When you actually learn the ideals of socialism, specifically central planning, you realize that many American politicians aren't really all that against it. I'm not talking about Democrats only either. There are many institutions in American society that are highly socialist in how they are facilitated. Here are some examples.

What do I mean? Mainly I'm referring to central planning, and if you think about central planning being the far left of the spectrum, free markets would be the other extreme. The things I will list are far more to the left than we probably acknowledge.

While most hospitals are privately owned, most people are not aware of how centrally planned they have become in most states. In order for a hospital to be built, there is a process that has to be followed called a Certificate of Need (in most states). I first learned about this many years ago when I asked my father‑in‑law why there was only one hospital in our area. The hospital has a terrible reputation and record. Many people will drive over an hour and a half to avoid using it. Knowing this, I was perplexed about why another hospital hadn't popped up to compete with them. So how is a Certificate of Need obtained? Through a committee of mostly politicians—politicians who get campaign money from the existing medical providers. And this, this classic pattern we should all be aware of, is why we don't have true market competition for hospital care. I mean, imagine if we didn't have these impartial and educated arbiters of public need to decide how many hospitals we need in an area...

Power companies, water companies, and sewer systems are almost always either completely centrally operated by cities or so heavily regulated that they are private in name only. At best, we have a government‑established monopoly. The government decides which company is given the right to operate, and no competition is even allowed. For the state, it’s a great solution. Think about PG&E in California. The public thinks of PG&E as a private company. But in reality, their pricing of power, their ability to build power generation, and their governance are almost completely dictated by the state. I honestly wonder if it wouldn't be better if the state just dissolved the company and ended this farce. At least then the public would point their fingers at the correct root problem: central planning.

In California—which isn't alone in this, by the way—the state restricts the building of new power generation. The state hasn't allowed a significant power generator to be built since 1985. The state uses far more power than it generates, and the power companies must import power from other states. Of course, this drives up the cost of power and is the main reason why power is more expensive in the Golden State. It doesn't have to be this way. Allow competition. Allow companies to come in and build new power generation that isn’t these solar science experiments. The vast majority of building that has been done in the state is for natural gas plants. They are basically required due to the spikes and valleys produced by grids dependent on solar.

The volunteer firefighter is becoming a thing of the past. Over the years, I've had several friends who used to do this. Firefighting started as a volunteer and privately run operation. It still is in some places, but this is exceedingly rare. One need only look at what happened in Southern California to see the consequences of centrally planned fire prevention and firefighting.

The biggest example and most broadly influential is the Fed. The price of money (credit) is centrally planned and managed. It galls me every time I hear a conservative decry socialism and then defend the Fed.

Price controls are, on the surface, largely discredited. Even the average person will laugh if you suggest them in many situations. But the poisonous idea of central planning at the center of the rot of socialism is far too present in so‑called free nations. These ideas have not been destroyed. Until they are proven to be terrible, we will suffer the consequences. We see price controls in the form of rent control, insurance regulation in many states, and anti‑price‑gouging laws.

I could go on and on about this. I could probably think of a dozen or more examples of central planning in our so‑called free nation. What is a big one I missed? What is a big one that bugs you?