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Sixty percent of our national budget goes to the military. Do we really need that? Most of the 'foriegn aid' section of the US budget is for military overseas. It is buried there so we will not really know how much they are draining away of our hard earned tax dollars.
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Originally Posted by goldengrain Sixty percent of our national budget goes to the military. Do we really need that? Most of the 'foriegn aid' section of the US budget is for military overseas. It is buried there so we will not really know how much they are draining away of our hard earned tax dollars.
I've read that it's more like 20-22%.
Look at the part of the budget entitled 'Foreign Aid'. It is huge and most of that goes for OUR military overseas. Add that to the chunk designated 'Military' in the budget, and you get about 60% of the budget that is ACTUAL military expenditure.
Look, I will never like Bill Clinton because of the way he crammed Nafta down our throats, which opened the way to so much loss of American jobs - but - he cut welfare in half and cut back a lot of the military expenditures, thereby balancing the budget with projected surpluses.
Bush quickly put and end to that.
Obama is following in Bush's footsteps, despite all the campaign rhetoric. He has lost his initial following and has said he does not care.
Obama said he will settle for being a one term President. Well, if he were taking bold steps for the betterment of the country and the people, that might be a noble sentiment, but he is doing nothing but play into the hands of big business interests, which leaves me with a not too high opinion of the man's character.
In the 50's, President Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex. With recent Presidents and Obama, we are finally seeing what Ike meant.
Perhaps, in the 50's we still had a chance of honesty in government. Now a Congressman often has to raise $65k each day if he hopes to have enough money for his re-election campaign. He is put in a position in which he must play ball with big business.
Well I liked my life better when I was in my 20's but there is no stopping time. Same goes for the 1950's vs today....apples to oranges and no way to turn back time.
In the Fifties credit cards did not exist. If you wanted something you saved for it. In some cases there were stores that would allow you to make time payments, i.e, Sear Roebuck, and there was lay-away. The instant gratification of modern times which has buried the economy was missing from the Fifties. Life was simple, work, get paid, buy and save a little.
During the Fifties there were still many families who did not have a TV. Radio was the mainstay with dramas like the Shadow, Bob Benson of the BBarB, Skyking, Rin Tin Tin, and the Lone Ranger that brought out the best in a child's imagination. Not everyone had telephones either and if you did you probably had a party line. The quiet was wonderful!
Store item were put in paper bags, and meats were wrapped in butcher's paper. People saved their newspapers until trash day and then bundled them and put them out. There were many adults and children making extra money collecting newspapers, scrap metal, rags, etc,. and then selling them to scrap dealers. (No need or tax payer paid collections). Soda and beer bottles all had deposits and were the bounty of many children of the day used to buy candy and other treats.
In the Fifties credit cards did not exist. If you wanted something you saved for it. In some cases there were stores that would allow you to make time payments, i.e, Sear Roebuck, and there was lay-away. The instant gratification of modern times which has buried the economy was missing from the Fifties. Life was simple, work, get paid, buy and save a little.
So true. We (my wife and I) don't use credit cards, and teach the kids the same values. Live within, if not below your means. You are so right.
People have become too impatient, insatiable, and material driven it's sad.
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Originally Posted by donsabi
During the Fifties there were still many families who did not have a TV. Radio was the mainstay with dramas like the Shadow, Bob Benson of the BBarB, Skyking, Rin Tin Tin, and the Lone Ranger that brought out the best in a child's imagination. Not everyone had telephones either and if you did you probably had a party line. The quiet was wonderful!
Again, I did not live in the 50s, the 80s were still ok .
Probably the last decade of decency. (for me anyways..)
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Life was good in the Fifties!
In the 70s, and 80s too for me anyways.. But today, it's a sad state. I feel bad for my kids. They'll wish for 2010, in the future.
*the GDP grew by 250%
*average incomes tripled
*the housing market was booming
*developers were building 1.5 million homes per year
*Home ownership rates exploded
*60% of Americans were in the middle class category
*Poverty rates were dropping fast
*Consumer spending doubled in the 1950s
*Divorce rates were low, while marriage rates were high and people married at a younger age than at any other time in history
*Only 4% of all babies were born out-of-wedlock, compared to 40% today
*90% of all children grew up with married parents
*there was no crack epidemic yet
*there were hardly any school shootings
*90% of all school levies were approved by voters
*discipline problems in school minor
*the US had the best educational system in the world at the time
*cost of living was low
*families were able to live comfortably on only one income
*Americans viewed the home and the family to be most important thing in society
*No secular humanist movement opposed the 1954 addition of "under God" to the Pledge of Alligence
*The birth rate was extremely high, women were having almost 4 children on average
Despite the fact that women had less job opportunities and racial tension was strong, our country did very well in the 1950s.
It seems as if the weakening threads of family and the home, rising divorce rates, and massive increase in out of wedlock births, and the increase in government involvement in our society has led to the downfall of our nation.
People then were happier even though we lived in simpler times because people viewed the family as the most important thing in our society, rather than careers or money, or having the latest fashionable clothing.
What has happened to our country???
Here is a question that I need you to answer. How would the 1950's been helpful to me as an African-American. For African-Americans, life wasn't that great. I don't see many African-Americans wishing for the 1950's back. African-Americans were certainly not happy back then. I have to look at it from a racial perspective because I am African-American and in those days, discrimination and racism were rampant to many extremes. If I was living in those days, I would not have been happy because I know that as a Black man, I wouldn't be guaranteed the same rights and privileges as everyone else. Economically I would have had a harder time. Please explain how the 1950's were good for African-Americans?
Here is a question that I need you to answer. How would the 1950's been helpful to me as an African-American. For African-Americans, life wasn't that great. I don't see many African-Americans wishing for the 1950's back. African-Americans were certainly not happy back then. I have to look at it from a racial perspective because I am African-American and in those days, discrimination and racism were rampant to many extremes. If I was living in those days, I would not have been happy because I know that as a Black man, I wouldn't be guaranteed the same rights and privileges as everyone else. Economically I would have had a harder time. Please explain how the 1950's were good for African-Americans?
What you say is applies to other decades, too, not just the '50s.
What you say is applies to other decades, too, not just the '50s.
I know that. I am all too aware of that. But this is a thread about the 1950's vs. today. I am asking how would the 1950's been helpful to me, an African-American male? I ask THAT question because the issue of race is something I can't ignore. I can't ignore it because if I was living back in those days, my life certainly would not be that good.
I know that. I am all too aware of that. But this is a thread about the 1950's vs. today. I am asking how would the 1950's been helpful to me, an African-American male? I ask THAT question because the issue of race is something I can't ignore. I can't ignore it because if I was living back in those days, my life certainly would not be that good.
There is no perfect decade.
But many people, including myself, believe that the '50s were the best decade of the 20th century... or any century.
Yes, there was more racism then but on the other hand, the number of unwed mothers was much less as was the crime rate.
Ahhh the fabled and fantastical 1950's.......when Wally and The Beav lived on every block.
They are long gone, and just like our childhoods we can't wish them back.
I personally don't think they were the best, I seriously LOVED the 80's. But that's just me.
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(for me anyways..
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