In America, we do not have definitional socialism where the government owns the means of production BUT we sure as hell have a bunch of socialistic tendencies, leanings, agencies and programs. In this episode, we examine the question, "Just how far toward socialism does America currently lean?"

Show Notes

The Future of Freedom Foundation

• The Big Con of Social Security and Medicare
• Only One Way Out of the Coronavirus Crisis
• Fear of Healthcare Freedom and Free Markets
• Is it Time for a New Direction

Mises.org

• Bernie's Socialism vs. Trump's Socialism
• Central Banking is Socialism
• Will the Fed Buy Stocks? Here's What It Would Take to Do It

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes

• Episode #8 - The Truth About Social Security
• Episode #9 - The Truth About Healthcare in America
• Episode #27 - The Truth About the Federal Reserve – An Intro
• Episode #28 - The Truth About the Federal Reserve – The Results
• Episode #31 - The Truth About Socialism – Part I
• Episode #32 – The Truth About Socialism – Part II
• Episode #57 - The Truth About Free Stuff
• Episode #62 - The Truth About the Gold Standard and Sound Money
• Episode #80 - The Truth About Democracies
• Episode #83 - The Truth About Capitalism

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Bernie Sanders has been leading the charge toward socialism his entire life. Within a few weeks of this podcast's publication (at the most a few months), Bernie will be a two-time loser of the Democratic Party's nomination to be President. Despite his failure to secure the nomination, he has laid the foundation for more radical candidates in the future. In this episode, we examine the life of Sanders and the foundation on which he has built his movement.

Show Notes:

Britannica.com - Bernie Sanders

Former Prisoner Recalls Sanders Saying I Don't Know What's So Wrong with Cuba

Bernie Sanders Praised Communist Cuba and the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

60 Minutes Interview with Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders Praising Bread Lines and Food Rationing

Why Bernie Sanders' Communist Misadventures Still Matter

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #4 - The Truth About Minimum Wage
• Episode #8 – The Truth About Social Security
• Episode #9 - The Truth About Healthcare in America
• Episode #12 - The Truth About Socialized Medicine
• Episode #14 - The Truth About Obamacare
• Episode #17 - The Truth About Healthcare Reform
• Episode #31 - The Truth About Socialism - Part I
• Episode #32 - The Truth About Socialism - Part II
• Episode #39 - The Truth About the Student Loans and the Cost of College
• Episode #57 - The Truth About Free Stuff
• Episode #80 - The Truth About Democracies
• Episode #83 – The Truth About Capitalism

The Truth Quest Podcast Patron Page

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You've likely heard all the critics complaints about Walmart: The company underpays its employees, does not offer employee benefits, squeezes its suppliers which, in turn, kills domestic manufacturing jobs and leads to sweatshop labor in less-developed countries. The list continues: Walmart kills Mom and Pop shops, resists the unionization of their workforce, and destroys rural America.

Sounds like a horrible company but what is the truth about Walmart?

Show Notes:

Sam Walton: Made in America

Demonizing Wal-Mart

Fortuune 500 Company's Conservatives and Liberals Love to Hate

Mises.org:

• The Ultimate Pro-Walmart Article
• Why Walmart Matters
• Walmart's Healthcare Experiment Has Begun: It May be a Game Changer
• The Case for Walmart

FEE.org:

• Walmarts Bottom Line
• Walmart is Good for the Economy
• Give Walmart the Nobel Peace Prize

 Truth Quest Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #4 - The Truth About Minimum Wage
• Episode #9 - The Truth About Healthcare in America
• Episode #17 - The Truth About Healthcare Reform
• Episode #36 - The Truth About Billionaires

The Truth Quest Podcast Patron Page

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I don't know about you but sometimes I get tired of discussing all the areas where we disagree politically or on public policy issues. In this episode I attempt to focus on things that most of us agree on such as government spending, right-to-try laws, the surveillance state, sound money, war, tort reform, term limits, the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty.

Does it not make sense to first focus on the few things in which we agree and then circle back to the numerous head-butting issues that divide us?

Show Notes:

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It bothers me immensely when politicians and talking heads propose intellectually lazy and dishonest policies that they know will do more harm than good. Then your friends, family and the faceless, and often nameless, folks on social media jump on the bandwagon. Their prescriptions are not based on principles (or so I thought) rather, they appear to be based on party (or group think).

I am no longer willing to cut these folks any slack because they can easily spend a few minutes on an Internet search and read multiple sides of any argument or policy. They can easily spend a few minutes trying to determine what the truth is.

Why then does this phenomonon exist? Why do those who subscribe to this form of public policy advocacy resort to low-ball tactics when it comes to the treatment of their ideological foes? You know: name-calling, violence, vilification, shutting down the speech of dissenters, mocking, de-platforming, boycotting, and censorship!

After much reflection and study, I believe these people are, indeed, principle-driven. That principle is winning - - - winning at all costs. Nothing else explains this behavior.

