We are all Socialists

   We hear the cry from conservatives over the election of Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as we heard from them when Bernie Sanders was running for President a couple of years ago.  Conservatives like to think that such ideas as universal health care and universal public college are things that the United States cannot afford .  This argument runs into the reality that other Western Democracies with smaller economies all have found a way to afford these services for their citizens.  It comes down to priorities on the use of the dollars generated by your economy.  It is just as socialist to spend over $700 billion on defense as it is to spend it on health care.  It is just a matter of priorities for your country.  Our Country has made the political decision to be the World cop rather than use its wealth for the improvement of the health care for its citizens.  When we hear Trump berating other members of NATO to follow the  US in increasing their military budgets we should remember where these dollars would come from.  We should remember that both "promote the general welfare" and "provide for the common defense" were both mentioned in the preamble to the Constitution as the role of government.  It always comes down to where you put your priorities.  Maybe it is time we call defending our military spending levels (or building a wall on our Southern border) as "Socialism we can't afford."  That argument holds as much water as when the argument is made over proposed progressive programs.