The un employment rate is still on the rise
Union membership is down
And while middle class average income has hit a plateau the wealthy income average has sky rocketed
Still we out source a lot of jobs that despite the technological age could be considered blue collar

The US has lost craftsmanship and trades going for mass marketed production

We push education upon our children at frighteningly younger ages each year with the results being young adults who cannot read or write(the computer does it for them) Who also don't think analytically, or at all, these children could not function without technology

these trends do not bode well for the US society...what are your opinions on them?

You are correct on oh so many levels. I'll post later when I have the time to be coherent.

I wouldn't argue with a bit of that.

The decline of Rome. Same reasons too!

The rich are getting richer and the poor people are demanding we cut taxes on the rich. We are heading for a two class society with the poor people leading the charge. I am pretty sure we are in the death spiral of the american dream.

unemployment rate is on the decline since october 2010

the bottom line is profit/income


companies/corporations/individuals/ government

have become so focused on the SHORT TERM FINANCIAL gains they perceive that they continuously refuse to look at the OVERALL AFFECT SOCIALLY their behaviors will have

so, humans get replaced by machines(not because profit wasnt being made, but of course it would make MORE profit), Jobs get outsourced to countries with cheaper costs(not because profit wasnt being made, but of courst because it would make MORE profit),

employers pay ridiculously low wages for work , as low as they can get away with (not because the higher wage would prevent profit but just that lower wages INCREASES the profit)


consumers spend ridiculous amounts of money they dont have 'credit' on some assumption of what their future finance will be


we are a culture where the value of MATERIAL and MONEY has slowly but consistently started replacing the value of Human beings and their communities and families


this is what we are left with and I havent much hope it will change from what I see and read everyday, not just in mainstream but on blogs and forums like these

we are in an unsustainable mode of BLAME GAMING everything and pointing one finger at someone else, ignoring the three pointing back at us

we say the right words, everyone has to 'do their part' but we want to reserve the right to decide for everyone else what 'their' part should be while fighting to the death to prevent anyone telling us what ours should

the rich DESERVE their riches of course,but those who have worked hard in public sector are being GREEDY and not doing their part if they dont let go of some of what they have


the taxes 'we' pay, somehow only came from 'us 'and anyone benefitting from them obviously isnt amongst 'us' and therefore must be taking from 'us' (although most adults in america will work 45 years out of their life, thats PLENTY of tax paying)

its the cultural mentality leading to the national decline,,,in my opinion


I could go on and on,,more single parent homes, moves to get everyone to have 'sex' at their leisure regardless the consequences, more move to cause people to need everything 'instantly'(from their information to their conversations), less community activities for youngsters, etc,,,,but I dont like to read books on these forums and try to spare others,,,lol

You missed another trend.

American inventors are, for the most part, no longer inventing new things...

Instead they are going for the easy money by inventing 'add ons' to things that allready exist.

and inovation suffers. If we start again to inovate we will invent things that the world will want... and money will flow this way.

It probably doesn't help that we ship our jobs overseas to people who work less for less than a $1.00 an hour. I don't think will get much better unless the people make a stand for our rights.

Truth is that those people overseas that make 'less' than 'we' do... Make about the same by the 'economy' that exists in their local area.

When a jug of milk costs 50 cents $2.00 an hour is a just wage.

When your rent is 50 bucks a month $2.00 an hour is a just wage.

and while we screem and shout about our 'rights'... those people also have the right to work.

If I was trying to make a product and the tax system forced me to 'overprice' that product I would simply make that product where the tax system was a bit less restrictive.

There is allways another side.

Its been my observation that most manufactureing leaves for environmental reasons. Heavy industry is verry poluteing and verry expensive to clean up. Our industrial heyday was when the air was unfit to breath and the cuyahoga river caught on fire it was so polluted. If you google Chinas pollution it looks like america in the 70's.

This is a misconception that I need to keep hammering on. Nothing "forces" businesses to take their operations or their earnings offshore. NAFTA ALLOWS them to do these things.

But keep in mind they don't get benefits like we do and they work them til they can't work anymore and corporations don't care about thier rights as long as thier rolling in the dough. There is no freedom in working for working in corportions it's all under the table dealing while the people suffer for thier actions. But there is no accountablity either.

In sweatshops you can work over 24 hrs and have to meet some quota thats impossible to make maybe make a 1.00 or a little more for all your work. Then try to supply a family on a crappy income. They tell corportaions that you are not being over worked you are forced to lie about your hours or they will take away your only income. Corporate America is inhumane.

The reality is, we have no right to tell corporations or individuals where they can set up shop.

Not with NAFTA, we don't.

The sad thing is corporations and goverment are working together and so they decide how everything is run because it's a revolving door. If you want to know who is running things research the people in office and where they came from and you'll see corporate america written all over them. It's a corrupt system.

Let me ask you a question.

Why did WalMart become the largest retailer in the US?

I'll answer that. Mostly through predatory pricing borne on the backs of their employees. Originally, Sam Walton at least insisted on selling only American-made goods, so that at least helped America's manufacturing sector. NAFTA changed all that.

(Sorry to interrupt, inesezi)

If we were of the elite, we could own a politician or two

It's just destroying your competition start off with lower prices and cut off local businesses by providing stuff they don't have. You have to make the people dependent on you for everything. Walmart and Homeland security are also doing business together too. They have the see something say something campaign. Nothing happens by accident.