Keynes
2010-04-12 12:51:16 UTC
(Myths? More like LIES.)
Nine Myths about Socialism in the US
by Bill Quigley
Glenn Beck and other far right multi-millionaires are claiming that the US is
hot on the path towards socialism. Part of their claim is that the US is much
more generous and supportive of our working and poor people than other
countries. People may wish it was so, but it is not.
As Senator Patrick Moynihan used to say “Everyone is entitled to their own
opinions. But everyone is not entitled to their own facts.”
The fact is that the US is not really all that generous to our working and poor
people compared to other countries.
Consider the US in comparison to the rest of the 30 countries that join the US
in making up the OECD – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. These 30 countries include Canada and most comparable European
countries but also include some struggling countries like Czech Republic,
Greece, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Turkey. See
www.oecd.org
When you look at how the US compares to these 30 countries, the hot air myths
about the US government going all out towards socialism sort of disappear into
thin air. Here are some examples of myths that do not hold up.
Myth #1. The US government is involved in class warfare attacking the rich to
lift up the poor.
There is a class war going on all right. But it is the rich against the rest of
us and the rich are winning. The gap between the rich and everyone else is wider
in the US than any of the 30 other countries surveyed. In fact, the top 10% in
the US have a higher annual income than any other country. And the poorest 10%
in the US are below the average of the other OECD countries. The rich in the
U.S. have been rapidly leaving the middle class and poor behind since the 1980s.
Myth #2. The US already has the greatest health care system in the world.
Infant mortality in the US is 4th worst among OECD countries – better only than
Mexico, Turkey and the Slovak Republic.
Myth #3. There is less poverty in the US than anywhere.
Child poverty in the US, at over 20% or one out of every five kids, is double
the average of the 30 OECD countries.
Myth #4. The US is generous in its treatment of families with children.
The US ranks in the bottom half of countries in terms of financial benefits for
families with children. Over half of the 30 OECD countries pay families with
children cash benefits regardless of the income of the family. Some among those
countries (e.g. Austria, France and Germany) pay additional benefits if the
family is low-income, or one of the parents is unemployed.
Myth #5. The US is very supportive of its workers.
The US gives no paid leave for working mothers having children. Every single one
of the other 30 OECD countries has some form of paid leave. The US ranks dead
last in this. Over two thirds of the countries give some form of paid paternity
leave. The US also gives no paid leave for fathers.
In fact, it is only workers in the US who have no guaranteed days of paid leave
at all. Korea is the next lowest to the US and it has a minimum of 8 paid annual
days of leave. Most of the other 30 countries require a minimum of 20 days of
annual paid leave for their workers.
Myth #6. Poor people have more chance of becoming rich in the US than anywhere
else.
Social mobility (how children move up or down the economic ladder in comparison
with their parents) in earnings, wages and education tends to be easier in
Australia, Canada and Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway, and Finland, than
in the US. That means more of the rich stay rich and more of the poor stay poor
here in the US.
Myth #7. The US spends generously on public education.
In terms of spending for public education, the US is just about average among
the 30 countries of the OECD. Educational achievement of US children, however,
is 7th worst in the OECD. On public spending for childcare and early education,
the US is in the bottom third.
Myth #8. The US government is redistributing income from the rich to the poor.
There is little redistribution of income by government in the U.S. in part
because spending on social benefits like unemployment and family benefits is so
low. Of the 30 countries in the OECD, only in Korea is the impact of
governmental spending lower.
Myth #9. The US generously gives foreign aid to countries across the world.
The US gives the smallest percentage of aid of any of the developed countries in
the OECD. In 2007 the US was tied for last with Greece. In 2008, we were tied
for last with Japan.
Despite the opinions of right wing folks, the facts say the US is not on the
path towards socialism.
