by Plantagenet » Thu 13 Apr 2017, 20:01:35
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Squilliam', 'P')lant: Because they have the 'evils' of universal healthcare and high minimum wage. Two key policy positions that Bernie was going to inflict on the U.S. of A. In other respects they are quite similar.
I have to disagree with you that universal healthcare is "evil." It can work pretty well if its adequately funded but nothing is perfect---universal healthcare does have an evil tendency to ration healthcare to save money.
In any event, universal healthcare doesn't make either Canada or Australia "socialist." Socialism refers to a specific kind of economic system where the government owns most or all of what is in the private sector in capitalist countries. Both Canada and Australia have a private healthcare system operating right along side the "universal" system, so not even their total healthcare systems are socialist, much less the rest of the economy. By the way, the US also already has partly gone to government healthcare through various programs like Medicare, Medicaid, the VA system, etc. but admittedly the private sector remains much larger in the US then in Canada or Australia.
As far as universal healthcare goes, I'm with Bernie on that one. But even if Bernie had won the presidency ----as he probably would've done if the DNC hadn't cheated to throw the election to Hillary----, he probably wouldn't have been able to enact universal healthcare. The Rs would've opposed it and the vast majority of Ds oppose it as well, including the main D leaders like Obama and Hillary.
Cheers!