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Why America is more free in 2012 than 1962.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/12/opinion/frum-conservatives-despair/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Yes, this in an Op-Ed. By definition it is not unbiased. It is an interesting read, however.
Here are a few highlights...
America is not a society divided between "makers" and "takers." Instead, almost all of us proceed through a life cycle where we sometimes make and sometimes take as we pass from schooling to employment to retirement. The line between "making" and "taking" is not a racial line. The biggest government program we have, Medicare, benefits a population that is 85% white. .... Compare the United States of 2012 to the United States of 1962. Leave aside the obvious points about segregation and discrimination, and look only at the economy.In 1962, the government regulated the price and route of every airplane, every freight train, every truck and every merchant ship in the United States. The government regulated the price of natural gas. It regulated the interest on every checking account and the commission on every purchase or sale of stock. Owning a gold bar was a serious crime that could be prosecuted under the Trading with the Enemy Act. The top rate of income tax was 91%.
It was illegal to own a telephone. Phones had to be rented from the giant government-regulated monopoly that controlled all telecommunications in the United States. All young men were subject to the military draft and could escape only if they entered a government-approved graduate course of study. The great concern of students of American society -- of liberals such as David Riesman, of conservatives such as Russell Kirk, and of radicals such as Dwight Macdonald -- was the country's stultifying, crushing conformity.
Even if you look only at the experiences of white heterosexual men, the United States of 2012 is a freer country in almost every way than the United States of 1962.
Re: Why America is more free in 2012 than 1962.
That's really interesting. I knew the airlines were more regulated, but I had no idea about all of the other things that author lists.
Very interesting! I did not know that telephones were rented. Such a strange concept to me. And not being able to own a gold bar? Wow.
I never had any doubt that we have more freedom today, and I find claims to the contrary to be stupefying.
Woa, I feel very old. Does anyone know the show
Laugh In ? Lily tomlin did an hilarious sketch as
a telephone operator for Ma Bell. It was about how
they treated you any way they wanted to because
they were the only game in town.
Oh, and my first phones as a grown up were rented
from Ma Bell.
Excuse me while I send for my AARP card.
One ringy-dingy. Two ringy-dingy.
Is this the party to whom I am speaking?
I have a major girl crush on you.
My husband and I are on a West Wing DVD marathon and just got to the part where Lily Tomlin enters the show. She's fun.
But I have no idea what Laugh In is... am I missing something highly worthwhile and should I remedy this?
Laugh In was hilarious. It was a semi-political skit-style comedy show from the late-60s/early-70s.
It was the starting off point for Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin, amongst others. It's a wee bit dated now, but it's still hilarious if you're familiar with the politics of the time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_%26_Martin's_Laugh-In