So, about socialism

The Trump Convention seems to have been a four-day diatribe about the impending perils of socialism. Socialism has been the Republican Party scare word since the 1930s.

So what is socialism? It is when we pool our resources for the common good. The opposite of that is a society that works only for the benefit of the richest and most powerful. That describes the industrialized Republican America of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That society came to an end with the Great Depression. It was no longer possible for an entire society to exist just for the benefit of the entitled few.

Social Security is one of the “socialist” programs that arose out of the ashes. Farm price supports, bank deposit insurance, public roads, public utilities, fire and police services are all taxpayer-funded programs that benefit the general public. That’s socialism.

The reason socialism has become such a major issue now is because of the supposed threat of health care for all. Just as free public education is considered to be a basic right of every American, an increasing number of Americans are arguing that they should also have access to affordable health care. Medicare is a socialist program. Every taxpaying American pays for affordable health care for citizens over the age of 65. For everyone else, it’s a toss-up. The more money you have, the more access you have to health care. Shouldn’t all Americans have access to affordable health care the same way they have access to public roads, schools, utilities, police and fire service?

Americans have a choice in November. We can vote to invest taxpayer dollars in programs that will enrich the lives of every American. Republicans call that socialism. Or we can vote to continue to enrich the Trump family. Republicans call that “business as usual.”

MICHAEL FOX Conway