Posted on 11/22/2017 11:19:01 AM PST by VegasVictor
Looking for something to be thankful for? Try this. You have it better than billionaire John Rockefeller (1839-1937) ever did.
Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Co. and became one of the richest men in American history. When he died, he had a fortune worth around $1.4 billion, or $25 billion in todays dollars.
He had more money. You have better stuff.
How many lights did you turn on today? Thomas Edison didnt patent the incandescent light bulb until Rockefeller was in his 40s. There wasnt an electrical grid, so small generators powered the first light bulbs. Today, electricity is an afterthought. ...
Theres so much more. Your car, medical care, refrigerator and ability to travel all surpass what Rockefeller had. Its incredible, but it wasnt inevitable.
Government agencies and central planners didnt coordinate this dramatic improvement in human well-being. Instead, millions of individuals tried to make themselves better off by providing a superior good or service. Because the United States has had a relatively free economy, businessmen or women couldnt force their customers to buy. The transactions occurred only if both parties benefited. These mutually beneficial transactions the calling card of free-market capitalism create value. Theyve created so much value that you have a better standard of living than the richest man in America had just 80 years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at reviewjournal.com ...
Awfully fond of posting your own stuff, aren’t you?
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:vegasvictor/index?tab=articles
Not real big on making comments, are you?
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:vegasvictor/index?tab=comments;brevity=full;options=no-change
I enjoyed reading this but there’s another comparison out there between lifestyles in 1916 and 2016.
Even the very rich of a century ago didn’t have a tenth of the things which we take for granted now. It helps to know the differences, and is a powerful deterrent against discontent.
Great post..!
please continue to post here at freerepublic often.
Is this “news” or blogging?
I don't want to go anywhere where there are no flushing toilets, toilet paper, hot water showers, refrigerators, etc.
: )
The Big Government crowd hates that.
I guess the Middle Class doesnt deserve a decent tax cut.
Stupid me...
And oh, by the way...he didn’t pay ANY Federal income tax.
He lived until 1937. The income tax was put in place in 1912.
Much of the cities Rockefeller went too were served by horsedrawn vehicles. Filth and disease were common. Sanitation was still being improved. People are far healthier today, and we have much greater ability to heal illness.
What Rockefeller had much more of were personal servants.
We have machines that have become our servants. Washing machines, cooking machines, heating and cooling machines, transportation machines.
One could say the same of you.
Avoid most of Africa and you should be OK.
No! We’re better off than in the 70’s: no more shag carpet, leisure suits, Harvest Gold appliances, disco, Lava Lites, AMC Pacers, platform shoes, white Afros, etc.
;^)
Every day I thank God for what I have, not just on the last Thursday in November.
Nope, sorry, I don't consistently post my own material for profit and then disdain to stick around and discuss it.
You're unlucky today, Mister, but I hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving tomorrow.
“...no more shag carpet, leisure suits, Harvest Gold appliances, disco, Lava Lites, AMC Pacers, platform shoes, white Afros, etc.”
Don’t forget bell bottoms.
Lava Lites are still around in those cheesy catalogs that sell silly stuff.
I remember nasty rumors that there were warehouses in New Jersey packed to the roof with unsold leisure suits.
Don’t forget gaucho pants.
So he lived in a different era. So did Al Capone.
Human progress is what it is. Wealthy people lived quite well for the time they lived in. No, they didn’t have refrigerators, but they had maids and servants, and...I hesitate to say this because it was evil, even slaves.
They lived comfortable lives for their times because they could afford it. That’s the way the world works.
Watch Salaam Bombay if you want to see real desperation and poverty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wisxdUh2z30
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