Was the Bush Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Socialist?

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Actually, I think this thread is well timed - the point Sam was making has been given many times here, but it's nice to see it illustrated by a past proposal, especially one from a republican administration. I'm not sure why fatty got his panties in a wad.

 

The Prescription Drug Plan isn't socalist because no one's paying for it.

 

Understanding socialism to be the communal or state ownership of the engines of wealth-generation, subsidizing pharmaceuticals is not socialism. However, it is common to talk about the application of costs to all of society even if the benefits are not equally shared as "socialized." The government's backing of Sallie Mae was a privatization of profit while the risk remained socialized, for example. I think you can characterize that model as socialist in nature -- to each according to his need, from each according to his ability -- even though that alone wouldn't make a economic system socialism.

With that understanding, lots of stuff we do is socialized. National defense, fire protection, crime prevention, infrastructure, green space, etc are all socialized. And, we socialize costs through mechanisms other than government too.