I believe in a free market, but with regulations. We've now been in 2 recessions & a depression because of lax to no regulations, so clearly it's not the way to go. Btw, poverty in America does translate to starving. If it wasn't for welfare, minimum-wage employees would literally have to choose between having somewhere to live or eating. It looks different because of our welfare programs, but it's very much the same. About the world-class doctor thing: that's not how democratic socialism works. Doctors will continue to make as much as they do, they'll just be taxed more. The government won't cut their pay, because they can't. How much someone earns is based on the company they work for. There are people in every company that determine how much to pay the employees.