Funny, how in the span of 28 years (1981-2009)....

[Ardent15]

....a century of progress could be reversed.

All it took was 4 Presidents, a do-nothing/rubber-stamp Congress, and a complacent public.

Just sad.

[Bigmack]

1. Yup.... 1980 election was the turning point....nt

[hfojvt]

2. so now this is 1881?

the income tax has been abolished, along with the automobile? the interstate highway system has been torn up? there's no such thing as Dr. Seuss?

To me, looking at 28 years is the wrong view, because an incredible amount of damage has been done since 2001. Clinton was a major disappointment in many ways, but the party was still pretty good in 1999.

[Spider Jerusalem]

6. Clinton was more than a major disappointment, really

Clinton's economic policies apart from deficit-cutting were broadly neoliberal; NAFTA, most favoured nation status for China, deregulation of banking and financial services and utilities...most of which, to be fair, were passed by a Republican-led Congress, but Clinton still persided over them and in many instances enthusiastically endorsed them. Things were good in 1999, but things looked pretty good in 1929 right up to the crash, too.

[Wilms]

3. Hold on a sec.

You left out the media. :(

And calling the public complacent is really being kind.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Yeah, and they are going for Soc. Sec. next.

already the meme is warming up.

[Sherman A1]

5. It is (and has been) the age of the Robber Barons

over the last few weeks I have been imagining just how different things could have been if with the rise of productivity over that time period we could have seen a equal (or even kinda close) rise in median wages. Things could have been so cool for me personally, but for a good portion of the middle class which would have in turn raised the standard of living for both lower class and those in the upper class as well (but, they are too damn greedy to share the wealth and instead just horde it).

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: