What Happened to Jobs and Justice?

William Jones on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, writing in the NY Times:

The march was so successful that we often forget that it occurred in a political environment not so different from our own. Kennedy’s victory over Richard M. Nixon in 1960 signaled a break from the conservatism of the 1950s. But like the election of Barack Obama in 2008, hope for a return to the liberalism of the 1930s was dampened by an administration that rejected “old slogans” like wage increases and public works in favor of tax cuts and free trade to stimulate growth.

Fascinating. I wonder in what other ways the political climate is different today .