HillerBee,
Before you roll on the floor, it might be a good idea to actually know what you are talking about. You say "democracy" as a rebuttal to "socialist" as if they were opposing terms, which is as close as if you said "apple" and "outboard motor".
By socialist, I mean that the State owns or operates significant companies and economic entiries, such as the state-owned oil companies, medical systems, transport systems, airlines, aerospace manufacturers, utilities, in fact - practically EVERYTHING in your "democracies."
When the State owns this stuff, it decides what to do, what to sell for and how much to pay based on politics, not economics.
I stand by what I said, do not expect an essentially free-market US to respond the way a socialist country does to political power plays, like strikes.