That is a tall order considering how much others that came before him did like FDR.
1.He tried to take over healthcare, and instead put in a system that forces people to take part in the a market while others are forced under programs they may not desire to be on. By all accounts that is still socialist by design and by even hinting at the former showed who he was.
Once again, I do not oppose all programs which are socialist in nature, and I think that healthcare is the perfect field for the government to involve itself in as it is an essential need that impacts all Americans and has tremendous implications for the entire economy. But you seem to be forgetting that people will be forced to buy insurance from a PRIVATE company. You know, just like anyone who drives has to buy car insurance from a private company. I don't care if you insist on calling it purely "socialism" or not, the fact is, it will work better than the market-regulated insurance fiasco that we're currently stuck with. This should make the free-market types quite happy: No longer can people freeload for free healthcare because they decided to buy new rims for their car than insurance for their family, and the private sector will probably get a bit of a boost as well.
2. He bailed out industry, gave government shares, and switched up the hierarchy of ownership in those companies. Again, that is socialist.
Once again, I agree with you on this point. Not a bad decision in retrospect, but a bad precedent and probably not something we should do in the future.
3. He assisted people from losing their homes when they otherwise would of done so. Again, that is socialist.
This is more complicated than at first glance and, as someone who owns a home and has been responsible in my mortgage payments, it is frustrating to see some of these yahoos who purchased homes they shouldn't. But you also have to remember that many of these people were victims of predatory and deceptive lending practices(resulting from LACK of government oversight of the finance sector in this country). Also, these people weren't just handed their homes. Rather, they were allowed to refinance to a level at which they could afford to make payments. Don't forget that the free market is not just about SUPPLY and DEMAND, it also has a huge psycological element to it and I firmly believe that if the government had not stepped in to shore up the banks and the housing we would have collapsed into a complete economic deathspiral and would be in a Great Depression again. The tragedy behind all of this is that the government has yet to reform the finance industry(thanks to the conservative free-market worshipping politicians) so that this same mistake doesn't happen again. So....it'll happen again.
4. Grew and supported funding of private industry. ex: Wind turbines
and the list goes on and on, but those are all bad enough in my book and yes they are all socialist.
I believe the government should be investing hundreds of billions in alternative energy projects. So what if not all of them are profitable or successful the first time around. Our dependance on oil is absolutely destroying our economy in a million different ways(Foreign wars, pollution, economic instability etc.-I can go on for hours about this....trust me!:2razz
and the free market junkies refuse to acknowledge that this danger and all they can scream is DRILL! DRILL! DRILL! In the meantime, we need to find a real solution to this monsterous solution and the private sector has not been able to do it. So, it's time for the government to begin stepping up to the plate to invest in the development of new technologies to replace oil. I think it's a great thing for my tax-payer money to be spent on and I'd much prefer this strategy than spending hundreds of billions each year to protect our oil interests in the Middle East.
So, Long story short: I don't believe "socialism" is always a bad word and I don't think that the Free Market can solve all of our ills. There should always be a place for the government to regulate, tax and invest in our future. As long as it is done wisely and only in limited circumstances, I am all for it. There will be room for capitalism in that system as well. Always has been, always will be.