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re: When Was America Greatest?

Posted on 4/27/16 at 9:41 am to
Posted by BlackPawnMartyr
Houston, TX
Member since Dec 2010
15351 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 9:41 am to
quote:

The U.S. rose and peaked post WWII, mainly because it had bombed the hell out of its other global competition.


quote:

we are definitely not at our peak, and we are headed south


So we were in a economic bubble bound to bust once other countries repaired their infrastructure and once again could compete globally. That seems like a way too intelligent way of looking at things. Is there any way you could take that logic and twist it so i could blame one side of the duopoly. TIA
Posted by Numberwang
Bike City, USA
Member since Feb 2012
13163 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 9:53 am to
Here, let me.

The post-war "boom years" simultaneously created an American "confidence" that our actions in WWII were totally just and correct. Those years also brought about an entitled and arrogant "Baby Boomer" generation, which inherited a prosperous society and took for granted pretty much everything they were handed. That generation didn't acknowledge the reality of the incredible infrastructure and privileged economic status their forebears handed to them.

They set out in their arrogance to critique and exploit that culture.

So we have the economic realities of today, combined with a mindset of anti-Western thought and critique.

Conservativism is just the understanding that good things are much easier to destroy than they are to create. That's the heart of being a Conservative. Being a liberal requires much more optimism and to some degree, denial of reality. Being a Leftist requires a desire to deconstruct and destroy the very culture and society that allowed your puny little existence in the first place. It is insanity.
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 9:59 am to
quote:

Basically, Republicans think America was at its best when segregation was the norm, LGBT rights were an oxymoron, there was no separation of church and state, and we had just won/finished our second world war in three decades.


This is ridiculously narrow-minded and shows exactly why there is so much political discourse today.

I think most Republicans long for a day when they knew their kids would be better off than they were. Most Republicans long for a day when they knew they could get ahead in life by simply working hard.

In the last 2 years, I've been promoted at work, yet due to rising taxes and rising health care costs, my take-home is roughly 10% less than it was even though I've received a "raise." Meanwhile, the amount of money I need to be saving for my kids' college rises each and every year.

GDP growth hovered between 36% and 39% in each decade of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. While there were constant small, upward and downward swings in GDP growth, the economy enjoyed strong, steady growth for roughly 5 consecutive decades. In the 2000s GDP growth dropped to just 18% for the decade.... and the 2010s are on track to be somewhere in that same ballpark. Things are not getting better. Their is less opportunity for advancement today than in previous generations.

Since 1934, the US Economy had only experienced more than 3 consecutive years of annual GDP growth of less than 3%. That came at the tail-end of the Carter administration when the economy grew just 1.25% (1979), 0% (1980), 1.38% (1981), and -1.52% (1982). But then Reagan's tax cuts kicked in and the US economy was jump-started again with 7.86% growth in 1983, 5.71% growth in 1985, etc.

Going all the way back to 1934, this was the only period of four years or more with growth under 3% each year.

Then it all changed in 2006. After three good years of solid growth in 2003, 2004, and 2005, the economy began to slump in 2006. We are now in our 11th consecutive year in which annual GDP growth will stay under that 3% benchmark.... in fact, it hasn't even hit 2.8% during this entire period of time.

I'm not here to blame Bush or Obama. No single person is responsible. Some will point out that this slump began under Bush. Fine. But Obama told us that his stimulus would get us back to 5% GDP growth within 3 years, and we haven't come close. He's now had nearly 2 full terms in office, and our economy is the pits.

I am no Trump supporter. Not even close. But to malign hard-working Americans with charges of racism and saying they only wish we could return to the days of segregation shows your ignorance. Most Americans just want to see themselves and their children prosper. This is the American dream. But we're 10+ years into our worst economic stretch in several generations, and there is no sign of improvement anywhere on the horizon.

Posted by HottyToddy7
Member since Sep 2010
14044 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 10:03 am to
I would probably say the 60s and 70s. Here is why. Mass media and the internet had not screwed up the country. America was great when it was a republic made up of thousands of communities that were made of people who were like minded. People in California and Mississippi didn't know much about the details of everyday life outside of their bubble. People lived different and there was no "right" way to live. If you didn't like the community you grew up in you left home for greener pastures.

People lived under the laws they wanted to live and America was great. When the internet and 24 hour news stations came along and made the US one big community and the morally "right" way to live it screwed everything up. And we are paying for it today and I'm not sure how it is going to be fixed.
This post was edited on 4/27/16 at 10:06 am
Posted by Hardy_Har
MS
Member since Nov 2012
16285 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 10:04 am to
The MAD MEN timeframe
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 10:09 am to
quote:

So we were in a economic bubble bound to bust once other countries repaired their infrastructure and once again could compete globally.


Ever heard of the Marshall Plan?

