Why All The Socialism Bashing? It's What We Do.

via Ezra Klein:

"I'd like John McCain to be more forthright in his opposition to "spreading the wealth." After all, the Obama tax cut is a very minor example of redistribution But the government does a lot of redistribution. Does McCain want to abolish Social Security? Medicare? Medicaid? Unemployment benefits? Food stamps? These are all examples of not only spreading, but transforming, the nation's wealth. The government takes wealth, buys some stuff (like health care, or pensions, or food), and gives a disproportionate amount to poor people. At other times, like in military spending, it takes the wealth, and spreads it to defense contractors, under the assumption that it's better for folks to have an army than that portion of their paycheck. Is John McCain opposed to these programs? Just the entitlements? Or just to Obama's relatively meager tax cut? And if the latter, what makes that wealth spreading different from the rest of the wealth spreading?"

Source: Ezra Klein