General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPOTUS to Rutgers grads: America is better than it was 50 years ago—"or even eight years ago."
"When you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt."
8 YEARS AGO
Let me be as clear as I can be, in politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.
"You've got to be a citizen full time, all the time.
Vote, pay attention, be informed, be engaged."
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/15/president-obama-delivers-rutgers-university-commencement-address/#comments
malaise
(269,365 posts)pampango
(24,692 posts)Barack Obama delivered a stinging rebuke to a culture of isolationism and falsehood, and an adamant defense of facts and science, in his commencement address to the Rutgers University graduating class of 2016 on Sunday.
In a wide-ranging address, Obama singled out the issue of income inequality and proposed closing tax loopholes on hedge fund managers, highlighted the importance of voting and accountability, and commented on the problems of money in politics and climate change.
The president took particular umbrage with a culture of willful ignorance, ridiculing leaders and commentators who reject science and facts. And yet, weve become confused about this, he said.
He also argued that the notion of a wall on Americas borders ran counter to the nations founding principles: The world is interconnected and becoming more so every day. Building walls wont change that.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/15/barack-obama-commencement-speech-donald-trump
Octafish
(55,745 posts)...and Bush and Cheney started making license plates and all the wars and occupations ended when all the green clean energy and transportation jobs came back to Detroit with the clean water.
Yeah. Lot better.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Economically, the working/middle class was better off. there was much less income inequality.
DrBulldog
(841 posts)And you are a perpetuator of the oligarchic Establishment as well, Obama.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)Democat
(11,617 posts)For everyone else, life today is better.
ensemble
(164 posts)middle class, white, and straight better yesterday, I'll buy that. But if you are rich and whatever else, today is better.
AZ Progressive
(3,411 posts)Otherwise, no.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)to show it ..clap your hands.
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)70 to 50 years ago, the US held an unnaturally high share of the world GDP.
So the myth of a 1950's 'golden age' will linger on.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)The science and industry push of WWII and the quick switch to the Cold War, allowed by our infrastructure being in place being only the biggest, among many reasons that simply cannot be replicated.
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)in 1950, all the competitors were at their lowest:
- Western Europe and Japan were in ruins
- Eastern Europe was subjugated to Stalinism
- Mao was embarking on 30 years of stagnation
- India was taking post independence baby steps
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Hairy Harry Potlover
(42 posts)It is! , Mr President.
Alkene
(752 posts)then you can be pretty sure that the American experience is going to be just fine for you.
Certainly better than it was eight years ago.
HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts)As far as "decades", our last hurrah was the late 60s/early 70s, when people last cared about making a difference in human/civil/voting/labor rights.
In the 1980s, that gumby-headed cerebral wonder took over and busted unions, permanently installed 1929 Crashonomics, ushered in financial piracy and plutonomy, destroyed media fairness, bloated the military, ignored AIDS, laughed off renewable energy, allowed a CEO to rewrite tax policy so the bankers could vacuum the middle/working/poor . . . and oh yeah, oversaw high treason.
We stopped being great right about then. Ayn Rand is our scroll-writer now and we kowtow to the supremely wealthy and hope for the best . . . . a "best" we're never likely going to get again.
burfman
(264 posts)Last edited Tue May 17, 2016, 08:36 PM - Edit history (3)
I remember being in a supermarket about 20 years ago and each item was roughly worth a dollar on average.
Today I find in the supermarket that every item is about three dollars each on average.
Now can we say that the average salary has tripled in the last 20 years?
It has remained pretty constant:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#/media/File:US_Real_Household_Median_Income_thru_2014.png
So OK, now we can get health care without worrying about pre-existing conditions - which is a big thing - but it's getting tough to afford insurance, education and everything else.
burfman.....................
StarTrombone
(188 posts)Because he knows how to do that.
Someone ain't being honest