Why Obama is so bad and why Europe loves him

[DarkFish]

Neither do I.
You mean that XabbaRus, Biggles (who is a Swede, for the gods' sake) and I are all ignorant about Swedish and Norwegian politics?
You can't be serious.

[krashkart]

Remember that the words "socialism" and "socialist" are still scary words here. For some reason.

[XabbaRus]

I guess that must be what is meant.

I didn't know that socialist immediately meant single party undemocratic state.

[Puster Bill]

If you are a European and you can't understand why the United States is the way it is, remember that it's a country largely made up of people who are descendants of people who *LEFT* Europe, often for *VERY* good reasons.

And while the track record of Europe as a whole isn't too bad for the last, say 20 years or so, if you go back farther than that, it starts looking a lot less rosy than it does today. Go back to within living memory, and Europe starts looking like a place to avoid at all costs.

[Happy Times]

One reason that public education and health care are widely aproved in Europe is because of the homogenius nation states we use to have.

I dont think you can take that same model to the US and the model is living its final days in Europe also.
There are studies about this, the more diverse the popultation gets there is less will for public funding of anything.

Because of the changing demographics with aging population and dissolving of the nation states, the public funding is coming to end in Europe also.

Im personally ready to continue Finnish public education and health care in principal.
I see them also an investment that saves or produces, but lot of the byrocracy have to be dissolved.

Other parts of the welfare state are something mostly we cant afford in the future.
The large byrocracy of pencil pushers dont produce anything, the large group of welfare leeches sucks the help from those that really need it etc..

After cutting these away i would make the focus of public funding to support and encourage working families to have more children, that would also be an investment to our future and money well spent.

[XabbaRus]

Puster I understand completely what you mean.

What I don't understand is when someone makes the throwaway comment 'blissful ignorance' especially when it is someone who seems to have an axe to grind at anything remotely 'social' in its operation.

I was just asking bubblhead1980 to elaborate.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

blissful ignorance is more like it.

I hate saying it, but as a people , we are a fairly ignorant lot. You just don't realize it until you spend some time overseas and have to interact with people from a different country.

Originally Posted by krashkart

Remember that the words "socialism" and "socialist" are still scary words here. For some reason.

The word Socialism here, is synonymous with the word communism in meaning or intent. Communism, is still considered the literal definition of an evil state. The cold war still has some deep roots in American society. Communism, by virtue of said cold war roots, is considered the anti-thesis of what it is to be American. IE, "soviet red", "mother russia", "russian bear" the "soviet bloc", etc etc. So to say something is socialsm or socialist, is, in the American phsycic, the ultimate in political derogatory remarks.

Originally Posted by Puster Bill

If you are a European and you can't understand why the United States is the way it is, remember that it's a country largely made up of people who are descendants of people who *LEFT* Europe, often for *VERY* good reasons.

Good point. I'd suffix that to say we are now also largely made up of people who have left Mexico.

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by Puster Bill

If you are a European and you can't understand why the United States is the way it is, remember that it's a country largely made up of people who are descendants of people who *LEFT* Europe, often for *VERY* good reasons.

Very good reasons maybe, but only rarely socialism.

And while the track record of Europe as a whole isn't too bad for the last, say 20 years or so, if you go back farther than that, it starts looking a lot less rosy than it does today. Go back to within living memory, and Europe starts looking like a place to avoid at all costs.

Euhm, wait a minute, you've been clearly reading some very strange history books. Everything I've heard from my parents/grandparents/uncles/aunts etc. tells a very different story.