Op-Ed: Sarah Palin Practices Socialism in Alaska

Sarah Palin has been on the campaign trail calling Barack Obama "the wealth spreader" and a socialist for his wanting to redistribute wealth. Mrs. Palin needs a dictionary or a mirror because she practices both things for which she condemns Obama.

One of Governor Palin's claim to fame, is that she has taken on the oil companies in her state, and she has. Sarah Palin has opposed a windfall profit tax on the oil companies in her state. With part of the revenues from the tax, she asked the Alaska State Legislature to give Alaskans a special one-time payment of $1,200 to help with the high costs of energy. What Mrs. Palin did in effect was a form of socialism, so she is in effect condemning herself when she attacks the Democratic nominee in that fashion. There has never been a tax - never - in the history of this country that did not redistribute wealth. It is impossible to tax without doing that. To hear Sarah Palin use the socialism argument is interesting, because Palin herself has used a socialist program to benefit her Alaska constituents. She and her running mate need to stop using that tactic because it can prove them to be hypocritical. Now the head of her ticket John McCain has millions of dollars because of his wife Cindy. He certainly has enough dough for health care. Will John McCain never again use the very socialist government-run health care program that he has been using for at least number of years now? That was called socialism when it was first enacted because it is. The truth of it is that every country in the world uses socialism to varying degrees. McCain just approved it by voting for the bailout of the banking system. Most industrial economies are mixed economies, some capitalism, some socialism. Americas is predominantly capitalism, but it has a lot of socialism, and John McCain does not seem to mind that in some cases. John McCain is for a refundable tax credit for people who don't pay income taxes for health care. Socialism? The US has a progressive income tax system. He is not running to abolish that. America has a Social Security system which itself redistributes wealth. Can anyone say socialism? I don't think John McCain's running against that, although Joe the plumber, who he and Palin like to use on the stump, says he doesn't believe in Social Security. Perhaps the Arizona Senator and the Alaska Governor need to stay clear of the double edged barbs they are throwing towards their opponent unless they don't want to be labeled as the same. Maybe they don't care this late in the game. The Say Anything Express rides on.