Noam Chomsky - Turning the Tide U.S. intervention in

The Challenge Ahead
Classics in Politics: Turning the Tide Noam Chomsky
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preceding two years the average period of unemployment was higher
than for any two-year period since World War II, with less than a third of
the unemployed receiving benefits as compared with about 1/2 during
the 1970s. Average gross weekly earnings for 1984 were below the
1972 peak. Close to 34 million Americans are living below the poverty
line, with 100 million below the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “low
standard city budget for a family of four.” Furthermore, the future
prospects are dim, as poverty is increasingly concentrated among the
young, who are locked into a system with no escape. 22.2% of
Americans under 18 (48% of black children) live in poverty as compared
with 14.3% in 1969-70, a tendency that has accelerated rapidly since
1979. All noteworthy achievements, which are hardly likely to be
overcome with the rapidly mounting federal and trade deficits of
“Reaganomics,” meaning that future production will increasingly go to
paying debts. 39
The situation of the hungry, poor and homeless reflects the historical
inability of the American economy to provide a decent life for much of
the population. With its unparalleled advantages—vast internal
resources, no external enemies, a huge flow of cheap labor and capital
when needed, an empty continent once the land was cleared of the
native population, and so on—the United States should by far surpass
all other countries in such measures as infant mortality, life expectancy,
and other indicators of “quality of life.” In fact, it is well down the list, a
catastrophic failure of American state capitalism.