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May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 23, 2010
16 Teves, 5771
Every Man a King
By
Victor Davis Hanson
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As the year in politics closed, Congress and President Obama were arguing over maintaining the Bush-era income tax rates. Conservatives insisted that the top 5 percent of households already accounted for nearly 60 percent of the aggregate tax revenue and that it was suicidal to hike taxes on the job-creating classes.
Liberals countered that the wages of the middle class have become stagnant over the last decade, and it is time for the wealthy to pay more for others. Meanwhile, both sides talked of American decline and assumed that the federal government was either the problem or the solution.
These debates were predicated on ossified notions of relative wealth and poverty as calibrated in money, and ignored that such methods of measurement are now archaic in our brave new world. Imagine if just 30 years ago we had dreamed that soon most Americans would have small mobile phones that let users talk or send text messages and photos to anyone in the world for mere pennies per minute -- a veritable revolution in daily life brought about without the aid of a massive Manhattan Project-like federal effort. We have gone from "a chicken in every pot" to a "cell phone in every hand."
Could yesteryear's Great Society have ever promised to nearly all Americans that they would soon have instant information at their fingertips on almost any topic imaginable, from treating migraines to wiring a house to a crash course in Dante's "Inferno"? Surely the kings, corporate magnates and fat cats of the old Wall Street would have paid millions for such knowledge that is now accorded to almost anyone with a computer at home, work, school or a library, without the need of expensive specialists, scholars or books.
Today, Americans have cheap GPS navigation systems superior to what jet pilots used 30 years ago. Secret agent James Bond's gadgets seem passé in comparison to the accessories available on today's iPhones -- all made available to us without a government program.
The country tore itself apart over health care in 2010. What was rarely mentioned is that dozens of cancers that were not long ago tantamount to death sentences are now treatable. For all the talk of an epidemic of obesity and couch-potato sloth, today's 80-year-olds -- thanks to new life-saving drugs, and rapid advances in correcting chronic bone, joint, hearing, vision and dental problems -- often resemble yesterday's 60-year-olds.
As gas exceeds $3 a gallon in many parts of the country this Christmas, we rail about the rising cost, forgetting that in inflation-adjusted dollars, gas prices are not much more than what we paid three decades ago. Our far more cleanly burning cars get almost twice as many miles per gallon as their predecessors in 1975 -- cutting our real price of gas in half.
In 1970, I was once given a ride in a plush luxury Cadillac Coup de Ville. Now, a midlevel Malibu, Taurus, Accord or Camry is safer, quieter, more comfortable and replete with a host of standard features that were yesterday's high-ticket luxury options. I would wager that a basic-model Kia would run more reliably than the vintage Bentleys and Rolls-Royces of Britain's Royal Family.
I grew up listening to scratchy vinyl records on a huge awkward needle player. Now, thumb-sized digital music pods at cheaper prices hold far more songs and play them with far better quality. Flying used to be an aristocratic privilege beyond the reach of most of the middle class. Today it is an American pastime. Cruises in the 1960s were synonymous with private yachts; now the middle class enjoys luxury liners.
Three-bedroom, two-bathroom suburban houses of the 21st century are warmer in winter, cooler in summer, with far more appliances and comforts than was true of the vast mansions of the old rich of the mid-20th century.
In sum, Americans are richer, healthier and have more options than at any time in their history -- and in ways that do not usually register in our outdated metrics of what constitutes being wealthy or poor.
Yes, there is poverty still, and tension over relative status and influence. In addition, the good life cannot always be measured by materialism alone, but by peace of mind, security and opportunities as well.
Yet this Christmas we should all at least give ourselves some credit. In the last three decades, the United States -- through technological breakthroughs, improved worker productivity and the importation of globalized production from abroad -- has achieved a level of material prosperity for its 300 million citizens unmatched at any time in the history of civilization.
Quite simply, yesterday's royalty would not make it into today's middle class.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Victor Davis Hanson, a classicist and military historian, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a recipient of the 2007 National Humanities Medal. Comment by clicking here.
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