Do you want to know what Socialism is like?

This is a translation of a Portuguese joke — when I left Portugal, I also left a Socialist government…. and my poor country is in the sh*t!

“Thank you Portugal, we are proud!

– A 16-year old is free to have an abortion but can’t get a piercing.

– An 18 year-old receives 200 euro from the government to not work; an elderly get a 236 euro retirement after an entire life’s work.

– A husband offers a ring to his wife and has to declare that to the tax man.

– The same tax man unduly penalizes the salary of a worker and takes 3 years to correct the error.

– In the most troubles urban areas, there is 1 cop for every 2000 people; the government says they don’t need more police (which I agree with — they should just give people a 2nd Amendment like we still have!).

– A teacher is beaten by a student and the government blames “social causes”.

– The corner coffee shop was closed down because it didn’t have a separate W/C for men, women and employees. At the Montijo Mall Pizza Hut W/C is 300 ft down the hall and doesn’t have a wash basin.

– The government urges people to seek alternatives energy sources and then fines those who use vegetable oil in their cars because they’re not paying the oil tax. (Oh, yes — socialist governments get very creative in levying taxes — the carbon tax is a prime example of that).

– In prisons, they give away free syringes because of AIDS, but drugs are forbidden in prison! (Socialism is full of paradoxes).

– In your final year of High School, if you’re caught cheating on your finals, you’re flunked, but our Prime Minister took his technical english exam at home and faxed it in — and he’s an engineer. (Typical of Socialist and Communist countries — the elite don’t have to follow the rules for the proles — see Animal Farm, the movie).

– A 14 year-old kills an adult, and he’s not old enough to go to court. A father slaps his 14 year-old for stealing money for drugs, and it’s domestic violence.

– A family who’s house fell doesn’t have money to buy another, and the state doesn’t have money to make them another one, they have to take care of it themselves. 6 prisoners who raped and killed several eldery live in a 12 sqft cell without a private W/C and the Human Rights Association files a complaint with the European Court.

– The troops who fought in Africa (like my father and grandfathers did during the Angola/Mozambique revolutions sponsored by Russia and JFK), and who did it because the government told them to, don’t get the time of day and have no veteran rights or anything; but the prime-minister compliments the troops that are in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

– In Portugal you start paying your taxes in January, and if you pay in excess you won’t get your refund until August of the following year, but if you don’t pay your taxes on time, you’re accruing interest right away.

– If you seal up your balcony, it’s illegal construction (you have to get permission to do any construction, get it approved by the city, pay them, etc.), but if people put up a slum, nobody sees it.

– If your son doesn’t like school and at 14 you get him an honest job working with you, you’re exploiting child labor, but if you’re an artist and your 7 year-old records songs or soaps with you, for 8 or more hours a day, he’s very talented and takes after his mom or dad.

– In a pharmacy, people pay 0.50€ for a syringe to medicate a child, but if you were a druggie, you’d pay nothing!

Thank you Portugal. We’re very proud.”

These are a few of the reasons I can’t stand Socialism.

Want another one? I’ve talked about it before… Universal Healthcare…

People will abuse it!!! They do in my country. People go to the Dr for a sore throat, a cold, anything… because they pay little or nothing for it.

When my grandfather needs to renew his prescription… he has to wait 2 months to see the Dr. Some people die before getting to the OR because of the wait.

And who pays for it? Not the poor, not the rich… the middle class!

You can’t penalize those who produce and give that money to those who don’t! Doesn’t work, because it motivates people to not work… PORTUGAL IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THIS…

When I was growing up, I had friends who’d go get on the dole (social security/unemployment) and would use that money for drugs and partying, and wouldn’t have to work!