When Silicon Valley Was Young

[Mr.Bee]

The persons you should be listening to are not the ones born after 1980.
'TOM HARTMANN has been talking about the Two-Santa-Claus theory for as long as he has been on the air,
and yet it has gained no traction within the Democratic Party. I just don’t get it.'

The persons you should be listening to are those of us who came of age in the seventies.
The seventies. When everything worked.
The birth of Silicon Valley.
The birth of many technological companies, Apple, Intel, AMD!
Medical coverage was so cheap hiring companies were offering benefits as an incentive!
I worked at two large-name companies then, 100% medical, 80% dental.
CEOs only made 20 times more than their employees.
-and no one complained a 70% top tax rate was too high-
because a well-manned workforce was more important.
We were all in it together.
Then along came Mr. Reagan and his free-trade Nafta,
which turned in off-shoring and divided the nation.
I said even back then 'this cannot end well,'
as we watched our jobs and manufacturing dry up.
That's the experience we lived through.
They're hoping our generation dies off before we can tell our story
of how things worked before low taxes, billionaires, tax cuts, and trickle-down.

[Basso8vb]

1. I was born in Silicon Valley in 1971.

People have no idea what an amazing place this was to grow up in back in the 70s and even into the 80s.

I came across one of my dad's old resumes from 1975. He was asking for $18,000 per year: my mom chose to be a stay at home mom with a baby on the way, they owned their house for 8 years already, 2 cars, good benefits and time off for several trips per year for vacations, camping and to visit family.

Somehow I find myself living just a few blocks from where I grew up, make far more than my father ever did and I can barely afford even my rent controlled apartment.

Silicon Valley is an empty husk of what it once was.

[Mr.Bee]

2. 1971

That was a great year for rock music, Who's Next, Led Zeppelin 4, Sticky Fingers, Imagine (John Lennon), Fragile (Yes), Pearl (Janis Joplin), LA Woman (Doors), Whats Going On (Marvin Gaye)
It's what I equate as the year rock music grew up and became 'Adult Contemporary'.
I might add, I lived in Silicon Valley 30 years until 2000, too expensive, too congested.

[Mr.Bee]

3. Now Let's Think More About The Seventies

Comon boys and girls, gather round, listen to an old guy tell you how things worked in his day...
Well I graduated high school where we had discussion classes called 'Social Studies'
Oh! That word - 'Social' - where we discussed climate change, back then we called it 'global warming'...

The first president I voted for was George McGovern, closest thing we had to a Bernie Sanders.
Me and my schoolmates were ready to be drafted to Vietnam, then they repealed in 1973,
so I went to work at $2.00 an hour, 35¢ over the minimum wage.
I was employed and I went to the doctor and I don't remember ever having to pay a bill.
If I did it was some ridiculous amount like $5 or $8...
I later went to four years community college for $18 admission, $25 textbook, used one at that!
-and we had a brand-new smooth 280-680 freeway to drive to my girlfriend's house.