Slightly OT: I'm really glad my parents raised me not to judge my "quality of life" based on how much money my peers spend. This way I can save hard, and get off the wage slave treadmill early.

Which drives home the most important point about socialism. While capitalism is keeping up with the joneses, socialism is about making sure the joneses are kept in their place.

All that an 80% tax would do is suck the wealth away to the 1% even faster. No one is minding the store--the money the federal government takes now at 25-33% is mostly wasted on nonsense that benefits the war machine, the healthcare machinery (think: rent seekers) and all manner of pork projects. I can't see forfeiting even more to them, I just wouldn't bother to work at all. Enough is enough when it comes to this socialist utopia dream--it doesn't exist, it has never existed, it will never exist.

Hi, I went to a doctor this morning and recieved a prescription for which I will pay nothing. Apparently I don't exist?

That money came out of someone else's pocket! It is not free. The free lunch is what doesn't exist and has never existed.

> That money came out of someone else's pocket!

This is also true of insurance systems.

Nobody's pretending that socialised systems magic healthcare out of thin air, it's more a question of total resources spent by society and distribution of outcomes - including whether certain people get rationed out of the system because they can't afford it.

Insurance is voluntary--you can opt out. I can't opt out of taxes and put that money to other uses. It is am matter of economic freedom of choice.