Obama years did not screw people. Where did you get this type of thought. How did he do that? What people fail to realize is that Obama saved the nation from the worst ever crash. He brought us back into the fold and led the globe regarding financial recovery. How in the hell do you see this as hurting us. I lost my house to being upside down and yes it hurt like hell but thanks to Obama I was able to get out from under it and take the hit. Without OBama we , the nation, would never have make it. We love and miss Obama terribly.

@EMC2 Obama was a decent man although in the employ of Wall St. None of the bankers went to jail. Iceland is the only place that has prosecuted the criminals of 2008. He also chose to continue neo-liberal trade policies. This hurt many people whose jobs were shipped overseas. It made Donald TRump's election possible. Hardly my hero, although certainly a decent man.

@xazlen The bail out structure was set in late December as Bush was still president and Obama realizing the political environment honored what the Bush policy stated, The banks only had to pay back 50 % on the dollar. Yet despite all this reaching over the isle, Obama brought us out of the recession before the rest of the world. Obama was not a Wall STreet president as he enforced the FRank Dodd act. With full control of congress and senate in republican hands, Obama was forced to do what he could. He is not like Trump demanding the nation be loyal to him and he only. Obama was perhaps the greatest president of our times. No scandals and only success

Since 1970, when the President was Nixon (R ), we've had Ford (R ), Carter (D ), Reagan (R ), Bush (R ), Clinton (D ), Bush II (R ), Obama (D ), and now Trump (R ). I count 6 Republicans in that list and only 3 Democrats. The decline in middle-class waged has been going on for a long, long time. You can't blame Obama solely, and you sure can't blame the Democratic Party.

@Druvius I'm curious who you're quoting there.

I won't argue that wealth has been accumulating upward under all administrations. I would argue whether both parties were equally facilitating that process or not.

Under Republican administrations, the top tax rates declined markedly, and there's been a corresponding urge to cut programs that assist those at the bottom of the heap. Democrat administrations have had the opposite priorities.

Thing is that the Republican party has a very very effective propaganda machine, particularly since the advent of cable news, which is very good at portraying all tax cuts as being good for everybody- regardless of their actual effects- and at fooling people into thinking they belong to the richest 0.2% of Americans (those who would benefit from the elimination of the estate tax). It's also very very good at spreading myths about the undeserving poor and welfare queens making tens of thousands a month in fraudulent payments. Whereas the Democrats frankly suck at making their programs appealing to the very voters who would most benefit from them (which is to say, 95% of the public).

@Druvius Are the Democrats ever in charge long enough to reverse the trend? I mean a control of both houses of the Legislature, plus the Executive. And now it seems as though the Judicial is set to be solidly conservative for the next 20 to 30 years at least. Americans seem to want their government divided or right wing, for some reason which I can't fathom. They've been boondoggled repeatedly for "cultural" reasons into voting against their economic interests. It's the "Family Values" thing.

As for Chomsky, he's an idealist who has a great distaste for capitalism itself. I only have a distaste for capitalists like the Walton family and their ilk. Chomsky's ideas about a voluntary anarchist economy are all well and good, until you get to the point where someone has to shovel the shit. Then you're going to have a big circle of people all saying "Not it!"

@Paul4747 Each time Democrats had office the economy went up. JUST a fact. A fact.
The democrats today are the voice of the working class. No doubt since we lost the real republican party as the tea party took over and now we have Trump, an idiot at best.

@EMC2 Middle class spending and middle class income is the basis of the economy. The right doesn't get it. I don't begrudge people getting wealthy ,but if they do it by paying minimum wage and no benefits, grinding the work force down to get every dime of profit they can... I object. A rising tide should lift all boats.