[dragonwriter]

> Anyone with a background on classical economics realizes the U.S is much closer to socialism than capitalism.

Anyone should recognize that the dominant system of the modern developed world is a hybrid retaining largely the capitalist structures and property regime, but adopting many strategies with origins in socialism (including advocated in the communism of Marx and Engels) for mitigating some of the effects for which 19th Century socialists criticized the dominant system of the developed world at that time, for which they coined the term "capitalism".

Its probably not particularly productive to argue about whether this synthesis is "closer" to socialism or capitalism.