Originally Posted by CrocketsGhost
If you wnt to look for a real jumping off point for Communism in this country, it was probably the New Deal. FDR federalized all sorts of institutions, formalized a Soviet-styled education system, created a communist/ socialist wealth-redistribution scheme through progressive taxation and so-called "social programs," pushed through the first de facto federal ID number, etc. The next few administrations backtracked a bit on that trend as the Cold War heated up, but then LBJ ratcheted the Socialism back up with an even steeper progressive tax and his Great Society nonsense. Reagan, anti-Communist that he was, granted us a temporary reprieve, but the Presidents since then have seemed hell-bent of marching us back down the socialist/ communist path.
To be fair, I don't even think that Communism is the goal. It is a means to a goal. The goal appears to be more closely related to the old feudal system than Communism. After all, where has there ever been true Communism? The Marxist states have all been Socialist, with a well-defined ruling class or body. That centralization of power results in a greatly reduced number of people who must be bought in order to return to feudalism, with the banking and corporate elite playing the part of the monarchs and lords and the rest of us being indentured serfs. Given that many of the large multinational banks are owned or controlled by sitting or deposed European royalty, the idea of a new monarchical system is not at all far-fetched.