The US does in some ways have a hybrid system, in that many of our social programs, even the Earned Income Credit, remind people of socialism and its advocacy of income redistribution. I think where a lot of people are worried about socialism is more in the context of dictating how businesses are run. I'm in this camp. The minute we allow the government to dictate who is in management roles or on the boards of directors, then I get pretty black and white myself.
I'm not in that camp. There are countries we could learn from, Canada is one of them, but the US has always been such a unique place, and often not in a good way. For example, what other countries have the equivalent of "Italian Americans", or "African Americans", or "Chinese Americans"? Is there such a concept anywhere else? What other country is where budding entrepreneurs want to live? What other large country has to live with such a history of slavery and discrimination, and yet still refuses to come to grips with it? (Don't say Germany, we should do so well.) I think the US has been exceptional in some ways, like our history at attempts in nation-building to create allies rather than colonies, but we're also just different in some ways I'd rather we not be.
The "corporate welfare" was in the interest of saving jobs and the "status quo". Many politicians of the day were convinced that the US economic systems could not function without the financial leaders or the companies that provided esoteric financial instruments and markets. I think a lot of the people that knowingly caused the problems should have gone to prison. The Bush and Obama administrations just had no taste for such a cleansing.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/12/the-education-of-david-stockman/305760/
Please reread what I said. I wasn't saying that France and Italy despised the US, I said they despised rich people, even their own. In Italy, for example, Ferrari is a matter of national pride. These are cars that (in the US) have an entry level of about $250,000, and go way up from there. Or even Prada and Armani? I just find it weird that a country which is one of the premier providers of luxury goods on the planet try to tax their own wealthy citizens to a degree that these industries can't survive without an export market. France is just as confusing in this regard.
I've been to several European countries, and I never felt any contempt for Americans as individuals. Well, maybe once in Spain. Of course, I haven't been to Europe since the start of the Trump administration.
The only European political entity I'm aware of that does seem to have contempt for the US is the EU government in Brussels. It is annoying to watch the incessant fining of US companies over silly anti-competitive claims, as if anything a company creates of value suddenly becomes a national resource subject to government management. IMO, US companies are only successful in the EU because EU citizens want them to be. Slapping Google around is not a strategy for creating successful EU-based competitors.
We have lost our minds. And I don't think we're done being stupid yet for a long time.
