipped a coin. Heads they got rid of everyone whose employee number ended in an even vs odd number. At the time I thought, what would the company look like if the person in HR who gave out the employee numbers, for whatever reason, decided to give odd to men, even to women.
A guy I worked with lived in a wealthy area. He had older teenage kids. One of his sons friends was unable to handle the social pressure when his dad lost his job, the house was foreclosed upon and he and his sister lost their credit cards. The friend, 18 years old committed suicide.
Improvements in healthcare also put a strain on the workforce as people who would have died or become "disabled" following some debilitating disease that would have opened jobs up for the younger generation, were "cured" and went back to those jobs.
In effect over the last 50/60 years what had been a 3 generational economy became a 3 and a half to 4 generational economy. This at a time when jobs were being eliminated through improved healthcare and technological advancement. It is sad that govenmemet chose that period to mate up with the East and send the jobs including the future ones based on technological development, away.
The US in particular, wasted and still wastes needed borrowed money, for home improvements, on wars that gain nothing.
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