“For 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in technology and productivity. And what we have seen during that period is a massive transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of America” PeopleYearsHas BeensAmericaHoursClassMillionsTechnologyMiddleHugePeriodsPercentIncreaseDollarsDisappearProductivityDespiteMiddle ClassMassiveWagesTransfers Author:Lindsey Graham
“Germany is a fascinating role model. The Germans have maintained their manufacturing edge despite being a high-tax, high-regulation economy. Why? Because the government really set about ensuring that it maintained funding for technical training, technical advancements and programs. It made a concerted effort to retain high-end, complex manufacturing -- the kind of BMW model, if you will. And they've done that so successfully that Germany, which has a quarter of America's population, exports more than America does.” IfsKindDoeMadeEndsDoneGovernmentAmericaEffortRolesEconomyTaxesModelsTrainingProgramComplexesEdgesPopulationDespiteGermanyFascinatingRole ModelsQuartersRegulationAdvancementFundingManufacturingBmwHigh TaxesTechnical Training Author:Fareed Zakaria
“I know that so many of us hoped that, by electing our first black president, we had turned the page on this chapter in our history. But, despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.” KnowsFirstsLongAmericaBlackPresidentEffortRaceStruggleHighestPagesFinishedDespiteChaptersBest Effort Author:Hillary Clinton
“Despite his reputation as one of America's foremost "serious" filmmakers, Oliver Stone's name under the "director" caption does not guarantee a good movie. I learned that lesson while enduring the seemingly-endless tedium of The Doors, and was reminded of it during some of the long, drawn-out portions of JFK. However, nothing that Stone has directed or misdirected prepared me for the grotesque mess that is Natural Born Killers.” LongDoeAmericaNamesBornNaturalDoorsSeriousLessonsDirectorsStonesPreparedEndureEndlessReputationDespiteMessFilmmakerGuaranteesPortionsKillersGood MovieGrotesqueTediumCaption Author:James Berardinelli
“Despite its increased dependence on the international economy, America continues to behave as if it were either a closed economy or the leader whom everyone else should automatically follow.” IfsShouldAmericaLeaderEconomyInternationalDespiteBehaveDependence Book:The Political Economy of International Relations Source: The Political Economy of International Relations
“There are two visions of America. One precedes our founding fathers and finds its roots in the harshness of our Puritan past. It is very suspicious of freedom, uncomfortable with diversity hostile to science, unfriendly to reason, contemptuous of personal autonomy. It sees America as a religious nation. It views patriotism as allegiance to God. It secretly adores coercion and conformity. Despite our constitution, despite the legacy of the Enlightenment, it appeals to millions of Americans and threatens our freedom.” TwoReasonAmericaPastFatherNationsReligiousViewsVisionMillionsAtheismDiversityEnlightenmentRootsConstitutionDespiteAppealsLegacyUncomfortableConformityAdoreFoundingHostileAutonomySuspiciousCoercionAllegianceOur Founding FathersPuritanHarshnessUnfriendlyContemptuous Author:Sherwin Wine
“Everyone in America (according to my generalizations) is a potential millionaire waiting for his or her big break. I was astonished lately to realize that Americans are definitely believing in and planning for the future, despite the fact that they elected Ronald Reagan twice.” BelieveFactsBigsAmericaWaitingRealizingBreakPlanningDespiteMillionaireFuture PlansGeneralization Book:Roseanne: my life as a woman Source: Roseanne: my life as a woman
“In my early teens, I read every bound volume of the magazine Punch. Every writer of any distinction in the English language, and I mean including America and England, at some time wrote for Punch. Jerome K. Jerome, who wrote Three Men In A Boat, I loved. I was very impressed when I read a piece by Mark Twain in Punch, and realized that despite the fact that they were on different continents, Jerome K. Jerome and Mark Twain had the same kind of laconic, laid-back, "The human race is damn stupid, but quite interesting" attitude. They were almost talking with the same voice.” MenHumansKindMeanDifferentFactsAmericaThreeLanguageVoiceInterestingRaceAttitudeTalkingPiecesStupidMarkEnglandBoundsIncludingDespiteBoatMagazinesDamnHuman RaceDistinctionTeensContinentsVolumeImpressedEnglish LanguageLaid BackLaconic Author:Terry Pratchett