O'really? Even if the government took 100% of your paycheck, that would not cover all the things you are talking about in a centralized government system.
The government won't take 100% of your paycheck, so this portion of the argument is pointless.
Investment in human capital is a requirement for a modern society to advance in the world we live in. The lack of leadership in the USA either corporate or governmental will prove the cause of the USA slipping behind irreparably in the coming 50 years. Employers want "skilled workers" and are completely unwilling to train them. The government says get a college degree but there is a disconnect between that degree and the work experience "required" to get a job. Subsidized loans are hardly subsidized, they are given out at very high interest rates compared against the FED window. Considering you can't default on your debt, this interest rate should approximate rates that banks loan to each-other.
The only reason we have cheap goods and services is private sector competition. Even socialist Europe is realizing this.
Europe has just as much private sector competition as we do. They have private schools, private insurance, etc. And they aren't socialist. Socialism is the community owning all business and the means of production as a whole. No European country has this system. They all have private business and options alongside the government ones.
People like to complain about how expensive Europe is... It isn't. Take Germany who is even offering free higher education to foreigners that come there (because it enhances their society when they stay) They have a consumer price index of 76.27 even with a VAT tax of 19%! The USA has a CPI of 76.53. We are getting hosed hand over fist by highly consolidated corporations. Greece with it's "lazy ways" has a CPI of even less than the USA at 68.88. Take Norway with one of the highest CPIs of 118.59. That's with a VAT tax of 27%. Consider their income tax for the "upper-middle class" at 36% and that their GDP per capita was 100,818.50 USD in 2013 compared with the USA GDP per capita of 53,041.98. Even factoring in increased prices they are hugely more productive than the United States is.
That's even before you consider the fact that their social and economic mobility is generally a lot better than ours. It's a lot easier to climb out of poverty there.
Anyway, America is already socialist: free schools, free medical for the needy, food stamps...you need to look around.
None of this is socialism. The government providing things for needy people isn't the same as the government and people owning all business and production. There are natural monopolies that exist that are best left to transparent public administration. The lack of TRANSPARENCY and the influence caused by FUND RAISING politicians imparted by BIG CORPORATIONS is the downfall of the USA.
