[DB]

Common. By any economic measure we are wealther now than ever before in history.

[EGPWS]

By any economic measure we are wealther now than ever before in history.

A graph of the DJIA from 1900 to 2004.

This supports your statement DB.

[A. Pole]

By any economic measure we are wealthier now than ever before in history.

Perhaps, and so were the Romans, Spanish and British before their empires started to collapse.