Many socialistic countries are thriving

I feel compelled to respond to the letter of Sept. 5 from Mr. Donald Froelich, “A vote for Obama is a vote for socialism.” For Mr. Froelich’s edification, we already have socialist programs in the United States: national parks, public libraries, government subsidies to the oil and gas industries (which the Republicans refuse to eliminate), Medicare and Social Security. Will Mr. Froelich abrogate his rights under Medicare and Social Security? I sincerely doubt that he would.

I would like him to name the decaying European socialist countries. The ones that have socialist economies, the Scandinavian countries, are thriving democracies and, by many measures, are more prosperous than we are. Further, socialism did not collapse the Soviet Union. It collapsed because communism was not a viable economic system. There is a difference between socialism and communism.

Michael Lee

Wheeling