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[Rods2]

With incremental improvements to many technologies rather than mega new inventions it is very easy to get complacent on how well off we are, especially as we live in one of the world's richest nations. This article is a timely reminder.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/29/50-reasons-were-living-through-the-greatest-period.aspx

[05omegav6]

Certainly puts a bit of weather in perspective 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Great piece, Mr Rods.

[Varche]

Interesting piece which uses selective stats to put a spin on life.

I am not for one minute disagreeing with the premise that life is so much improved than it was say 100 years ago. You only need to look at the leaps medicine has made to realise that the world is a better place. I have a good friend who used to say to me each week there has never been a better time to be alive than today. HOWEVER he stopped saying that maybe 15 years ago.

Sure we have hand held computers and on demand films and smart mobile phones. cars that use less fuel and have dvd players and cars that actually drive themselves. I read an expat forum the other day and the gist was that the guy wanted help setting up remote tablet control of an always on Nexus? that controlled his music(via Internet). What is wrong with walking and pressing a button? The point I am making is are these technology improvements actualy improvemnts to our lives or just part of the insane marketing led world that has us working to earn enough(just) to be able to buy the latest quad core gizmo GTI android.

The real concern i would throw in is the killing that keeps on going on around the world. American gun crime- no mention of that, displacement of 2 million Syrians. If you want to go back to earlier in many of the retired OOFErs lifetimes. Stalin killing over 10 million of his own people. Then we have Pol Pot Khmer Rouge , Balkans ethnic cleansing etc etc. We have certainly ramped up the volumes on killing. Have we improved Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt,Africa?

Is the quality of life better?

I think the best time was coincidentally during Blairs reign. I feel it is going downhill now.

[05omegav6]

Interesting piece which uses selective stats to put a spin on life.

I am not for one minute disagreeing with the premise that life is so much improved than it was say 100 years ago. You only need to look at the leaps medicine has made to realise that the world is a better place. I have a good friend who used to say to me each week there has never been a better time to be alive than today. HOWEVER he stopped saying that maybe 15 years ago.

Sure we have hand held computers and on demand films and smart mobile phones. cars that use less fuel and have dvd players and cars that actually drive themselves. I read an expat forum the other day and the gist was that the guy wanted help setting up remote tablet control of an always on Nexus? that controlled his music(via Internet). What is wrong with walking and pressing a button? The point I am making is are these technology improvements actualy improvemnts to our lives or just part of the insane marketing led world that has us working to earn enough(just) to be able to buy the latest quad core gizmo GTI android.

The real concern i would throw in is the killing that keeps on going on around the world. American gun crime- no mention of that, displacement of 2 million Syrians. If you want to go back to earlier in many of the retired OOFErs lifetimes. Stalin killing over 10 million of his own people. Then we have Pol Pot Khmer Rouge , Balkans ethnic cleansing etc etc. We have certainly ramped up the volumes on killing. Have we improved Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt,Africa?

Is the quality of life better?

I think the best time was coincidentally during Blairs reign. I feel it is going downhill now.

Probably because he actually did nothing until the middle of his second term The only reasons the Tories lost that election ('97) was due to petty squabling and that Blair had a better campaign. The foundations that they laid meant Bliar could coast along almost indefinitely. I suspect he only started meddling to satisfy the Labour old boys and union monkeys

As for wars, almost all those mentioned are no different than the crusades Only notable difference is that we take food and medicine instead of Bibles. They are still Islamic fantasists trying to take on anyone who thinks differently 

[Kevin Wood]

Interesting piece which uses selective stats to put a spin on life.

I am not for one minute disagreeing with the premise that life is so much improved than it was say 100 years ago. You only need to look at the leaps medicine has made to realise that the world is a better place. I have a good friend who used to say to me each week there has never been a better time to be alive than today. HOWEVER he stopped saying that maybe 15 years ago.

Sure we have hand held computers and on demand films and smart mobile phones. cars that use less fuel and have dvd players and cars that actually drive themselves. I read an expat forum the other day and the gist was that the guy wanted help setting up remote tablet control of an always on Nexus? that controlled his music(via Internet). What is wrong with walking and pressing a button? The point I am making is are these technology improvements actualy improvemnts to our lives or just part of the insane marketing led world that has us working to earn enough(just) to be able to buy the latest quad core gizmo GTI android.

The real concern i would throw in is the killing that keeps on going on around the world. American gun crime- no mention of that, displacement of 2 million Syrians. If you want to go back to earlier in many of the retired OOFErs lifetimes. Stalin killing over 10 million of his own people. Then we have Pol Pot Khmer Rouge , Balkans ethnic cleansing etc etc. We have certainly ramped up the volumes on killing. Have we improved Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt,Africa?

Is the quality of life better?

I think the best time was coincidentally during Blairs reign. I feel it is going downhill now.

Probably because he actually did nothing until the middle of his second term The only reasons the Tories lost that election ('97) was due to petty squabling and that Blair had a better campaign. The foundations that they laid meant Bliar could coast along almost indefinitely. I suspect he only started meddling to satisfy the Labour old boys and union monkeys

As for wars, almost all those mentioned are no different than the crusades Only notable difference is that we take food and medicine instead of Bibles. They are still Islamic fantasists trying to take on anyone who thinks differently 

Not to mention the fact that we were pi**ing away money we didn't have.

[Varche]

I only used the word Blair to define the time period, nothing else. Thinking back to then people had spare money, could afford their electric/gas bills, holidays and the like.

Man is by nature keen on killing and uses various excuses to justify it. That is a given over the millenia. I agree that there have always been wars. Crusades, Ghengis Khan killed a lot of folk. We did during the opium wars. My point was that more people have been killed during the last hundred years than all years before that

That is a fair point too about spending money we didn't have (globally almost not just a UK problem). The Americans have just extended their overdraft rather than tackle it. The pigeons will come home to roost one day over world debt. That is another reason to not feel so good as we did 15-20 years ago.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I only used the word Blair to define the time period, nothing else. Thinking back to then people had spare money, could afford their electric/gas bills, holidays and the like.

This was largely down to rising property prices and the deregulation of the banks.  People were able to remortgage easily to release equity in their properties.  Which many did, spending money that traditionally would have built up for their old age, on holidays, hot tubs and new cars. 

The pigeons will come home to roost one day over world debt. That is another reason to not feel so good as we did 15-20 years ago.

The pigeons are yet to really come home to roost in terms of personal debt as well.  A sharp property crash, combined with rapid increase in interest rates would put many people in this country under!    Myself included, as I took full advantage of the laxity in lending at that time.....   

[Ever Ready]

Luckily my main debt, house and compulsory conservatory for swmbo are coming to an end very soon.