For those of you who long for the "good ole days" and who think that life today is really screwed up compared to the era of our parents and grandparents, the Cato Institute compiled a list showing how the average Amrican's life has changed since 1900:
Manufacturing wages are 5 times higher.
The workweek is 30% shorter.
Accidental deaths from cars and planes have dropped by 61%, despite the fact that there are millions more of both cars and us.
The air we breath is 97% cleaner.
Four times as many students are getting their high school diplomas, and six times as many women have Bachelor degrees.
98% of American homes have phones, electricity and indoor plumbing.
More than 75% of Americans have at least 1 car, a microwave oven, cable TV, air conditioning, and a washer and dryer.
The average person spends twice as much time in leisure activities as our forebearers did a hundred years ago.
And they haven't even mentioned the medical strides, such as the virtual eradication of smallpox, polio, TB, measles and chickenpox.
There is one downside: We spend more time in traffic jams.
Wait! There is one more downside: My grandparents never had to contend with dropped calls on their cellphones.
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