Show Notes:

William Watkins – The New Absolutes

Pritical Thinking - Amazon

Pritical Thinking - eBooks

Michael Malice - The New Right

Truth Quest Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #4 - The Truth About Minimum Wage
• Episode #7 -The Truth About Climate Change
• Episode #31 - The Truth About Socialism - Part I
• Episode #32 - The Truth About Socialism - Part II
• Episode  #33 - The Truth About Abortion - Mental Gymnastics

The Truth Quest Podcast Patron Page

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The reason the American healthcare system is in such a mess is because of decades of government intervention and the third-party payer system. If we reduce government involvement and bring back capitalistic, free market principles, conditions will improve; it’s almost guaranteed. In a nutshell, real healthcare reform can be accomplished by encouraging a patient-centered, market-based system that eliminates or, at least, minimizes government involvement in the system.

True to the title of this episode, I will walk you through some concrete examples of how the American healthcare system can be reformed.

Show Notes:

How to Reform Health Care in America

When Health Insurance Works: A Look Inside Switzerland's Healthcare System

Repealing Obamacare Won't Fix the Healthcare Mess

The Evil-Mongering of the American Medical Association

Fee.org

• Healthcare Sharing Ministries
• Three Ways Regulations Make Healthcare More Expensive
• Why Doctors Should be Certified Like Airline Pilots

Mises.org

• Stop Hating High Deductible Health Plans
• The Problem with Government Licensing Schemes
• Not Every Health Condition is Insurable
• How to Rollback Bad Health Care Laws

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There are a lot of things wrong with the Obamacare law passed in 2010. Besides the fact that the law is unconstitutional, I outline four other things that are wrong with it:

#1 - The way the law was drafted

#2 - The way the law was passed

#3 - The way the law was upheld by the Supreme Court

#4 - The consequences of the law

Show Notes:

• If Obamacare Is Constitutional, then Why Did the Founding Fathers Bother with a List of Enumerated Powers?
• Healthcare is Not a Federal Power
• Would You Prefer Privatization or a Death Panel?
• Obamacare and the Odious Anti-Constitutionalism of Chief Justice John Roberts
• Good Morning Liberty Podcast - Obamacare Back in Court: What's Happening and What Needs to be Done?

The Truth Quest Podcast Patron Page

Join the conversation at The Truth Quest Facebook Fan Page

Order a copy of Shawn's books, Pritical Thinking,The Proverbs Project, The Termite Effect.

The video of this episode is available on Thinkspot, YouTube and on BitChute.com.

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This is the second of four healthcare-related episodes. In Episode #9, I discussed the truth about healthcare in America as a way to lay the groundwork for the other three – the truth about socialized medicine, the truth about Obamacare, and the truth about real healthcare reform. 

The truth about socialized medicine or government-run medical systems is wherever it has been implemented, the results have been people suffering from shortages, rationing of care, long wait times, a lower level of care, there is no incentive to shop for better prices (or better service), and the denial of experimental drugs, innovative procedures, and new technologies.

Why would we willingly endorse and enroll in a healthcare system that has proven to be inferior to the one we currently have?

Why would we willingly put our health in the hands of a bunch of faceless bureaucrats who could care less about us personally?

What is it about other nations' socialized medicine programs that is worthy of emulation?

Show Notes:

• Daily Mail - Nearly 1,200 People Starved to Death in NHS Hospitals
• The Guardian - NHS Budget Squeeze to Blame for Longer Wait Times
• Basic Errors Killing 1,000 NHS Patients a Month Study Shows
• Another Great Moment in the Annals of Government Run Healthcare
• Does Britain Have the Best Health System? Only If You Ignore Outcomes
• Who Was Charlie Gard
• BBC - NHS Rationing Leaves Patients in Pain
• BBC - Long Waits for Surgery Have Tripled in Four Years
• Parents of U.K. Boy With Tumor to Fight Extradition
• PragerU - What's Wrong with Government-Run Healthcare?
• The False Promise of Canada's Health Care System

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I have several healthcare-related episodes in the works including one on Obamacare, one on socialized medicine, and one on healthcare reform. In order to lay the groundwork for those future episodes, I thought it was important to discuss healthcare in America in general and dispel some myths or lies or propaganda (depending on your perspective). If you listen to the the mainstream media, liberal think tanks, or national Democrats, you are left believing that the American healthcare system is no better than some third world countries.

While the bashing of the American healthcare system has been relentless, is it the truth? Listen and find out!

Show Notes:

• Cato - Why Healthcare Costs too Much
• Ten Surprising Facts About American Healthcare
• National Center for Policy Analysis
• Mises - Lecture of American Healthcare
• Pritical Thinking Healthcare Chapter Citations

The Truth Quest Podcast Patron Page

Join the conversation at The Truth Quest Facebook Fan Page

Order a copy of Shawn's books - Pritical Thinking, The Proverbs Project, The Termite Effect.

The video of this episode is also available on Thinkspot, YouTube and on BitChute.com.

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