Is the US headed towards a socialist government?

[kandrathe]

You mean more than they already have? Yes.

The federal government already controls the health care industry through its policies in its major programs (Medicare, Medicaid, Prescription drugs). Obama's plans will put government in more control.

The federal government already controls education, and I believe the mandates from DC will become more evident over the next 4 years.

The federal government controls, regulates and mandates transportation, including aviation, rail, trucking, and shipping. Evidence of how little power exists in the transportation sector can be seen in nationalization of rail, and the federal response to the air traffic controllers strike. Major airline union strikes are usually hammered upon by political solutions, rather than market solutions.

Manufacturing in the USA has been decimated by countless "free trade" agreements that allow for importation of cheaper goods displacing American labor. We've had a spirited exchange on how, for example, China and India have prospered at the US and Europe's expense. Meanwhile, labor laws, trade marks, and the environmental laws are so unbalanced and unfairly weighted against the US and Europe as well.

State, federal, and local government is the largest employer in many states, and the federal government (even excluding the postal service) is the largest employer in the USA. This means that the taxes of those workers who are not working for the government support those who do, as well as all the other expenses incurred by governments.

Lately, we've seen something entirely new. Socialism for the rich. Banking and other industry bailouts in the trillions of dollars, and government brokered deals between monoliths of industry.

The federal government also owns 624 million acres of land in the US, or 27 percent of the country's land. The largest private land owner is Ted Turner, who owns a modest 1.8 million acres.

So, how do you want to define socialist?