Letter: Programs not socialism, won’t lead to serfdom

Editor,

I read many letters warning about the dangers of socialism. It seems that there is some confusion as to what exactly socialism is.

Socialism is when the government owns the means of production. Socialized medicine is when the hospital is owned by the government, and the doctors and all the staff are government employees.

While no one seriously advocates socialized medicine, we do in fact have it. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, aka Bethesda Naval Hospital, is government-owned and staffed. It is where President Trump and former Vice President Dick Cheney receive their medical care.

The Republican Party has its own definition of socialism. They told us that Medicare is socialism — see Ronald Reagan talking about on Medicare in a 1961 video on youtube.com.

They also said the Affordable Care Act is socialism and are trying to get rid of it. They say these programs will lead us down the road to serfdom.

You may not like these programs, but they are not socialism and won’t lead us serfdom.

Andrew Warford

Coupeville