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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Dietrich who wrote (21493)	6/18/2003 11:07:38 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

You're also right about living standards over the last 100 years. In the Roaring 20's poverty was around 40%, now it's close to 10%. You base this statement on ..... ? "Poverty" is by definition a relative thing. By changing the income level defining the "poverty line" you can make it come out anywhere you want. What is it? Surely you noticed there was also an explosion of technology that also occurred in the last century? You think maybe this had something to do with? Following the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century, there was a rising standard of living. The reason? There were fewer people to do the required work; employers (mainly the nobility at the time) had to pay more and provide better conditions to get those people. Technology had a similar effect: It required an increased skill level to be produced. Employers had to pay more to get the skills they needed. That effect has been demonstrated many times in Silicon Valley. Right now, there are engineers with PhDs and Masters degree clerking in stores. Five years ago, if you could spell "engineer" you had a job. The difference? Demand for technological products which determines the demand for the people who design them. Great Society modern economy The Great Society "reforms" were largely dismantled before and during the '90s boom.