It's very true that most people in this country do not know what socialism is, nor do they understand what Capitalism is.

The majority of people simply believe that Socialism and Capitalism are as clear as black and white. They do not realize that Socialism and Capitalism are merely two different points on the Economic Scale; and that this country has always embraced certain traits of both philosophies.

For those that have truly read not just the notes, but the thoughts and underlying intentions of the founding fathers; we realize that the founding fathers were bright enough to realize that a certain balance was needed for this country to survive.

Most people will never understand how our economy works, how ours differs from other countries. The problem is, people have a tendency to follow what others lay out for them, and refuse to truly think for themselves. They'll never realize what Socialism or Capitalism is; nor will they ever realize the connections between the two view points.

Why are people scared about something they can not even give an honest definition to? We must remember in a time of crisis as such that it is the economic system that has put us here. Capitalism is always championed as the system of growth and ever increasing prosperity, but where are these perks now. Maybe it is time people dusted off their encyclopedia and look up the definition of socialism, instead of taking the tainted word for face value. The Cold War has passed but it has also ushered in an era were people are extremely lazy in their ability to debate what is ultimately good for them. A good starting point for those who still operate under the gaze of the Red Scare, should consider whether all morals and ethics should be sacrificed at the expense of economic growth?

Comrade Bob, I understand where you're coming from. The fear of our country pulling itself into a socialistic direction. One where the government controls various aspects of our lives.

This is precisely what the government has been doing for a long time. The government does tell us what we can eat and drink; they classify drugs as being illegal and place age limits on Tobacco and Alcohol. Government also tries to tell us what we can do when it comes to abortions, gay marriage, poaching, drunk driving, Methaphetmine etc, etc, etc...

The taxes we pay to build roads and bridges, fund police departments and prisons, are also socialistic in nature. In a true capitalistic society, there would be no tax dollars to fund these laws, rules and regulations; and we would be responsible for building highways by hand.

Now, i'm not one of those "True Capitalistic" people who believe we do not need police departments, roadways, bridges or other common sense items. I completely understand the need for some socialistic protections and regulations. Vigilante mobs and wild west shootouts shouldn't take place in a modern, civilized society. I also think having a public school system is something positive.

However, the government does overstep its boundaries on numerous occasions; and lets face it, both Democratic and Republican leaderships share equal guilt. The cost of the iraq war alone would nearly offset the cost of the recent economic stimulus projects.

In a true capitalistic society, we would of allowed the banking system to come to a screeching halt. Without protections like FDIC, millions of people would of been left penny less. Corporations would of lost their payroll and other assets, along with the ability to purchase new equipment and materials. The unemployment rate would likely be considerably higher.

Now, it is possible, although unlikely considering the size of the banking collapse last year, that the recession could bottom out with unemployment around 20 percent. More likely, unemployment would shoot higher, and when unemployment hit somewhere around 45 percent or so, the fabric of the old capitalistic society would be gone.

In the true capitalist society, the strong survive. Those who invest wisely in the good times, prosper. However, when the system collapses, the strong are those who are able to accumulate the most power in the vacuum where law enforcement used to be. With Extremely high unemployment rates, murder and armed criminal action would run rampant, and our current government sponsored law enforcement would disappear.

Typically this is the point where people take their arms and begin attacking those institutions that they deem responsible for their hardships. Much like we did against the british crown. When everything calmed down, the American Capitalistic system would of "reset" itself.

Essentially, this "revolution" would last for a few years or so; and society would start to put itself back together again.

Really, that would be the only way to avoid those Socialistic fears you have. To instill a true Capitalistic system, one in which no country has ever had, and hardly any true economist will say is plausible.

Then again, the economy did start to go in the tank, well before Obama took office. That would be another good point to keep in mind..... Just a thought.....

Be honest and cite the entire quotation: What Emanuel said was "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste...What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before." It's common in the business world to characterize challenges as opportunities, and Emanuel was saying much the same thing. And Clinton wasn't even talking about the economy.

Finally, if you do a little research, you'll see the stock market began tanking well before President Obama took office.