General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This, my friends, is far too typical for my generation. [View all]Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)People had a very hard time of it.
I don't agree with most of the Reagan era (or with most of the Clinton era) thinking, but I do realize why that happened. People were hard broke, jobs were hard to come by, and living standards were abysmal and declining for all too many.
The change happened before Reagan, and it produced Reaganism. People were so broke they desperately needed tax cuts to be able to buy food. And God help the older people.
Look at real retail sales from the 72/73 peak to 1984 (the recovery from the early 80's recessions):
People literally couldn't buy the basics. By comparison to our current era, it was a worse trajectory:
Since the GD, though, jobs have never been worse:
And from the point of view of the individual living standard, our current era is terrible: