I prefer, whenever possible, to deal in specifics. Let's take "spread the wealth".
Let's pretend I earn $1,000,000 per year, and you earn $50,000. Now, if President Obama were proposing "socialism", he would collect that $1,050,000, tax it at 50%, divide what was left, and you and I would each take home $262,500. Pretty good deal for you, not a great deal for me. Now let's look at the "conservative" proposal of a flat tax: everyone pays 35% of what they earn. That means you take home $32,500, and I take home $650,000. Great deal for me, not so great for you.
Now under current law, people who earn around $50,000 pay about 18% in taxes, while the income bracket over $250,000 pays at 35% (used to be 39%, until the previous administration lowered it). That means that if you earn $250,000, you pay 35%, and if you earn $1,000,000, you pay 35%. But I earn $1,000,000, so under current law, I take home $650,000. You earn $50,000, so you take home $41,000. So right now, under current law, I take home what I'd take home under a flat tax, and you take home $8,500 extra.
But we're in a recession! Incomes are down, so tax revenues are down. The Government needs money to continue funding our military, keep our roads from falling apart, keep our schools open, keep the power grid up. Where are we gonna get that money from? Well, we can go with the flat tax, and take an extra $8,500 from your budget. That's the "conservative" road. Or, cut spending. We can close some schools, pack 50 kids into a classroom. Damaged roads cause more fatalities, but we can't afford to fix them, right?
Or, we can do what President Obama and the Democrats propose. We can roll back the tax cuts on the over $250,000 earners, and the government will collect an extra $40,000 from me. Don't worry, I'll be fine. At $610,000 take home, I'm still bringing home more than 14 times what you are. And some "socialist" democrats even want to create a new tax bracket for millionaires, so anyone earning over $1,000,000 would pay at a 42% or 43% rate. So under that plan, I'm bringing home $530,000, and you're bringing home $41,000.
So let's recap. Under the most liberal plan out there, I'm bringing home almost thirteen times what you are. Hardly "socialism", is it?
Now, shall we discuss Healthcare?
