Good newsthese days is hard to find. But for no good reason. The mainstream media highlight and overhype America’s failures and challenges, from the slow response to Hurricane Katrina to mistaken intelligence on Iraq, giving the impression that a dark cloud hovers over the land. Yet, obscured by the day-to-day hyperventilating of the press lies the most underreported news story of our time: Americans today are better off than at any time in history and are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future.
Life expectancy exploded during the 20th century. A woman born today is expected to live 80 years–nearly 30 longer than a woman born in 1900. One cause is the decrease in infant mortality, which has fallen 76 percent over the past 50 years. And childbirth, historically one of the biggest threats to women’s health, has become practically routine: The risk of dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth was nine times greater in 1950 than today.
Crime rates have plummeted. Since 1973, the number of violent crimes against women–defined as homicide, rape, robbery, and both simple and aggravated assault–has dropped 40 percent, while crimes against men fell by 67 percent. The rate of property crime declined even more precipitously, falling by nearly 70 percent.
As our lives have gotten longer, they have also gotten richer. America’s economy continues to create jobs and wealth at an unprecedented pace. Over the past 40 years, per capita income in the United States has doubled. On top of that, Americans are enjoying more leisure time. According to a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the number of hours per week dedicated to leisure rose from 31 in 1965 to over 35 in 2003, an increase of 15 percent.
Newspapers dutifully report on the “poverty rate,” which has remained relatively stable over recent decades, but it’s important to put that statistic into context. While there are many in this country who experience truly serious deprivations, the typical American living below the poverty line owns a car; has air conditioning, a cell phone, and a microwave; and lives in a home that isn’t overcrowded. Nearly half own their own homes. In terms of access to material goods and life improving technologies, a poor household today is far better off than the average household in 1950.
And people living in poverty today are unlikely to stay poor for long. A longitudinal study issued by the Census Bureau revealed that while many people fall below the poverty line, most are poor only temporarily.
In contrast to the doom-and-gloom presented by the media, Americans are generally happy and optimistic. A 2004 Gallup poll found that more than half of Americans describe themselves as “very happy” and another 42 percent say they are “fairly happy.” Just 6 percent describe themselves as “not too happy.”
This distinguishes Americans from our peers overseas. A 2002 survey of twelve nations revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans were highly satisfied with their overall quality of life, compared to 53 percent in the U.K., 36 percent of Germans, and 28 percent of the French. Six in ten Americans were judged to be “hopeful,” compared to just four in ten Frenchmen and one quarter of Germans.
Two disturbing trends run counter to this general wave of American progress. The second half of the 20th century witnessed the erosion of the nuclear family. Today, more than one in every three American children is born out of wedlock. These children suffer more hardships and are more likely to be discipline and later crime problemsas they grow up. America’s public education system also fails to meet the needs of our children, leaving too many without the skills necessary to participate in the modern economy. Reversing these disturbing trends will be critical to maintaining America’s upward path.
The media need to report on America’s stumbles and problems so that we can correct our failures. But it’s also important to recognize that the quality of life enjoyed by Americans is unprecedented in human history. It may not make the papers, but it’s the big story of our time.
–Carrie Lukas is the vice president for policy and economics at the Independent Women’s Forum, which just released the report “The American Promise: Our Progress toward a Society of Freedom and Fulfillment.”