Wow I never said we should or would go back to the 50s and 60s. I was just trying to describe what I see happening. I agree with you, we can't compete now, we won't be going back to that era. Most working people are in a kind of downward slide right now. That's just what's happening. It's not a political talking point.

One thing I think is unfortunate is the tendency online to frame every discussion as a zero sum game and plug a label on the "other" so as to "win" the "argument". We actually agree on a lot, and I FYI don't much care for Lou Dobbs.

Most of these thoughts came from Kevin Philips recent book Bad Money. It's a good read and I thought he explained it all pretty well. He doesn't think we're going back to the 50s either.