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Classroom Socialism

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by freeatlast, Jan 31, 2012.

  1. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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    Classroom Socialism

    That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

    The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

    All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.

    He substituted grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all.

    After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

    The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

    As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

    The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

    When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

    As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased.

    Bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

    To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail as well.

    When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

    It could not be any simpler than that.

    Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.

    These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

    1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

    2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

    3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

    4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

    5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

    If you think your children and grandchildren need to understand these principles, consider forwarding this message to them.
     
  2. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    Here is another FAL:

    No government can create wealth by printing more money.

    HankD
     
  3. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    Please define "wealth." Is it not equivalent to property and an IOU for goods and services?

    Please define "money." Is it not a book keeping convenience? Or an IOU for goods and services?
     
  4. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    Wealth
    noun
    1. a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches: the wealth of a city.
    2. an abundance or profusion of anything; plentiful amount: a wealth of imagery.
    3. Economics .
    a. all things that have a monetary or exchange value.
    b. anything that has utility and is capable of being appropriated or exchanged.
    4. rich or valuable contents or produce: the wealth of the soil.
    5. the state of being rich; prosperity; affluence: persons of wealth and standing.

    Money
    noun
    1. any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demanddeposits.
    2. gold, silver, or other metal in pieces of convenient form stamped by public authority and issued as a medium of exchange and measure of value.
    3. any article or substance used as a medium of exchange, measure of wealth, or means of payment, as checks on demand deposit or cowrie.
    4. a particular form or denomination of currency. gold, silver, or other metal in pieces of convenient form stamped by public authority and issued as a medium of exchange and measure of value.

    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wealth
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/money
     
    #4 HankD, Feb 1, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2012
  5. FR7 Baptist

    FR7 Baptist Active Member

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    This is a very misleading caricature of socialism. As an advocate of social democracy, I want to fairly compensate people for their work.
     
  6. mandym

    mandym New Member

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    No its not.
     
  7. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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    Something most of us do not have. :laugh:
     
  8. targus

    targus New Member

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    The problem is who gets to decide what "fairly compensate" means?

    And how does one go about "fairly compensating" someone?

    You want to be a lawyer. How much should a lawyer be compensated?

    And if you work hard and make more than that amount do we get to just take the difference from you?

    What if you are a bad or lazy lawyer and make less? Do we all have to kick in to subsidize you?
     
  9. Oldtimer

    Oldtimer New Member

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    All summer I work hard in my garden to grow tomatoes. Wiping sweat as I pull weeds, tote buckets of water, and do all the other chores to get a harvest.

    Neighbor across the street sits on his porch and watches me work. He won't lend me a hand because I can't pay him what he thinks he's worth. He doesn't want callouses on the tender hands holding his iced tea. So, he sits in the shade and watches.

    Come harvest time, he's there at my garden with bucket in hand. "Social democracy" expects me to fill his bucket. Doesn't matter that I'm sharing the tomatoes with the widow down the street. He is "entitled" to his "fair" share of my efforts.

    On a side note: A local farmer hires migrant workers for the summer. Asked if I could get them to do a couple of days work for me when they weren't busy on his farm. Said that would be fine, but I must pay them their hourly contract rate. A rate considerably higher than minimum wage.

    Because I couldn't afford to pay that rate, I didn't get the work done and they didn't have the opportunity to earn what I could afford to pay them. "Social democracy" and both of us lost.
     
  10. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    On a similar note, I received a piece of mail for farmers from Uncle Sam.
    It was a lengthy questionaire about my agricutural abilities.

    Among other things it said I was required by law to fill it out and return it.

    I am not a farmer but somehow Uncle found out that I have chickens (for eggs) as many of the questions were about poultry and any profit I may have made (I don't sell them but occassionaly give the surplus eggs away).

    There were many questions concerning other things that are IMO none of their business.

    But for a good witness, we filled it out and returned it.

    I understand that soon we will have to bar-code and report any products which we grow even for private use.

    Hopefully this is just an urban legend rumor, but then again they are after my eggs.
    Guess I will have to give my fair share of eggs to the recipients of their choice.

    HankD
     
  11. just-want-peace

    just-want-peace Well-Known Member
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    Just replace "LIBERALISM" with "SOCIALISM" and my sig line still stands!!!!
     
  12. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    (Wealth) Something most of us do not have.

    Why not? Government and labor unions getting in your way?
     
  13. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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    :confused::confused::confused:
     
  14. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    But Bill, wealth by whose measure?

    Sure we all (myself included) want more but after after hearing and seeing the plight of so many people world-wide even the economic lower class in America has an "abundance" and even beyond.

    A certain missionary from Haiti came to our church and gave an account of going on a trip with some national pastors to view the poverty and suffering in the Haitian countryside.

    As it got later in the day (evening) the missionary asked about food as they hadn't eaten anything all day.

    His answer was "But pastor you don't have to eat every day".

    That is - not miss a meal or two but go without food for more than a day at a time (although it wouldn't hurt me to miss a few) as normal.

    HankD
     
  15. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    >Sure we all (myself included) want more but after after hearing and seeing the plight of so many people world-wide even the economic lower class in America has an "abundance" and even beyond.

    Some things can't be given away but must be fought for such as freedom and one's share of the pie.
     
  16. Spear

    Spear New Member

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    Omniscience ? For sure, not modesty ...

    Nope, but you can bring them the minimum, and equip them, so that they have the possibility to reach it (education, training, food ....).

    Yes, and it's a matter of mind. One day, I'll retire, and maybe i'll be sick. I'll be then glad that other allow me to go to hospital and be healed. Of course, I agree that people smoking, or eating rubbish and the becoming obese, cost more to the system, and some might think they should not be taken in charge by the system, but i accept that.

    Same here. Maybe some think that people are naturally " charity minded ", but i don't think so. The government, neutral, takes a little to give a little to those who're in need, no matter if they're christian or not. Maybe one day some of us will be happy to receive.

    Same as 1.

    The good old ghost of the welfare state : it makes you lazy.

    Are purely liberal countries in better shape, very very far in economics than any " so-called socialist " country ? No.

    The subprimes crisis didn't come from a socialist process ....

    I don't believe in pure socialism (and yes, some are overusing the system to profit from those who work, and it makes me angry), I don't believe in pure liberalism (it's not as easy as to say " you've got and own what you deserve " in the reality). I believe the right way is in the middle.
     
  17. Matt Black

    Matt Black Well-Known Member
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    Same here. BTW, I presume you mean by 'liberalism', the 'classic', more European definition ie: what Americans would call 'libertarianism'..?
     
  18. Spear

    Spear New Member

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    Hey Matt :)

    I don't know, i think so, i realize that all these times i read " liberals " on these forums, it had nothing to do with economic liberalism :). Is it an american " translation ", or do you in UK use liberalism too for the " market rules everything " (Adam Smith, Ricardo ...) ?
     
    #18 Spear, Feb 10, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 10, 2012
  19. Matt Black

    Matt Black Well-Known Member
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    I think in the US, 'liberal' has now been silently prefixed with the word 'social', meaning that an American liberal will be in favour of same-sex marriage, abortion etc. They will also tend to be in favour of a more interventionist government economically ie: the precise economic antithesis of the sort of classical liberalism advocated by Smith, Ricardo, John Stuart Mill etc. 'Liberal' in the US from an economic POV tends to mean what we would call 'social democrat' er even 'socialist'.
     
  20. mandym

    mandym New Member

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    Or maybe, just maybe, you could work hard and save and provide for yourself.
     
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