Why Obama's "Neo-Socialism" Might Prevent Human Trafficking

President Obama has been accused of a lot -- everything from being a Kenyan wearing a big-eared American mask to thinking there are 57 states in the U.S.  But nothing beats the conservative right wing's pitch-fork-wielding, torch-brandishing cries of "Socialist! Socialist!" for the Misinformed, Knee-Jerk Accusation of the Year Award.  In fact, President Obama's brand of "neo-socialism" just might prevent human trafficking in the U.S.

Robert Fisher points out that many of our socialist-under-the-bed fears stem from a huge cultural misunderstanding that socialism and communism are the same thing.  Socialism and communism are like the Olson twins -- they're related, but one is a lot more healthy and functional.  Socialism is an economic system advocating some level of public ownership and administration of production and resources, and it can operate effectively with democracy. Communism is a political system with one form of government and usually one party, and it cannot operate effectively with democracy.  Socialism has actually been slowly and increasingly incorporated into the U.S. economy for over a century in the form of social programs and "safety nets" like food assistance, Medicaid, and other programs that are often the subject of political debate.  So while some might throw around the term "neo-socialist" intending it to mean "corrupt Trotsky-worshipper," "neo-socialism" is just a logical extension of the slow expansion of the social welfare state that's been underway since the Magna Carta.

And "neo-socialism" has the possibility to do great things, like prevent human trafficking in the U.S.  Over 100,000 American children are trafficked into the commercial sex industry each year -- not from other countries but from places like Ohio, Kansas, and Oregon.  For the most part, these children are vulnerable to pimps and traffickers because they come from the foster care system, from families with addiction issues, from abusive parents, from impovrished neighborhoods, and from under-resourced school systems.  The continued growth and evolution of the social welfare state will address a lot of these root causes of human trafficking in the U.S.  When given access to the resources a developed and evolved "neo-socialist" fiscal policy provides, the children who are today lured from bus stops into brothels might still be in school.  The young girls who turn to pimps because system after system has failed them might not be failed at all.  And that's nothing to shake a pitch-fork at.

So President Obama, go ahead and fill that White House moat with alligators for when the angry mob comes calling, but don't be afraid of the "S-word."  You could become the president whose bold, progressive policies finally put a dent in the growing number of trafficked children in America.  And remember -- if the right-wingers get past your defenses, you can always put Biden in your spare Obama costume and hideout in Kenya.