Those are precisely the kind of things I am talking about when I use the word "socialism", Amos...socially compassionate and useful services which are funded by our taxes and managed by different levels of government. Things like, as you said,

Public Libraries
Fire Departments
Trash Collection and Waste Processing
Sewers
Public Water Works
Port Management
Public Parks Management
Playgrounds
Schools
Highways
etc...

Those ARE ALL forms of socialism, Amos, and they are very good forms of socialism which work extremely well in a predominantly capitalist society. You are simply being an obstreporous, nitpicking, pestiferous bandar-log when you say that they are not socialism. Be off with you, sir! Get thee hence to a Starbucks and see if you can impress the other latte-drinkers with your verbal sophistication and your sesquidpedalian adventures in obfuscation. ;-D (I say that with a smile on my face and a twinkle in my pretty brown eyes...)