Good report here

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/15/barack-obama-commencement-speech-donald-trump

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, we’ve become confused about this,” he said.

He also argued that the notion of a wall on America’s borders ran counter to the nation’s founding principles: “The world is interconnected and becoming more so every day. Building walls won’t change that.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/15/barack-obama-commencement-speech-donald-trump

...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.

Economically, the working/middle class was better off. there was much less income inequality.

And you are a perpetuator of the oligarchic Establishment as well, Obama.

For everyone else, life today is better.

middle class, white, and straight better yesterday, I'll buy that. But if you are rich and whatever else, today is better.

Otherwise, no.

to show it ..clap your hands.

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.

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.

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

It is! , Mr President.

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.

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.

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.....................

Because he knows how to do that.

Someone ain't being honest