• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

1985 vs 2015

Was America better off in 1985, or are we better off today in 2015?

  • 1985 was better overall

    Votes: 25 50.0%

  • 2015 is better overall

    Votes: 25 50.0%
  • Total voters
    50
tres borrachos said:
That's good. You must be around perfect kids.

You must have lived in an interesting place in 1985 considering most houses didn't have home consoles then, and Atari and Sega weren't available in North America until after 1986.
Click to expand...

Nope. Normal high school kids of all ranges... and nope, I lived in

The Atari 2600 came out in 1977: Atari 2600 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And Intellivsion came out in 1979: Intellivision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
The poll is tied right now. I bet if we had done this same poll in 1985 (vs 1955), it would be about even also. And if we had done the poll in 1955 (vs 1925) it would be even again. Over a thirty year time period, probably about half of the people are going to remember the old days as the "good ole days".

Yet if we had asked if we were better off today than in 1915, probably on one or two people would have responded that things were better in 1915.
 
Luftwaffe said:
2015 > 1985

Unfortunately as time goes on some rights get restricted but other rights get recognized.

I wish we could advance without restricting any rights but still getting other rights recognized. The good thing is that we're pushing back on gun laws and such more so today.

I prefer my modern life to the '85 life according to what I've heard. Technology advancements are simply too great, to want to live in a more backwards technological age just seems foreign to me.

Speaking of wanting to live in backwards ages... Perhaps Paleocon can give some good input for this thread :lol:
Click to expand...

considering Wash was one of the few states that permitted concealed carry in 1985 and otherwise I like using old things, like cassette players, 80s cars, and would appreciate living here prior to the suburbanization of most of Western Washington, I will say 1985.

although I suppose if one was gay, or got diagnosed with blood cancer, or any cancer for that matter. would 2015
 
tres borrachos said:
I remember more an antagonistic attitude towards Russia which I often think stemmed more from competition than fear. We wanted to be the world superpower - and so did they.

I never worried that a Russian was going to hurt me. In fact, in 1983, I studied abroad in Vienna for a semester, and we took a 10 day trip to Russia. It wasn't scary at all. I wouldn't consider going to many places now that we went then, including Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Greece. I wouldn't let my kids go to any of those places now.
Click to expand...

Its hard for me to imagine Americans openly wanting to be the worlds superpower these days.
 
Henrin said:
I don't see how that is possible. It just seems to me to be political rhetoric made up by liberals to shift blame.
Click to expand...

To shift it to who?

During that 30 year time span, we have had 15 years under republican presidents, and 15 years under democrat presidents, and I suspect that congress has pretty much been in control of both parties equally also.
 
Henrin said:
In 1985 I was two. Do the math to find the answer.
Click to expand...

Back when I was saying "these young people today, they don't know nothin", I guess I was talking about people your age.
 
imagep said:
To shift it to who?

During that 30 year time span, we have had 15 years under republican presidents, and 15 years under democrat presidents, and I suspect that congress has pretty much been in control of both parties equally also.
Click to expand...

Policy wise the claim that we have shifted towards Laissez-faire economics doesn't appear to have any basis in fact.
 
Henrin said:
Policy wise the claim that we have shifted towards Laissez-faire economics doesn't appear to have any basis in fact.
Click to expand...

I agree. However income tax rates, particularly on the are much lower today, than they were for decades prior to the Reagan Administration.

I really don't think that this thread was supposed to be about partisan politics though. It seems that most of the posters are talking about either culture or technology or a combination of the two.
 
Henrin said:
It just seems to me to be political rhetoric made up by liberals to shift blame.
Click to expand...

I see you edited. It's not made up. Our economy has changed dramatically since the 70s (not made up). We use to make most of our money from producing things. Now most of our economy is made from the financialization of the economy. More people are in debt today due to such a shift. Wages may not have kept up, but being able to fiancé is much easier. That helped to create a house of cards. As our economy has become more risky, so has the shift of individual risk as mentioned like retirements etc...
 
I was 4. But I know 2 great things about 1985...
RonaldReagan_1379799c.jpg

1378423966_Back-To-The-Future-Trilogy-back-to-the-future-26581615-1014-574.jpg

I will say this, as a small kid Reagan had an almost father like air about him. I knew he cared.
 
US Conservative said:
I was 4. But I know 2 great things about 1985...
RonaldReagan_1379799c.jpg

1378423966_Back-To-The-Future-Trilogy-back-to-the-future-26581615-1014-574.jpg

I will say this, as a small kid Reagan had an almost father like air about him. I knew he cared.
Click to expand...

