Food for thought...

A friend of mine on Astromart, yes I consider all of you here friends, recently said the following:

"I also really believe that things we need to keep us alive should be socialized."

I am curious as to what exactly those "things" are?

Is it possible we can have a debate on this without going off topic?

In my view these are things we need vs. want in the order of priority:

Clean air (Need)
Clean water (Need)
Food (Need)
Shelter (Need)
Clothing (Need)

To me, pretty much everything else would fall into the "Want" catagory...

What say all of you?

Actually with the problems of obesity in this country I'd say Food has long been placed in the "Want" category.

And if you've seen my wife's closet, Clothing should classify as "want" as well.

David E

Neglecting the question whether necessities should be socialized--

The [air,water,food,shelter,clothing] set-- In our heavy-populated world situation, supply of all except air will break down if there is insufficient energy. If you are hungry at location X and there are mega-tons of free food 500 miles away at location Y, then the food may as well not exist if you don't have energy for transport. Perhaps energy is a prerequisite need to make others on the list possible.

Wouldn't Civil Order be closer to a need than a want? It isn't impossible to grow crops or build shelter in a war zone or "road warrior anarchy" zone, but the task certainly is more challenging in a state of civil disorder.

Every resource has a finite supply, and every need (aka demand) has some cost associated with it. The best, most efficient way we know to match supply and demand is through the actions of a free marketplace where buyers and sellers interact to set a price and conduct business.

Socialism usually sets aside the market and attempts to replace it with bureaucratic edict. History teaches that the socialist method does not work efficiently, and it stops working completely when the bureaucrats run out of money - typically money they have taken from others.

We don't need to socialize these things. We simply need to create a category of crime called "Economic Treason." All of the most egregious acts that CEOs have taken that adversely affect the welfare of the United States would be covered. The criminal penalties could be almost the same as for the current crime of treason with perhaps a sliding scale based on impact.

Undermine industry by falsifying quarterly earnings -- DEATH
Zero your training budget and outsource to H1B workers -- 20 yrs.
Close your Mfg Plant to Produce Overseas & Dodge EPA/OSHA Regs -- 20 yrs.
Hire and Illegal Alien to Mow Your Lawn -- 6 Months Fed. Pen.

If we use the law to communicate with our corporate leaders, eventually, they will get their minds right...