Just like Nostatic said, there were LOTS of very poor illiterate people in the past. There is a major hospital in the metro area that got started as a home for pregnant girls. They are one of the oldest hospitals around.

I worked with a lady that used to run a drug store. She said there were lots of customers coming in for cocaine, laudanum & opium. Drugs and prostitution have always been around. Ask any black man that grew up in the 30s or 40s if he longs for the "good ol days"

America has no future it is all used up!

The Future?

Reminds me of that song from Little Orphan Annie about tomorrow, "you're always a day away"

Having a job, education or future is not that important if you have a cell phone or a flat screen.

where's my flying car?
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/10/05/miracles-youll-see-in-the-next-fifty-years/

Love the instant/cheap communications. Internet, e-mail, facebook, Star Trek communicator err... cell phones, Netflix are a huge leap from 20 years ago. I smirk and shake my head every time I launch the movie of my choice from Netflix.

Disappointments? Can't believe we still lack answers for world hunger, clean water, and energy. Biggest disappointment is that people still kill each other over religion and lines drawn on maps.

The cell phones are great, better than star trek.

Communication might be a little too good for our own good.

Where's 50 Weeks of vacation a year?

I'd rather have an Orgasmarator

http://top10kid.com/wp-content/uploads/t10orgasmo.jpg

Everything in that commercial was spot on. Except the company that brought it to me was Apple.

no no - you have confused 2 different things

it is Soylent Green - with a Y

the Soilent stuff... is BROWN

Uh, we''ve got the answers for pretty much all of those. The hang-up is implementation - even the people that need them get in the way of that, often for reasons related to the second sentence.

We're progressing technologically by not socially, in large part because we're using social frameworks and value systems thousands of years out of date.

Tabs has no future he is all used up!

"the future ain't happened yet!"

The future is now..........
 

If you really want to mess up your day, just remember that "now" will be "the good old days" at some point!

"It's not that liberals are not smart, it's just that most of what they know is not so! Ronald Reagan

I used to hear old men saying the country (and world) is going to hell in a hand basket. Now I find myself thinking the same thing. My expectation of the future is pretty grim. I see politicians and people running our government putting themselves and special interests before everything to the detriment of our present and future condition. I don't see them being able to get anything accomplished for the good of the country or its citizens, and I see our country being another flash in the pan in future years. I also see China positioning itself to be the preeminent power in the future by investing in long term goals rather than short term personal gains as our politicians are doing. They already have our nuclear secrets and now a computer 47% faster than our best. They are buying our debt and manipulating their currency to their advantage as we set by and whine. While we live beyond our means (as we have been for a long time), they ruthlessly manage things for their long term benefit. When the time comes, we will be just one of the followers as countries turn from us to the next super power. Sad.

Hope that was't too PARFy.

Nah.

BTW, modern music is corrupting today's yute...

according to Plato, anyway. :)

It's fairly much what I thought it would be.

But I sure was wrong about those computer thingies that everyone seems to have.