Taking the Pledge?

I received a fairly clever email recently in which the unknown author (if you know who wrote it, I'll be happy to attribute it) deflates the Right-wing rhetoric which disparagingly refers to the recent health care reform as "socialized medicine."  The email is in the form of a pledge to avoid a lengthy list of other "socialist" services (the email is at the end of this post).

In the US, the term "socialized medicine" came into common use in the late 1940s as part of the American Medical Association's opposition to President Harry Truman's health-care initiative. The original use of the term referred to health care systems in which the government operates health care facilities and employs health care providers, such as the British National Health Service.  More recently, the term has been expanded to refer to virtually any publicly funded health care system.  It's clearly used as a derogatory term, playing on the irrational fear of "socialism" in the US.  And it was part of the successful defeat of efforts to expand health care to a broader segment of the US population for decades.

I found the email humorous because it pokes holes in the socialist "boogie man" -  as pointed out by Wikipedia:  "Most industrialized countries, and many developing countries, operate some form of publicly-funded health care with universal coverage as the goal. According to the Institute of Medicine and others, the United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care."   The term "socialized medicine" has become a ridiculous pejorative because it considers that shared responsibility and shared support is somehow bad.   That is, public funding of health care is bad because it is based on some sort of "socialist" model in which citizens pool resources (taxes) to provide health care to all citizens, rather than the capitalist approach of "every man for himself."

The fact is, shared resources and shared benefits are part of daily life of most Americans, but we don't think of them that way and we don't call them socialist. It seems clear that most Americans wouldn't consider such shared benefits as indoor plumbing attached to working public water and sewer systems a bad thing.   And Medicare.   And products of National Public Television like Sesame Street.  And highway rest areas.  And police, fire, and emergency services.

At any rate, here's the text of the email; see how many of these shared activities and benefits you're willing to forego.

I, ________________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:
I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

Social Security
Medicare/Medicaid
State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
US Postal Service
Roads and Highways
Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
The US Railway System
Public Subways and Metro Systems
Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
Rest Areas on Highways
Sidewalks
All Government-Funded Local/State Projects. This means every single road that is not a toll road is off limits to my use.
Public Drinking Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
Public and State Universities and Colleges
Public Primary and Secondary Schools
Sesame Street
Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
Public Museums
Libraries
Public Parks and Beaches
State and National Parks
Public Zoos
Unemployment Insurance
Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government grant or research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape, heart monitors/defibrillators and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
Use of the Internet, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops that were grown with, fed with, raised with or that contain inputs from crops grown with government subsidies.
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forgo my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care.
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of free-admission/taxpayer subsidized socialist locations, including but not limited to:
Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
The socialist Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Jefferson Monuments
The government-operated Statue of Liberty
The Grand Canyon and all national/state/regional/local parks, forests and monuments
The socialist World War II, Korean and Vietnam Veterans Memorials in every town
The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC. This also includes Post Offices, fire departments, police departments, public schools, libraries and zoos.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF ____________ IN THE YEAR 2010

SIGNATURE:

Wonder Where The Money Went...

Remember that old toothpaste jingle?   "You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent?"  Well, you should wonder where the money went, when your government raided the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF).  Hum it to the tune of "Liar Liar Pants On Fire."  

This article outlines what happened to $1.37 TRILLION of SSTF money during the GW Bush Presidency.   Despite his repeated campaign promises, the President raided the fund throughout his entire Administration, creating a giant hole in the ability of the fund to meet it's obligations to America's workers.

But nothing changed with the inauguration of George W. Bush. Despite his pledge to protect the Social Security money, Bush spent every dime of Social Security surplus revenue that came in during his presidency. He used it to fund his big tax cuts for the rich, and much of it was spent on wars.

Bush maintained his fictional support for protecting these funds until 2005, until his new goal was privatization of the Social Security System. Perhaps he thought admitting the fund was depleted might bolster his push to hand the rest of it to Wall Street.  

The most upsetting part of this story is the fact that while the media covered the status of the Trust Fund fairly closely during the 2000 Presidential campaigns, the story failed to generate interest later, when the American people thought the raiding was history and the fund was safe.   It most assuredly was not.