The US was responsible for rebuilding most of Europe... after we lost 400,000 men who fought to save it.
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 10:18 am to
quote:

People lived different and there was no "right" way to live. If you didn't like the community you grew up in you left home for greener pastures.

People lived under the laws they wanted to live and America was great. When the internet and 24 hour news stations came along and made the US one big community and the morally "right" way to live it screwed everything up. And we are paying for it today and I'm not sure how it is going to be fixed.


^^^^THIS^^^^

Because of technology, there is no going back unfortunately.
Posted by scrooster
Resident Ethicist
Member since Jul 2012
37948 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 11:15 am to
I'm in a no-win situation allowing myself to be lured into this thread ... but here goes.

Our best days are behind us.

It all started with The Fed, central banking, becoming a consumer society, out of control debt not just on a Federal or State level ... but in our own personal lives. Keeping up with the Jones. A social welfare system that pays people to breed and takes away their natural human drive and spirit to fend for themselves, make something out of their lives, make a contribution to society.

Today it's all about, and this is validated by the current campaign, but today it's all about "what will you promise to give me? I want everything for free. I want a high paying job straight out of college and oh, btw, I do not want to have to pay for college ... it too should be free."

We've lost our trade skills, we have to ship everything overseas these days then buy it back.

We are transferring our wealth to our enemies at break neck speed while getting deeper in debt and still not fixing our failing infrastructure.

Our tax dollars are going to all the wrong places while, at the same time, we are driving away big business with high tax rates and killing small business with through our over regulated Big Brother bureaucrazy (sic) government.

We fail to take care of our veterans. We bitch about taking care of our seniors who paid into the system their entire lives.

I mean our priorities are so outta whack right now.

We're addicted to TV and 24 hour news cycles from the MSM all with their own agendas driven by their greed and need to influence not only us, but our elected representatives.

The hypocrisy and mendacity that abounds on both sides of the political fence is mind boggling ... yet the lies and cheating and corrupting continues on both sides and no one seems to really care. It's become business as usual.

There are literally no limits to the madness ... the things shown on TV, the things said to one another, the finger pointing, the polarization, the race baiting ... this whole LBGT thing is just another false narrative of a mole hill being made into a mountain.

The brainwashing that is going-on in even our primary education system these days, at the earliest levels ... it should be criminal. The revisionist history is so out of hand it is Stalinist in nature, it really is. Every good thing in our past has been vilified ... kids these days are being taught that we're not a good country, never were, have never done anything to help the world or thwart evil from existing ... hell, as evidenced in this thread, we're now the evil ones!

Our best days are behind us. China will pass us soon economically while we've become a debtor nation that will eventually have to default, or worse, on our obligations. We'll be sold off, piece meal ... hell, we already are being sold off piece meal.

And it all goes back to the banks, The Fed, et al.

To understand how we got here and where we are going all one need do is read The Creature from Jekyll Island. The facts are indisputable.

Yet, the bottom line is this. Perception is reality and unless you lived during the really good times in this country ... you cannot imagine just how far we have fallen as a country. Sure, Equal Rights have come a long way, so has the income inequality thing ... I totally agree. But at the same time our education system has suffered, our job growth has tanked ... and anyone who believes there are only 5% of people who want to work in this country right now who are unemployed ... well, the word "moron" was used earlier in this thread and I do not like the word but it is apropos in this case ... because there are 20 million unemployed and another 10 million underemployed in this country right now who really want to work but cannot find a job ... many of them recent college graduates.

I dunno ... this is beating a dead horse and it is what it is ... but our best days are behind us. This country has a complete different mindset these days about living life debt free, owning no one, working hard, staying loyal to yourself and others ... things have really changed and not always for the better.

The real indicator?

Our middle class is being eradicated and that is always, historically ALWAYS, the key indicator that a society and a nation is on the decline.

There are three phases to everything in life ... life itself for that matter, this applies to everything.

There is a growth phase.
There is a maintenance phase.
There is a decline phase.

Our first two phases, in the overall scheme of things from a world's history perspective ... our first two phases were very short lived. There is absolutely no one who can argue that we are not now in our decline phase. It is all around us and, even though perception is reality ... the facts of the matter are clear. Our best days are behind us.

Anyways, that's my two cents fwiw.
Posted by Kentucker
Cincinnati, KY
Member since Apr 2013
19351 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 11:16 am to
Now and going forward. Millennials represent a turning point in this country. I love them all.

Religion, and its stifling influence on human rights, is in decline. Technology is shining a bright light into the darker aspects of humanity and is showing us the folly of using fossil fuels for unfettered growth of the human population.

Scientific discoveries are happening at a dizzying pace, making it difficult to keep up with all the new knowledge about life and the Universe. There has never been a better time to be alive.

Why are all these wondrous things happening now? Because of the United States of America. We continue to lead the world forward out of darkness and into the light of knowledge.

