What is Democratic Socialism?

I am going to use Bill O'reilly's explanation as to what Democratic socialism is as I think his explanation is the best one I have ever heard.  So here it goes.  Under a Democratic Socialist government, healthcare, banking, education, retirement/welfare and energy are all nationalized (there may be exceptions to this list or additions depending on structure of a Democratic Socialist government).  To get all this stuff free you pay taxes in excess of 25 to 75% of your income.  So it is not actually free, as you pre-pay for it essentially.  However there is another catch.  You do not have any freedom with respect to how you use these services. 

Let us take education for example.  Your child will have to pass a series of tests to pass into each grade level or even to go to a new school.  Based on these scores though, the government determines if your child must change schools, or determines if the child may go to college or not (if the nation offers free college).  There is no school choice here as the government says what school/college your child may attend, how long a child can be in school/college and even if the child is allowed to attend school or a college in the first place.  The only true exception to this scenario is if a family can afford to pay out of pocket themselves.  In short, they typically have to be very rich for their child to go to a good college as opposed to the government saying which college if any the child may attend.

Healthcare is another classic example.  Under Democratic Socialism, you do not choose your doctor and they determine when you are allowed to see your doctor.  So if you need an MRI or even X-ray you may only get one when the government has cleared it with their budget.  You basically have to wait in an invisible line to be seen by a doctor or a specialist so that the government can accommodate your visit in the budget. 

That is right, your entire life is budgeted with respect to education, healthcare, energy, etc. If the government cannot find room for your MRI in their budget then you cannot get your MRI till they do.  If they think you will not do well in college, then you will not be allowed to attend the free government college.  Basically you have no freedom here.

Final Thought:  I elaborated on Mr. O’reilly’s explanation a little, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible so that all can understand.  The Fact is, that Democratic Socialism has government controlling your freedom of choice with respect to your education, health and other matters.  For me, a libertarian and Constitutionalist, this is scary.  I do not want to be some number on the government's budget books, though technically I already am a number in the United States due to our tax system and the entitlements, but I rather not have my choices taken away.  I do not want anyone's choices taken away.  And thus it is for these reasons why I cannot vote for Bernie Sanders or for Hillary Clinton who support this government model as their vision of America.