A little reminder, from Greg Easterbrook, that life in America is actually pretty good and getting better:
Since roughly 1975, when middle-class income gains began to stagnate, lifespans have improved, material living standards have risen (safer cars, nearly universal air conditioning), education levels have gone up dramatically, women’s freedom and gay and minority rights have expanded — a lot of good things have happened for average people during a period that, to hear some talk, was dominated by a conspiracy against average people. Some conspiracy!
And Easterbrook also reminds us that health care was a recent victory for the middle class:
The new health care rules will function like an income-redistribution plan. The well-to-do will be taxed more, with the proceeds used to reduce health-care costs for average people. This is defensible as social justice. But it sure doesn’t jibe with the trendy notion of average people being shafted by the affluent: the Obama health care legislation represents a fantastic victory for average people over the affluent.
Cheer up, Brian!
Prometheus Unbound 