Isn't it incredible how high American's standard of living has become?

Question

I mean even "poor" poeple have TV's and AC. We are the wealthest generation ever to live on the face of the earth, shouldn't we all be thankful?

Then move to france and live your simple life, chimp .......or chump.

Answer 1

I am extremely grateful to be an American. I was able to be educated however my parents saw fit. We were able to learn how to prioritize our budgets to accomodate our needs and not our whims. It's a good thing, because I made choices that keep me poor.

I am thankful mostly to my parents, and for our country which gave them to me...

But the problem of poverty is very real in the US. There are people who will rent that TV from a rip-off loan shark and then boyfriend or hubby (or sister) will pawn it back to them to buy drugs. And some innocent spouse will also call the police and report a burglary, to keep the rent shark from making her pay anyway.

She does pay anyway, as well as bails him (or her) out of jail. And they both call me. And they both come to court. And no one understands why the man is out to get them.

I don't know all the answers to poverty. And to politics. But I've seen our system at work for the past few years and I don't like it. I do not like the interdependence we are forming with government. I do not like the outcome. Poverty for all.

Answer 2

That depends on how "poor" you're talking about. A lot of people have nothing (including TVs and AC). The gap between rich and poor keeps getting bigger... and the filthy rich are getting filthier rich. They kind of bring the average up. Last I checked the numbers were something like this: 1% of the world's population owns 40% of the wealth, and 50% of the population owns just 1% of the wealth. That's a BIG gap.

But yes, we do generally enjoy a much better life than the rest of the world, and we should be thankful for that. We are lucky, and our past few generations helped put us in this position.

Answer 3

"We are the wealthest generation ever to live on the face of the earth." This sentence makes no sense, like most of your foolishness. Actually, there are wealthier"generations" that like in other countries currently. By "wealthiest" I only assume you mean per capita income. We do not lead the world, aka face of the earth, in this category. Try research.
p.s. Wealthest is not really a word. Take the money you saved by buying cheap Chinese crap at Wal-Mart and buy a dictionary.

Answer 4

Prior to WW2 the american wage-earner was mostly hard working and dirt poor. Union workers had it a little better, but it was hard going even for them. The administrations of FDR kept things from getting worse but even at that not a lot progress was made until after the war when union membership was high and the government was nominally on the side of workers. Since the 80's things have gone downhill....if it wasn't for massive credit borrowing not many people would own most of the things they own. Ownership doesn't make them 'rich'..it puts them in debt. 'Wealth' is mostly in the hands of the top 10% of our population...debt and disaster dogs the un and de-unionized american worker.

Answer 5

Uh...where do you live? It all depends on your cost of living. I lived in the D.C. area for three years and couldn't afford a townhome because they were in the 400.000 range. Regular homes were 600.000 to 1 million. Now, I moved to a cheaper area and sure things are much better. We are pretty lucky in America, but there are many discrepancies between the rich and the poor. Look at education, the rich kids get the best hands down. Again, I don't know where you live, but I know many people without AC or with cheap television sets. Do you not see that the divide is growing here? That will just lead to problems in the future. Congrats to you if you can afford a million dollar home, but many college graduates who work hard (myself included) cannot.

Answer 6

Of course we should be thankful. You have a skewed eye though not all poor people in the US have TV and AC, in fact some don't even have a roof over their heads. Many have to decide if paying rent or eating is more important. Don't let propaganda fool you, America still has many people that live in poverty.

Answer 7

Perhaps some should be thankful. I do have a TV set; it more than 15 years old. I do NOT have A/C and have never worked or slept in an air-conditioned building in my life.
There is much to be thankful for. However, with inflation at about 10% (the real inflation; not the made-up inflation that the media and govenment uses) annually, things get harder and harder and harder. It comes down to a choice of eating or paying the utilities.

Answer 8

Yes, but people still complain. Sometimes their complaints are legitimate, but mostly they prove that there's a difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is when you have absolutely nothing. You can't feed yourself, you can't clothe yourself, you can't put a roof over your head. This type of poverty does exist all over the world, especially in Africa.

Then there's relative poverty. Relative poverty concerns itself with the disparity rather than the actual conditions. So, even though people might have TVs, a few changes of clothes, enough food to keep from starving, air conditioner, and some luxuries, they consider themselves poor because of what they lack in relation to other people in the same society. If you ask me, this is a stupid standard.

Answer 9

yes, it is sorta incredible.

We have one of the few countries were you can be dirt poor and Fat as a pig. In most countries poor people are hungry and skinny, they wake up wondering were their next meal is coming from.

There is much to be thankful for in our great nation.

but TV, AC, and obesity are not on the list.

Answer 10

It's not that "incredible" considering that the standard of living in seven other countries is even higher than ours. (Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Iceland)

Also, the US ranks 40th in adult literacy and 28th out of the 40 richest countries in mathematical literacy. But as long as Americans are sitting on your obese rears watching wrestling on TV and eating Cheesy Poofs, you think you are doing alright.