Such juvenile notions are usually grown out of. I'll pray for you.
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
I see you edited. It's not made up. Our economy has changed dramatically since the 70s (not made up). We use to make most of our money from producing things. Now most of our economy is made from the financialization of the economy. More people are in debt today due to such a shift. Wages may not have kept up, but being able to fiancé is much easier. That helped to create a house of cards. As our economy has become more risky, so has the shift of individual risk as mentioned like retirements etc...
Click to expand...

I don't see what that has to do with neoliberalism or laizzare faire economics. The underlining policies haven't really changed and the ideology behind them is more or less the same. The country is just further along the road then it was in the 1970's. That's pretty much it. Sure, you might get me on one regulation or another that was repealed, but with that said, we are more regulated today than the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's, or the 00's. It's silly to blame the economy on deregulation.
 
Henrin said:
I don't see what that has to do with neoliberalism or laizzare faire economics. The underlining policies haven't really changed and the ideology behind them is more or less the same. The country is just further along the road then it was in the 1970's. That's pretty much it. Sure, you might get me on one regulation or another that was repealed, but with that said, we are more regulated today than the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's, or the 00's. It's silly to blame the economy on deregulation. It's shear gibberish to blame the economy on laizzare faire economics.
Click to expand...

Manufacturing shifted because China opened up. This shift really began in the 1970's with Nixon.
 
US Conservative said:
In many ways we have regressed, Obama is one of those ways.
reagan_vs_obama.jpeg
Click to expand...

Yes, the contrast is quite stark. Reagan was a strong leader who united Americans and got the most out of the country. He was respected overseas, and effectively communicated his strategy with the public and with the politicians with whom he worked.

Obama kicked off his presidency with an apology tour, and has been apologizing ever since. He is the black Jimmy Carter. Full of negativity and self-doubt. Not the stuff leaders are made of.
 
Henrin said:
I don't see what that has to do with neoliberalism or laizzare faire economics. The underlining policies haven't really changed and the ideology behind them is more or less the same. The country is just further along the road then it was in the 1970's. That's pretty much it. Sure, you might get me on one regulation or another that was repealed, but with that said, we are more regulated today than the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's, or the 00's. It's silly to blame the economy on deregulation.
Click to expand...

Plenty has changed in that time period starting with the big push to privatize all things public. This continues along with trade agreements that favor protecting investors and the free flow of capital while dismantling protection that come with building a riskier economy for eveyone else. Debt piles up and people are left to fend for themselves when the economy turns bad. Those most vulnerable are the young and old.
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
Plenty has changed in that time period starting with the big push to privatize all things public.
Click to expand...

Give me a list of things privatized v. things made public. Lets see which one comes out on top.

This continues along with trade agreements that favor protecting investors and the free flow of capital while dismantling protection that come with building a riskier economy for eveyone else. Debt piles up and people are left to fend for themselves when the economy turns bad. Those most vulnerable are the young and old.
Click to expand...

What kind of protection are we are talking about here?
 
Peter Grimm said:
Pretty simple question for discussion: Is the United States better off today, or were we better off 30 years ago in 1985?

There are a number of angles you can approach this from, and I'll leave it up to you to decide what's important to you.


Which era was a better time to be an American?
Click to expand...

Culturally? Geo-politically? Economically? In which era were people more optimistic about the future?
Great OP- Everyone looks at then and now in differing ways. The variety of views is wide ranging. I assume that is what you were looking for?
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
I see you edited. It's not made up. Our economy has changed dramatically since the 70s (not made up). We use to make most of our money from producing things. Now most of our economy is made from the financialization of the economy. More people are in debt today due to such a shift. Wages may not have kept up, but being able to fiancé is much easier. That helped to create a house of cards. As our economy has become more risky, so has the shift of individual risk as mentioned like retirements etc...
Click to expand...
Yes, the economy of today is about pretending you have an income you don't really have. Baby boomers are to blame.
 
Terminator 1 was released in 1985:

giphy.gif






Terminator Genysis will be released in 2015

anigif_longform-original-4996-1417722597-4.gif



Yeah, he wasn't kidding about being back, was he.

Score #2 for 1985...
 
Henrin said:
Give me a list of things privatized v. things made public. Lets see which one comes out on top.



What kind of protection are we are talking about here?
Click to expand...

We've privatized plenty including such things as prisons, our military, even local municipalities are being sold off to the highest bidder. Things currently pushed to be privatized are our public schools, and postal service.
 
Henrin said:
Give me a list of things privatized v. things made public. Lets see which one comes out on top. ...
Click to expand...

Profits for large banks and auto makers (etc) v. losses for those companies which were absorbed by the tax payer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom