For anyone with at least a passing interest in the political/social environment, the discussion about socialism versus capitalism is intriguing.
According to those fonts of all knowledge, Wikipedia and Wiktionary, capitalism is the socio-economic system based upon private ownership of resources or capital and their operation for profit unregulated by the state, and socialism is a socio-economic system in which there is no private property.
For those who for most of their adult lives have been employed by for-profit, private enterprises but who have received the benefits provided by TVA, EPA, FAA, DHS, SSA, VA, the military, state, county and municipal agencies, it seems clear that our system is not solely capitalism or socialism, but a blend of both.
Is it too much to ask that the debate leading up to the 2020 elections be viewed not as capitalism versus socialism, but about how to achieve a system that blends both to maximize efficiency and productivity while providing a basic safety net for those who have yet to benefit?
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast ” – Alexander Pope
Richard Gossett
‘Happy holidays’ a fake controversy
In case you were wondering, there are about 230 shopping days until Christmas. But just in time, President Trump declared “victory” in the (nonexistent) “War on Christmas” at a recent National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden.
Retailers, he said, are once again able to attract customers by identifying the Christian holiday – thanks to his 2016 campaign against political correctness. And you thought the only war at Christmas was trying to find those special toys for the children.
Trump said when he started campaigning, “people were not allowed, or in some cases foolishly ashamed, to be [saying] merry Christmas, happy Christmas. They would say, ‘Happy holidays.'”
But ever the self-aggrandizer, he added, “I always said you’re going to be saying merry Christmas again, and that’s what happened.”
How hypocritical that President Trump, the vigilant pursuer of “fake news,” created a fake (Christian) controversy for his own benefit.
Michael Loftin
Smith’s gun bill receives praise
I applaud Tennessee Rep. Robin Smith for her House Bill 754 that would make it a crime for anyone transferring a firearm to someone if they know that person had been committed to a mental institution or was adjudicated by a court as mentally defective or is receiving inpatient treatment.
I am pleased members of both parties support this. Finally a breakthrough to show there is a difference between the right to bear arms versus easy access to weapons by those who don’t need them.
I hope our legislature would expand this to anyone giving or selling a weapon to someone for the purpose for using it to commit a crime. This would include gang members and previously convicted felons of violent crimes. The penalty could be enhanced for anyone furnishing a weapon to youth for criminal purposes.
While mentally defective people may be using guns as in Smith’s bill, most of these people committing crimes know exactly what they are doing. They are violent people using weapons to rob and kill and shoot on our public streets with no regard for the lives and safety of citizens. It must stop, and it must come through the legislature.
Russell Bean