Posted by Year of the Dragon
Member since Feb 2016
404 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:03 pm to
quote:

and going forward. Millennials represent a turning point in this country. I love them all.

Religion, and its stifling influence on human rights, is in decline. Technology is shining a bright light into the darker aspects of humanity and is showing us the folly of using fossil fuels for unfettered growth of the human population.

Scientific discoveries are happening at a dizzying pace, making it difficult to keep up with all the new knowledge about life and the Universe. There has never been a better time to be alive.


Agreed. Not enough up votes. As soon as we can abandon religion the better it will be for the world as a whole.

I just hope we continue to protect more land and create more national parks for future generations to enjoy. Hopefully, we will start to take better care of our environment so these areas will still be around. Looking at alternative energy is the only way for this to happen. I have hope that science will be the way for a better future for America and the rest of the world.
This post was edited on 4/27/16 at 12:17 pm
Posted by Phat Phil
Krispy Kreme
Member since May 2010
7374 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:15 pm to
90's. People were generally more happier. The economic expansion of the 1990s was the longest in recorded American history.

Posted by AllbyMyRelf
Virginia
Member since Nov 2014
3341 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:22 pm to
quote:

Behind . America is so sensitive that you have to watch literally everything you say that has to do with race, gender, age, sexuality.. Etc.

This
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:34 pm to
quote:

Agreed. Not enough up votes. As soon as we can abandon religion the better it will be for the world as a whole.


Your bigotry towards those who are religious is no different than any other bigotry that has existed in society for the last several hundred years. You are no different.
Posted by Year of the Dragon
Member since Feb 2016
404 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:38 pm to
quote:

bigotry towards those who are religious is no different than any other bigotry that has existed in society for the last several hundred years. You are no different.



Your are assuming I'm only talking about Christianity. My dislike for religion does not affect other people unlike the other way around. See Islam for example.
Posted by boogiewoogie1978
Little Rock
Member since Aug 2012
17157 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 12:50 pm to
quote:

90's. People were generally more happier. The economic expansion of the 1990s was the longest in recorded American history.


Everyone had decent paying jobs and jobs were abundant.
Money solves a lot of things.
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 1:31 pm to
If you want to know why so many people feel like our best days are behind us, just let this sink in:

From 1961-2006, America enjoyed 46 years of annual economic growth averaging a whopping 8.2%
From 2007-2015, America has experienced 8 years of annual economic growth averaging a scant 1.2%

Our growth is likely the slowest its been for such a long period of time INCLUDING the Great Depression. What people don't know is that the Great Depression actually had wild fluctuations in GDP growth... both downwards and upwards. 1930 (-8.49%), 1931 (-7.22%), 1932 (-12.22%), and 1933 (-1.27%) were by far the worst years, economically speaking, in US history. But those four years were followed by 4 boom years in 1934 (+10.26%), 1935 (+9.3%), 1936 (+12.77%), and 1937 (+4.72%).... before we suffered another mini-recession in 1938.

Then from 1939-1944, the US experienced wild economic growth of more than 10% per year... mainly due to WW2. But the post-war years were hard: -0.89% in 1945... -11.71% in 1946... and 0% in 1947.

The Great Depression was actually about a 21-year period (1929-1949) that saw extreme fluctuations in the economy... both in positive and negative directions. A lot of fortunes were both made and lost during the Depression. But amazingly, from the dawn of the 1930s to the NYE ball drop in the 1940s, despite being in the midst of the Great Depression, the US Economy actually grew at 4.4% per year during those two decades.

While this current economic downturn has not been nearly as harsh as the worst parts of the Great Depression, the overall upward direction in our current downturn is equal to less than half the growth we experienced in those days.

This current economy is literally the slowest 8-year period in US economic history (1.2% annual growth from 2007 to 2015) since the 8-year period that occurred from 1930 to 1937 (0.6% annual growth). If the current rate persists into the next 2 years, we will likely be able to say that we are living in the worst decade of GDP growth in US history....ALL US HISTORY!... even worse than any 10-year period during the Great Depression.

So forgive me for not thinking America is now in its Golden Age because Bruce Jenner can cut off his junk and win an award. I don't care about that. All I care about is leaving my kids with a better future, and its not looking good at this point.
Posted by tomsellecksmustache
Dallas, Texas
Member since Dec 2015
1786 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 1:57 pm to
quote:

I'm in a no-win situation allowing myself to be lured into this thread ... but here goes.

Our best days are behind us.

It all started with The Fed, central banking, becoming a consumer society, out of control debt not just on a Federal or State level ... but in our own personal lives. Keeping up with the Jones. A social welfare system that pays people to breed and takes away their natural human drive and spirit to fend for themselves, make something out of their lives, make a contribution to society.

