Americans' Standard of Living

by Don Boudreaux on July 31, 2008

in History, Standard of Living

Mike Cox and Richard Alm continue their compelling and straightforward use of data to show that ordinary Americans’ standard of living continues to improve.

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  • Americans are always sooo strange. :f

  • jp

    the austrian fundies, fail to grasp Financial Analysis. Sure we have debt, we also have a Ton more Assets and a National Income over 14 Trillion dollars.


    newsflash Chicken Littles', your still wrong in your pessimism and blinded by anarcho ideology

  • Martin Brock

    but Martin has a graph of Norway that shows the Bush tax cut's DIDN'T work.

    jpm has a moronic straw man that he trots out whenever he feels insecure.

  • Saul,


    I am an ardent fan of free markets and a libertarian leaning individual myself. I am also a fan of Austrian School of economics, and I don't need statistics to tell me that things are better.


    It is better not just in America, but in many third world countries. I just need to look around.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxeology


    Hayek won a nobel prize for his theory of business cycle, and yet the bloggers here have never ever bothered to admit even the possibility of business cycles - atleast not to my knowledge.


    Cheers


  • Methinks

    The "poor" in this country don't know what poverty is. If Obama implements any of his Marxist proposals, they will.

  • vidyohs

    How bad is it? That question kinda sorta came to my mind last evening as I sipped a great glass of Cab from Washington state and chatted with an 81 year old Chiropractor friend (father of the Chiroprator whose newly opened office we were wine & cheesing in). The subject was maintaining health. I am now 67 and in excellent health and shape and he is 81 and as trim and healthy as I was 10 years ago.


    He said to me, "The trick is to eat what ever fruit and vegetable that is in season because that is the way God meant it to be."


    I nodded; but after a moment's reflection on the globalization of trade and the constant availability of fresh fruits and vegetables I suspected God had either expanded his intentions or my good friend simply assumed too much about God's plan, whatever that is.


    When I was in High School and clerked at the A&P my dad managed, there were late winter and early spring months when one would sell his soul for a fresh fruit or veggie of any kind.


    Yeah, we got it tough in just so many ways it's a wonder our streets aren't littered with suicides, especially of the poor.

  • jpm

    Saul clearly hasn't been watching CNN. It's really really bad out there! It hasn't been this bad since we elected Reagan! I bet they mention recession every 10 words.

  • SaulOhio

    Oil Shock clearly HASN'T read the article. Its not looking at averages. Its looking at the availability of all sorts of goods and services to the poor. If a poor family owns its own homes, a refrigerator, air conditioning, everyone gets three square meals a day, they have a car, TV with digital cable, computer, and cell phones, can they really be said to be poor?

  • jpm

    but Martin has a graph of Norway that shows the Bush tax cut's DIDN'T work.

  • dave smith

    Just curious...did those of you who are criticizing the article read it?


    Over time, a larger percentage of us have the niceties of life.


    Not only do we have more income, it goes further.


    There are some of us slipping behind. There were some slipping behind in the boom of the 90s as well, but...


    ...remember what Don (was he quoting Sowel?) has said in the past, the plural of anecdote is not data.


  • Methinks

    If my hair is on fire and my bottom is in deep freeze, on an average am I doing fine?


    No. This means you've dropped acid at least one too many times.

  • Oil Shock

    There are lies, damn lies and statistics - Benjamin Disraeili


    If my hair is on fire and my bottom is in deep freeze, on an average am I doing fine?

  • cpurick

    Aerobics, maybe?

  • cpurick

    Aerobics, maybe?

  • hutch

    curious if anyone can shed some light on this for me:


    on figure 8 (safer at work and home), what happened in 1990-ish that made deaths at work fall so much and deaths at home start to trend up?

  • Crusader

    This is all lies. With loss of good paying union jobs it's all going downhill.

  • Plac Ebo

    Are there any studies that show if the Super-Rich's standard of living continues to improve?

  • What about our retirement?

  • save_the_rustbelt

    "On average" I think Americans are doing much better.


    Unlike Lake Wobegon, not everyone is above average.


    And it will be fine in the long run.....

  • Keith

    Can you imagine how well we'd be doing if we weren't being sucked dry by taxes?

  • Methinks

    Don't worry. Congress and (soon) Obama will be on the case to reverse all that.

  • FANTASTIC link, thanks!

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