Misled
why do so many of us live in a state of catastrophic hysteria?
It's hard to fathom the forces that have fueled the catastrophic narrative about the United States specifically, and The West in general. I get into arguments with friends and family on a regular basis. They seem to think I’m just a shit disturber. “We live in a great time,” I say. “You just don’t get it,” they say. They look at me aghast, like I’ve lost my mind.
While it's easy to point to the universities and the foundations and the progressives as the sources of misinformation, it looks like something grotesque has replaced our desire for genuine understanding based on evidence. We wallow in some virulent form of righteous self pity.
We have been misled. If we look at the actual data, all the ranting and raving about inequality and decline in the US begins to look more and more like a catastrophic education. Or a need for medication. All of the information below is readily available for anyone who wants to find it, who cares to look for it. There's certainly more data that we can look at, but let's start here with data on the USA:
1. Economic Mobility:
Approximately 56% of individuals in the bottom income quintile will move out of that quintile within a decade. More specifically:
- In a 10-year period, about 56-58% of individuals initially in the bottom 20% will move to a higher income quintile
- Over a 25-year period, this mobility becomes even more pronounced
- Approximately 70-75% of people will spend at least one year in the top 20% of income earners during their lifetime
- The median time someone remains in the bottom quintile is about 4-6 years
2. Poverty Rate:
- 1959: 22.4% poverty rate
- 2019: 10.5% poverty rate
- A reduction of nearly 53% in the official poverty rate
3. Life Expectancy:
- 1900: 47.3 years
- 2019: 78.8 years
- Increase of 31.5 years
4. Internet Access:
- 1990: Less than 1% of households
- 2019: 90.3% of households have internet access
5. Child Mortality:
- 1900: 165 infant deaths per 1,000 live births
- 2019: 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births
- 96.6% reduction in infant mortality
6. Education Attainment:
- 1940: 4.6% of adults had a college degree
- 2019: 36.0% of adults have a college degree
- 682% increase
-Hispanic Educational Progress:
— 1990: About 8% of Hispanics had a bachelor's degree
— 2019: Approximately 21% of Hispanics aged 25-29 had a bachelor's degree
— 2020: 36% of Hispanics aged 18-24 were enrolled in college
— Increase of over 130% in Hispanic college enrollment between 2000 and 2020
7. Violent Crime:
- 1991 peak: 758.2 violent crimes per 100,000 people
- 2019: 366.7 violent crimes per 100,000 people
- 51.6% reduction
8. Air Quality:
- Carbon monoxide levels: Reduced by 84% since 1980
- Lead levels: Reduced by 98% since 1980
9. Water Quality:
- Over 90% of Americans now have access to safe drinking water
- Significant improvements in removing contaminants like lead, arsenic, and microorganisms
- 92% of community water systems meet all health-based standards
10. Immigrant Economic Success (Particularly Indian Immigrants):
- Median household income for Indian Americans: $119,000 (compared to $61,937 overall U.S. median)
- Over 70% of Indian immigrants have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Indian Americans represent about 1% of the U.S. population but:
- Constitute approximately 6% of Silicon Valley's tech workforce
- Own about 9% of all Silicon Valley startups
- Represent a disproportionately high percentage of CEOs in major tech companies
- Immigrants overall:
- Start businesses at nearly twice the rate of native-born Americans
- Founded 28% of all new U.S. businesses in 2011
- Founded 40% of Fortune 500 companies
- Contribute approximately $2 trillion annually to the U.S. economy
11. Household Income Change (U.S. Census Bureau):
1970: $55,503 (inflation-adjusted)
2019: $68,703
Increase: 23.8%
Per Capita Income Change (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis):
1970: $15,273 (inflation-adjusted)
2019: $56,490
Increase: 270%
12. Global Poverty:
- 1820: 90% of world population in extreme poverty
- 2019: Less than 10% in extreme poverty
Sources:
1. Economic Mobility: Sowell's book "Economic Facts and Fallacies" and U.S. Treasury Department longitudinal studies
2. Poverty Rate: U.S. Census Bureau Historical Poverty Tables
3. Life Expectancy: National Center for Health Statistics
4. Internet Access: Pew Research Center
5. Child Mortality: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6. Education Attainment: National Center for Education Statistics
7. Violent Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics
8. Air Quality: Environmental Protection Agency
9. Water Quality: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Drinking Water Quality Reports
10. Hispanic Education: National Center for Education Statistics, Pew Research Center
11. Immigrant Success: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Pew Research Center, National Foundation for American Policy, Migration Policy Institute, Stanford University Research, Small Business Administration, Fortune Magazine Company Profiles
12. Real Income Growth: U.S. Census Bureau
13. Global Poverty: World Bank and Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now”
14. Income per capita Source: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis