Sunday, December 12, 2021

USA: Throwing it all away, by Paddington

 In many ways, the years 1945-1965 were some of the best ever for the United States.

With the massive funds of the British Empire, obtained through the Lend Lease program, the war machine was converted to civilian products (as well as weapons production), fueled by huge US oil reserves.

There was virtually no competition, given that the British, French, German and Japanese empires were destroyed, and most of Russia and China were at least a century behind us.

The government invested in infrastructure (rural electrification, the interstate system), education (especially the public universities), people (Medicare and Medicaid) and scientific research (both very pure and applied). We were the leaders in electronics, computers and nuclear energy.

The middle class grew and thrived, with good jobs with benefits, which included pensions.

At some point, the public was persuaded that pensions were bad, as were unions, and science. People were encouraged and divided over envy.

I don't think that the country as a whole was helped by the latter, and things do not seem to be going in a good direction.

I just watched an interview with a Chinese industrialist who was educated at Stanford University, who noted that the infrastructure in the US amazed him when he came in the early 1970's, and now appears to be inferior to much of China's.

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