NSH - I think what Diana was saying wasn't necessarily in direct conflict with your sentiments. But Boomers didn't all take and not give....Civil Rights and anti-war marches were not all self-involved. As for Fox, the Tea Party etc....I find it curious that you want to hang that on Boomers when....it happened on your watch.

I was in Target yesterday because my roasting pan had gone kaput, and I found three possibilities. The one I purchased, with the well-known brand of an American company founded in 1900 was, I learned to my dismay, made in China. In fact, the other two alternatives were also made in China.

What does it mean when a company promotes itself as a wonderful, old, long-established American brand known for the quality of its products, and yet doesn't even make those products here anymore?

I also purchased some kitchen towels and napkins, also made in China. This, after browsing Bed, Bath & Beyond and finding product after product that used to be made here, and now is made in China (actually, one of the fabric products were made in India).

If you want to know why the US economy is really under-performing, look back at Ross Perot and what he called that great 'sucking sound' of jobs going to Mexico if NAFTA went through. Obviously, he was right. Then to Bill Clinton and his "triangulation" with the Republicans, and the actions of all Presidents since then, to strengthen the shipping of jobs and factories overseas and the dismantling of American industry at all levels.

Now double or triple the GDP to see where our economy should really be.

shameful behavior.

we all hang together or we all hang separately

Washing with unadulterated soap and water is all that most people need. Our obsession with body odor is just a marketing ploy to convince us to purchase products, many of which have never been tested for chronic toxicity after direct application or subsequent entry into the environment.

Republicans like to talk about the virtues of " Main Street" while overlooking the fact that about 70% of our economy is consumption. When exclusive, high end products being sold to the super wealthy are doing exceptionally well and the rest of the consumer economy is in the doldrums, shouldn't that tell us something about the health of the economy?
It should stand to reason that redistribution should benefit main street because people with less income have to spend it.

hang in there, constant. One of my kids was like that and there was never a solution...then, with love and support, he grew up and guess what! He's ok. Just hang in there and don't be discouraged by the lost skirmishes. Trust me: You are winning the war.

In the subjects of history, political science & in economics there are terms relating to styles of capitalism that the US, Germany, Denmark fall into. The US, Canada, & UK are often placed into the group liberal market economies. Germany & Denmark are considered coordinated market economies. China is a state led market economy. Indeed these economies are different yet similar in other ways. The United States it can be argued has a few state led markets - Pennsylvania for example has a monopoly on alcohol sales. Still the US has & will always be a liberal market economy as Germany & Denmark will be coordinated markets.

A liberal market economy enables for fast innovation, but not that great of products in first. Coordinated market economies allow for better quality products ..saw BMW vs..Ford. An economy like China enables for products to be produced in mass for cheap.

The different style of markets are the key here. I favor a liberal market economy but feel it's important to have a mix of markets to balance each other out. It's possible for wage to go up but cost cutting has to come from elsewhere. Automation innovation has been occurring in the food industry & will continue to do so. We may have a fast food worker down the road earning $20 a wage..but his or her job will be mostly a technician of such automated systems. Most of the jobs will be eliminated..replaced by what? Not totally sure. I think this issue is of more importance than the $20 wage.