How could anyone hate free-market capitalism?

[TK]

I'm unaware of anyone, least of all President Obama, who believes that the government should completely control the American economy. President Obama believes that America's financial economy in particular must be appropriately regulated and overseen by agencies for compliance with those regulations in order to avert the kind of financial catastrophe we have just witnessed.

Most social programs are intended to complement the free market economy for those Americans who cannot work for a living or who are retired from the workforce. These programs give these Americans a minimal standard of living, one in which they almost immediately inject their economic benefits right back into the American economy. So virtually all of the expensive social programs that are offered have a very important and frequently unacknowledged economic benefit to the economy. It's not as though these social programs represent a bottom line loss. You have to calculate how much money these recipients return to the economy, which is almost 100%.

In other words, there are plenty of American workers and American businesses making money and paying taxes and purchasing goods and services and investing and/or saving money all as a result of the social programs administered by state, local and federal governments.

We are making money. So the answer to your question is that we can have broad social programs that meet basic needs and still make money.

Take care.