Subj : Socialist "Democrats"
To   : ROB MCCART
From : Mike Powell
Date : Sat Nov 29 2025 17:47:13

> RM> > They always used to say that young people were Liberals and,
>   > > as they got older, turned into Conservatives..

> MP>The ones I have kept "in touch" with (on FB) did not turn conservative.
> They
>   >re mostly "left" of "Liberal" and still very much are.  ;)

> Really.. Often once they get out there and start making money, and trying
> to make enough to have a good life, they realize that the less socialist
> systems give a lot more room for advancement. The idea of treating
> everyone the same no matter how bad they are also treats those who are
> exceptional worse than they deserve due to Union Contracts and such.

Very much really.  Although at least some of them did seem to be fairly, if
not exceptionally, intelligent, I am under the impression that most all of
them underachieved (and some by a great deal).

> In a True communist setup, people are evaluated at a very young age
> and trained to do a job they are naturally going to be talented at.

I honestly think that this part is not necessarily a bad idea.  *IF* used
properly, it could prevent a lot of people from getting useless degrees in
things that they have no talent at and/or will never be in much demand.

> Everyone is expected to do a fair day's work and all are given the
> same living conditions regardless of their actual job, but that's the
> fantasy. Someone has to be in charge of things and they always set
> themselves up (and their friends and families) as an upper class, and
> it always seems to be a very greedy class and you end up with 75%
> of the money going to 2% of the people..

Yes, the USSR had a name for that upper class but the name escapes me at
the moment.

> I mean, look at Putin.. He was just an upper level KGB soldier
> when he took over as president and today he is worth as much
> as $200 Billion, depending on source. (Some say $70 Billion)

Technically, Russia is no longer communist.  That said, I strongly believe
that many of the broken things going on over there are because the people
in charge were part of that USSR upper class discussed above & they've not
really changed enough how they do things.

> MP>IMHO, this is not a problem with capitalism, per se.  It is a problem with
> th
>   >overnment not properly regulating things.  Overregulation is bad, but so is
> t
>   >little...

> I was thinking back before unions existed where people running companies
> paid workers so little they could barely afford to eat but the owners
> were getting wealthy from their labour. Unions came in to correct that
> situation, but in some cases they have gone too far now too..

We had very little government regulation back then.  IMHO, government
policy didn't evolve quickly enough to keep up with the Industrial
Revolution and the changes in "employment opportunities" that it caused.

> I think things are not too bad when you have some controls like minimum
> wage levels, maximum hours to work and safety standards, but I'm still
> a proponent of being able to get ahead faster is you are smarter or
> a harder worker.

Something that isn't easy to do under Communism or, as you found out, in a
Union shop -- unless you are a member of the "in crowd."

> Over the years I benefitted more from employers
> breaking the union contract for me than any good the union ever did
> for me. But I saw how the union was really great for some who were
> lazy, incompetent, or absent a lot and such. I watched it take almost
> 3 years to get rid of one worker who was missing over 100 days of work
> a year due to drinking problems..

IMHO, Unions could still have a place if they stayed out of politics, and
also stopped protecting those who are really lazy, incompentent, etc... i.e.
those that "real" Communism would likely not protect.

Mike

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