We’re Living in America’s Golden Age

Don’t believe the polls. Just get out and vote for this next Tuesday.

It is quite popular to complain about our nation—particularly in the midst of our election cycle. But, when we take a step back, we’ve never had it so good. Matt Hennessey, arguing in the Wall Street Journal—referring here to Trump: For 10 years he’s been talking about carnage. Now he wants us to believe we’ve never had it so good? I’m sorry to have to tell you this: He’s right. Americans are richer today than we’ve ever been. Check it out: On the day my father was born in February 1935, a gallon of gas cost about 20 cents, or $4.92 in today’s dollars. That’s 75 cents more than the current price in Morris County, N.J., where my dad lived most of his life. While a tank of gas is a little cheaper than it was at the height of the Great Depression, average income has nearly doubled in inflation-adjusted terms since 1935. In plain English, when you have more money, and that money goes further, you’re better off than you used to be…. Regular readers may be getting déjà vu on this topic. But every day I wake up to some candidate talking about how awful it is to be an American right now. And as Merle Haggard sang, when you’re running down my country, man, you’re walking on the fighting side of me (Wall Street Journal).

In recent days, a number of voices have pointed out: Even in Mississippi—the state with the lowest per capita income—you are better off, on average, than you are in the U.K. Daniel Hannan: Twenty years ago, living standards in the U.S., Britain, and much of Western Europe were comparable. Since then, the American economy has grown 60% more than those of Britain and the European Union. Why? Two factors above all: low taxes and energy abundance (Washington Examiner).

Promises made, promises kept: