Hendrick Hertzberg reminds us that only in the U.S. is 'socialism' a dirty word. When you get beyond the word in scare quotes, a lot of us, including Sarah Palin, could really warm up to sharing the wealth.
Read all the way through for the juicy quote:
Hendrick Hertzberg provides the familiar reasons that making the tax system more fair is hardly socialism. He also points out that the 'socialism'- baiters are usually pointing to European social democracies, which suffer such horrendous privations as "excellent public education, anxiety-free health care, and decent public transportation."
But Hertzberg saves the best for last. He quotes the Alaskan governor praising her state's enlightened approach to managing its resources:
"we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."