Today it's all about, and this is validated by the current campaign, but today it's all about "what will you promise to give me? I want everything for free. I want a high paying job straight out of college and oh, btw, I do not want to have to pay for college ... it too should be free."

We've lost our trade skills, we have to ship everything overseas these days then buy it back.

We are transferring our wealth to our enemies at break neck speed while getting deeper in debt and still not fixing our failing infrastructure.

Our tax dollars are going to all the wrong places while, at the same time, we are driving away big business with high tax rates and killing small business with through our over regulated Big Brother bureaucrazy (sic) government.

We fail to take care of our veterans. We bitch about taking care of our seniors who paid into the system their entire lives.

I mean our priorities are so outta whack right now.

We're addicted to TV and 24 hour news cycles from the MSM all with their own agendas driven by their greed and need to influence not only us, but our elected representatives.

The hypocrisy and mendacity that abounds on both sides of the political fence is mind boggling ... yet the lies and cheating and corrupting continues on both sides and no one seems to really care. It's become business as usual.

There are literally no limits to the madness ... the things shown on TV, the things said to one another, the finger pointing, the polarization, the race baiting ... this whole LBGT thing is just another false narrative of a mole hill being made into a mountain.

The brainwashing that is going-on in even our primary education system these days, at the earliest levels ... it should be criminal. The revisionist history is so out of hand it is Stalinist in nature, it really is. Every good thing in our past has been vilified ... kids these days are being taught that we're not a good country, never were, have never done anything to help the world or thwart evil from existing ... hell, as evidenced in this thread, we're now the evil ones!

Our best days are behind us. China will pass us soon economically while we've become a debtor nation that will eventually have to default, or worse, on our obligations. We'll be sold off, piece meal ... hell, we already are being sold off piece meal.

And it all goes back to the banks, The Fed, et al.

To understand how we got here and where we are going all one need do is read The Creature from Jekyll Island. The facts are indisputable.

Yet, the bottom line is this. Perception is reality and unless you lived during the really good times in this country ... you cannot imagine just how far we have fallen as a country. Sure, Equal Rights have come a long way, so has the income inequality thing ... I totally agree. But at the same time our education system has suffered, our job growth has tanked ... and anyone who believes there are only 5% of people who want to work in this country right now who are unemployed ... well, the word "moron" was used earlier in this thread and I do not like the word but it is apropos in this case ... because there are 20 million unemployed and another 10 million underemployed in this country right now who really want to work but cannot find a job ... many of them recent college graduates.

I dunno ... this is beating a dead horse and it is what it is ... but our best days are behind us. This country has a complete different mindset these days about living life debt free, owning no one, working hard, staying loyal to yourself and others ... things have really changed and not always for the better.

The real indicator?

Our middle class is being eradicated and that is always, historically ALWAYS, the key indicator that a society and a nation is on the decline.

There are three phases to everything in life ... life itself for that matter, this applies to everything.

There is a growth phase.
There is a maintenance phase.
There is a decline phase.

Our first two phases, in the overall scheme of things from a world's history perspective ... our first two phases were very short lived. There is absolutely no one who can argue that we are not now in our decline phase. It is all around us and, even though perception is reality ... the facts of the matter are clear. Our best days are behind us.

Anyways, that's my two cents fwiw.


TRUTH BOMB!!!!!

Posted by Reservoir dawg
Member since Oct 2013
14169 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 2:15 pm to
You've bought into to left wing sewege, I see.
Posted by Goldrush25
San Diego, CA
Member since Oct 2012
33794 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 2:19 pm to
quote:

1776


Ah yes, those were the days. Life expectancy was around 35, gotta love that.
This post was edited on 4/27/16 at 2:19 pm
Posted by BHMKyle
Birmingham, AL
Member since Feb 2013
5076 posts
Posted on 4/27/16 at 2:23 pm to
quote:

Religion, and its stifling influence on human rights, is in decline.


Why don't you go to the Czech Republic... the most atheist country on the planet... and tell me what rights they have that we don't have here. To act as if Americans were living with "no rights" up until "millennials" came around is completely ignorant.

quote:

showing us the folly of using fossil fuels


Energy from fossil fuels has saved and bettered more lives in this world than likely any other single thing in the history of the world. You are really drinking the kool aid.

quote:

unfettered growth of the human population.


"Unfettered"? So are you for population control? You're crossing into Third Reicht territory if so. Who gets to decide who gets to reproduce and who doesn't? If there is one major world problem on the horizon that deals with population, its that we're not replacing the population fast enough in much of Asia and Europe. Japan is set for a horrific next 60 years unless they see a major surge in their birth rate. The same goes for Taiwan and South Korea.

quote:


Why are all these wondrous things happening now? Because of the United States of America.


The one thing you've said that makes any sense.... yet you want to make America more like Europe I presume. If America is so great, why do you want to change it?
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