Count Your Blessings: Common folk live better now than royalty did in earlier times

Washington Times ^ | 12/24/2014 | Richard Rahn

[SeekAndFind]

As we go into this Christmas week, you should count your blessings that you live in 2014. Would you prefer to live as the French King Louis XIV did (1643-1715), or as you do today? The average low-income American, who makes $25,000 per year, lives in a home that has air conditioning, a color TV and a dishwasher, owns an automobile, and eats more calories than he should from an immense variety of food.

Louis XIV lived in constant fear of dying from smallpox and many other diseases that are now cured quickly by antibiotics. His palace at Versailles had 700 rooms but no bathrooms (hence he rarely bathed), and no central heating or air conditioning.

One hundred years ago, John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in the world. He did have bathrooms but still no air conditioning. Like Louis, he and his family were still in constant danger of dying from what would now be quickly treatable aliments or accidents. Rockefeller could travel by train or steamship, or very short distances by the newly invented automobile on largely dirt roads — luxuries not available to Louis XIV.

Louis and Rockefeller had many servants to gather and prepare food for them, but they could not get fresh food out of season and had a tiny choice of food compared with anyone who has access to a modern supermarket, where one is increasingly able to purchase prepared meals of far higher quality and variety than anything Louis or Rockefeller could obtain.

[SeekAndFind]

Where?

[SeekAndFind]

[heye2monn]

Or Ferguson, Missouri, with an extra bonus for looting.

[MinorityRepublican]

Beautiful!

[terycarl]

The average low-income American, who makes $25,000 per year, lives in a home that has air conditioning, a color TV and a dishwasher Where?

virtually everywhere in America that you look

[workerbee]

I have no doubt you’re right. The more home-made, the better (usually!)

But my original point stands. You do this as a choice, not a necessity. Therein lies the difference, insofar as “surviving” goes.

[Blue Ink]

Americans who still have jobs spend every waking moment either at work, commuting, and emailing at night and on weekends.

At least when everyone farmed, you had to knock off at sunset. And you were already home.

And Big Business has very cleverly used a couple of highly placed female CEOs to guilt every single mother in America into holding down not one but two full-time jobs (office and motherhood). Quit complaining and “lean in,” ladies! Sleep and one day a week off are so overrated.

So since women have been yoked into the eighty-hour harness (by other women!), just like working men, all men and women in America are now on the same treadmill.

Oh, and other people are raising your kids.

How is ANY of this better?

[ansel12]

I’m just not sure that fresh baked bread, natural grains and cereals, and home churned butter, should be listed among the horrors of the past.

[Lizavetta]

If you’re stressed now, it’s because you make up s#!^ to worry about because your brain is wired to cope with stress and will invent it just to have something to cope with.

Is this true ?

[CommieCutter]

I’ve noticed it, yes.

But the people I’m talking about DON’T do these things.