[JumpCrisscross]

> America is in the midst of a new gilded age

Why not golden instead of gilded? Per capita incomes are at an all time high, in real terms, and growing; violent crime per capita a historical low; and life expectancy high, though it could be higher. We are on the verge of tremendous technological advances in propulsion, AI, biology and energy. And more people are educated enough to wonder at those advancements than ever before.

[EasyTiger_]

Life expectancy has actually begun falling: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/us-life-expectancy...

[alecco]

Thank obesity.

[NeoBasilisk]

Do you really not understand how per capita income is not a meaningful statistic in a situation where income inequality is extremely high?

[JumpCrisscross]

> Do you really not understand how per capita income is not a meaningful statistic in a situation where income inequality is extremely high?

Real median household income in the United States is up 20% from 1984. At 0.5% a year, that's less than it could be. But it's still objectively better than it was then, and much better than it was after WWI. Life today is better--for most Americans--than it was at virtually any time in the past.