Hillary's Claim: "America Never Stopped Being Great"

In contrast the  Trump campaign slogan to "Make America Great Again", Hillary Clinton keeps telling her crowds: that "America Never Stopped Being Great". Of course, her supporters all cheer wildly.

But, most Americans understand that our country's greatness has been declining since the 1970's. This is why Trump is doing as well as he is. Here are some of the facts that support Trump's claim:

• In 1970, 61% of Americans were in the middle class. Today, only 43% can make that claim.
• In the 1970's, America was the best educated country in the world. Since then, we are now ranked 27th in the all-important category of mathematics.  We rank 17th in reading with an astounding 19% of our high school graduates unable to read. Additionally, we now rank 20th in science.
• The poverty rate in the 70's ranged between 11.7% to 12.6% of the population.  As of 2014, it stood at 15%; up from 14.5% in 2013. Obviously going in the wrong direction. Also understand, that beyond the percentages, the U.S. now has a record number of people living in poverty -- 47 million --  since President Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty more than 50 years ago.
• Our Federal debt in 1970 was just $398 billion.  Sadly, it is now near $19.5 trillion.  48 times higher and setting a new record everyday.
• Today, our national infrastructure needs between 3 and 4 trillion dollars worth of  repairs, while, in 1970, it was fairly maintained.
• Dozens of cities and municipalities are facing bankruptcy.  Others, such as Detroit, have already gone bankrupt.
• A record 95 million are not in the labor force. 
• In 1980, nearly 20 million workers were in the manufacturing sector.  By 2014, that number fell to just 12.3 million. 

Now, I could go on an on with things like Medicare and Social Security facing insolvency, and how parts of our military are smaller now than before World War II, but I think you get the point.

References:

Hillary Clinton: 'America never stopped being great': http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/06/hillary-clinton-america-never-stopped-being-great-sot.cnn

The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. No longer the majority and falling behind financially: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

Boomers Once Led the World in Education. What Happened?: 

United States: Program For International Student Assessment: https://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf

Illiteracy Statistics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

Is the poverty rate higher now than in the 1970s as Jeb Bush says?: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/may/07/jeb-bush/poverty-rate-higher-now-1970s/

2014: Poverty Facts | Poverty Rate, Poverty Thresholds & Census Information: http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-poverty/poverty-facts/

1970 Debt: https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s+debt+in+1970&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

National Debt Clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Don't Expect Hillary's Infrastructure Plan to Boost the Economy: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/06/dont-expect-hillarys-infrastructure.html

Bankrupt Cities, Municipalities List and Map: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/municipal-cities-counties-bankruptcies-and-defaults.html

A Record 95 million not in the Labor Force: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-94708000-americans-not-labor-force-participation-rate-drops

Army shrinks to smallest level since before World War II - Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2016/05/07/army-shrinks-smallest-level-since-before-world-war-ii/83875962/

The Navy's Hidden Crisis: It's Too Small - and Getting Smaller: https://www.pacificcouncil.org/newsroom/navys-hidden-crisis-its-too-small-and-getting-smaller

Social Security, Medicare Face Insolvency Over 20 Years, Trustees Report: https://www.google.com/search?q=Social+Security%2C+Medicare+Face+Insolvency+Over+20+Years%2C+Trustees+...&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Manufacturing Job Loss: http://www.epi.org/publication/manufacturing-job-loss-trade-not-productivity-is-the-culprit/

pb