Question: Aren’t similar social programs implemented the same way across the world?

Answer: No. We saw social programs in the former Soviet Union fail, which led to the overthrow of its Communist regime. We see today that social programs in Cuba and Venezuela are failing. We hear these two countries blame outside influences for their demise. In Mainland China, we hear about social programs designed to support the philosophy of their State. This was a similar design methodology used in the former Soviet Union, Cuba and Venezuela. China recently launched a social credit program to track citizens and black marks them if they fall short in contributions to society. Socialism and Communism have been introducing various social programs over the past 100 years to make their regimes successful.

But in the USA, due to massive social protests and a rapidly changing business world, our social programs have proved successful.

Question: What prompts the USA to consider and launch a social program?

Answer: Mass social protest is a major driving force in the USA.

Also in 1935 – 1938, President Roosevelt launched social programs because of an emergence of global Communism; and in face of the Great Depression, which was a global business collapse. His administration started Social Security, and federal Work Programs. In 1932, President Hoovers’ administration had launched programs to safeguard citizens starting small businesses.

When the USA launched an astronaut into space, circling the earth; and with an emergence of computer technologies, President Johnson had to launch social programs to support a major change in our business environment. His administration launched his Great Society programs. This included a Job Corps, a War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid; Water Quality Act; Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act; Child Safety Act. It provided substantial federal funds for education. Many of Johnson’s programs could then be administered because of emerging computer technologies. It takes imagination to put people on the Moon. Imagination is enormously flexed by the Arts. President Johnson’s administration signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act. This supported emerging Art. And due to massive social protests, President Johnson also signed the Civil Rights Act.

Question: How does the USA design its social programs?

Answer: In the USA, it’s a blend of social programs and laws. Many USA’s laws and social programs are tailored to protect voting and designed to support citizens and to support a rapidly changing business environment.

Many social programs protect citizens and allow businesses to rapidly change, merge and move. These programs include social security, unemployment insurance, guarantying education loans, workmen’s compensation, minimum wage, and employee benefits. There are even some health insurance coverage such as Medicare and Medicaid. This allows USA citizens to hopefully remain mobile, secure, healthy and educated for a current job market.

There are also laws to protect citizens to vote to start their own businesses and expand their markets, in a competitive environment. We also have Environmental laws to prevent businesses over polluting waters and lands.

Anti trust laws prevent businesses from building a collective bargaining clout to overwhelm citizens and other businesses. This clout can originate from a monopoly on selling products or purchasing resources. Businesses can even still have considerable clout, without violating antitrust laws, when they employ a sizeable labor force.

Question: Are Labor Unions still needed in the USA?

Answer: Yes. Labor Unions protect citizens’ employee salaries and benefits. They provide a collective bargaining tool to negotiate salaries and benefits. It merely takes one rogue CEO and their administration, over a major business, to roll back many employee benefits. Coal miner Labor Unions in the 1980’s had that type of problem.

We can look at present day Detroit as an example of business’ overwhelming collective bargaining clout. Businesses decided to move their factories overseas away from Detroit. This destroyed Detroit. At that time, economic and profit models, used by businesses in Detroit, decided that employees in Detroit, represented by Labor Unions, had become too expensive. Today there is no indication that present day economic and profit models for automobiles manufactured in Mexico have made cars cheaper in the USA. We have to assume that if labor costs is cheaper in Mexico, a distribution chain of businesses, adds sufficient costs and markups that keep cars at a same price level as if built in Detroit.

Instead of Detroit employees making good salaries, we have businesses in a global chain of distribution making income, with a far smaller employee base.

Question: Why are there so many complaints against social programs in the USA

Answer: Funding and maintaining funding is a major issue.

Tax revenue in the USA, which underwrite social programs, originates about 60% from citizens and about 20% from businesses. Businesses hire law firms that specialize in global taxes, to reduce their tax liability. And when new tax laws are considered in the USA Congress, tax attorney lobbyists provide many of a needed , yet bias, legal expertise.

Many manufacturing businesses have moved their factories outside of the USA, away from USA tax collectors. Many businesses in the USA adopted economic and profit models that dictated low labor costs and cheaper resources for higher profit margins and supposed lower consumer prices. But nowadays, even with businesses manufacturing products in China and even Mexico, where labor and resource costs are cheaper, USA citizens are not seeing cheaper products. Costs and markups from a global distribution chain has prevented cheaper prices being passed to USA consumers.

And taxes from those businesses are flowing into a Chinese government. Labor salaries, even though cheaper, are flowing to Chinese and Mexican citizens.

Some businesses resort to leaving the USA entirely and becoming a foreign based corporation, to prevent being taxed by the USA.

Question: What are some of the dangers facing social programs today in the USA?

Answer: Our social programs have had to deal with intense racism. President Truman after WWII signed an executive order that de-segregated the US Military and he fired Generals and Admirals that opposed de-segregation. This opened the doors wider and President Johnson in 1964 signed into law the Civil Rights Act, prompted by massive social protests. It is still hard to understand why these social reforms took so long after the end of the civil war in 1865.

Another major issue is that we have citizens that want social programs and laws to be driven by their religious beliefs.

In President Nixon’s administration, Roe vs. Wade legalized abortions in the USA, as it was upheld by the USA Supreme Court.

In a rapid and major changing environment, a woman might vote that this is not an appropriate time to have a baby, so she might opt for an abortion. Her concerns could be for herself as a single woman, as a married woman with children, as a soldier in a combat situation, as a victim of crime and perhaps from a contraceptive(s) failure. Like other USA citizens, they are fighting on a front line of life and it might not be a right time for a pregnancy. Roe vs. Wade allows women to opt for an abortion.

There are citizens who oppose Roe vs. Wade and want it overturned. They argue that regardless of circumstances once a woman is pregnant, it must be considered a religious action. Their interpretation of religious laws forbid any abortions. Still other groups want to forbid contraceptives because it prevents fulfillment of religious actions.

Our existing laws do forbid discrimination based on religion. Our USA constitution separates State laws from Religion laws.