But if socialism means the US would go down the path of being more generous with
our babies, our children, our working families, our pregnant mothers, and our
sisters and brothers across the world, I think we could all appreciate it.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/10
Nine Myths about Socialism in the US
by Bill Quigley
Glenn Beck and other far right multi-millionaires are claiming that the US is
hot on the path towards socialism. Part of their claim is that the US is much
more generous and supportive of our working and poor people than other
countries. People may wish it was so, but it is not.
As Senator Patrick Moynihan used to say “Everyone is entitled to their own
opinions. But everyone is not entitled to their own facts.”
The fact is that the US is not really all that generous to our working and poor
people compared to other countries.
Consider the US in comparison to the rest of the 30 countries that join the US
in making up the OECD – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. These 30 countries include Canada and most comparable European
countries but also include some struggling countries like Czech Republic,
Greece, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Turkey. See
www.oecd.org
When you look at how the US compares to these 30 countries, the hot air myths
about the US government going all out towards socialism sort of disappear into
thin air. Here are some examples of myths that do not hold up.
Myth #1. The US government is involved in class warfare attacking the rich to
lift up the poor.
There is a class war going on all right. But it is the rich against the rest of
us and the rich are winning. The gap between the rich and everyone else is wider
in the US than any of the 30 other countries surveyed. In fact, the top 10% in
the US have a higher annual income than any other country. And the poorest 10%
in the US are below the average of the other OECD countries. The rich in the
U.S. have been rapidly leaving the middle class and poor behind since the 1980s.
Myth #2. The US already has the greatest health care system in the world.
Infant mortality in the US is 4th worst among OECD countries – better only than
Mexico, Turkey and the Slovak Republic.
Myth #3. There is less poverty in the US than anywhere.
Child poverty in the US, at over 20% or one out of every five kids, is double
the average of the 30 OECD countries.
Myth #4. The US is generous in its treatment of families with children.
The US ranks in the bottom half of countries in terms of financial benefits for
families with children. Over half of the 30 OECD countries pay families with
children cash benefits regardless of the income of the family. Some among those
countries (e.g. Austria, France and Germany) pay additional benefits if the
family is low-income, or one of the parents is unemployed.
Myth #5. The US is very supportive of its workers.
The US gives no paid leave for working mothers having children. Every single one
of the other 30 OECD countries has some form of paid leave. The US ranks dead
last in this. Over two thirds of the countries give some form of paid paternity
leave. The US also gives no paid leave for fathers.
In fact, it is only workers in the US who have no guaranteed days of paid leave
at all. Korea is the next lowest to the US and it has a minimum of 8 paid annual
days of leave. Most of the other 30 countries require a minimum of 20 days of
annual paid leave for their workers.
Myth #6. Poor people have more chance of becoming rich in the US than anywhere
else.
Social mobility (how children move up or down the economic ladder in comparison
with their parents) in earnings, wages and education tends to be easier in
Australia, Canada and Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway, and Finland, than
in the US. That means more of the rich stay rich and more of the poor stay poor
here in the US.
Myth #7. The US spends generously on public education.
In terms of spending for public education, the US is just about average among
the 30 countries of the OECD. Educational achievement of US children, however,
is 7th worst in the OECD. On public spending for childcare and early education,
the US is in the bottom third.
Myth #8. The US government is redistributing income from the rich to the poor.
There is little redistribution of income by government in the U.S. in part
because spending on social benefits like unemployment and family benefits is so
low. Of the 30 countries in the OECD, only in Korea is the impact of
governmental spending lower.
Myth #9. The US generously gives foreign aid to countries across the world.
The US gives the smallest percentage of aid of any of the developed countries in
the OECD. In 2007 the US was tied for last with Greece. In 2008, we were tied
for last with Japan.
Despite the opinions of right wing folks, the facts say the US is not on the
path towards socialism.
But if socialism means the US would go down the path of being more generous with
our babies, our children, our working families, our pregnant mothers, and our
sisters and brothers across the world, I think we could all appreciate it.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/10