Why the U.S. Will Always Be Rich

The average household in America now pulls in about $42,000 a year. The average household headed by someone with a college degree makes $71,400 a year. A professional degree pushes average household income to more than $100,000. If you are, say, a member of one of those college-grad households with a family income of around $75,000, you probably make more than 95 percent of the people on this planet. You are richer than 99.9 percent of the human beings who have ever lived. You are stinking rich.

You may start the day with good intentions in your heart and one of those simplicity magazines by your side. You may tell yourself that today you are going to renounce material things. You're going to slow down and savor the moment. So you break out the seaside-scent candles, fill up the claw-foot tub with fluoridated water and tub tea, and just soak with a volume of Robert Frost in your hand and some brown-sugar-based body wash on the shelf