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Comment by jakarta | Hacker News Reader

You honestly have to ask this question? In the 1950s a significant percentage of our population was without civil rights. Beyond that:

Life expectancy at birth: 69.9 to 77.9 (we live longer)

Infant mortality: 26.0 to 6.7 (less of us are dead on arrival)

% of population over 25 with 4 yrs or more of college education: 7.7% to 29.5% (access to education has improved)

Estimated Hourly Wage PPP, 2009 USD: $16.87 to $25.31 (we are making more money)

Real labor productivity index (in 1960): 100 to 172.8 (we are more productive)

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As overdue as it was, women and blacks being able to vote is not "6 times better".

60 years to 80 years life expectancy is not "6 times better".

26 to 7 infant mortality is not "6 times better".

8% to 30% college graduation rate is not "6 times better".

Estimated hourly wages have actually fallen drastically, when estimated apples to apples (i.e. adjusted for inflation).

Labor productivity is mostly based on advances in technology, and in any event, working harder is hardly the same as being "6 times better" off.

In other words, let's stay within the context of what is actually being argued. Plus, it's rude to open your argument with, You honestly have to ask this question? If you have something to say, you can say it without implying that @samtp is too dumb to see the obvious.

If you want to quibble about his use of the "6 times" figure, go ahead.

The fact remains that we live much better today than in 1930, when Buffett was born (during the Great Depression).

If you don't want to "quibble" about it the why do you keep posting? If you think this thread is immaterial, you are free to leave.

I bet the internet makes your life at least 6 times better than what it would have been in 1930.

For what its worth, jakarta's hourly wage number _does_ claim to be adjusted for inflation.

I'd love to see references from both of you on the hourly wage numbers.

Don't stop there...

Language and comprehension skills: Down 76%

Happiness index: Down 65%

Opinions: Up 435%

There's some double-counting here: life expectancy at birth includes infant mortality. (Taking your figures, 1.35 years of the 8-year life-expectancy difference comes from the infant-mortality difference.)

But does any of this equate to a 6x better life? This is extremely subjective, but I'd measure overall happiness, autonomy, and ability to participate in power as key ingredients for a better life. And going by those metrics, I seriously doubt that we are 6x better (or even 2x better).

All of the stats that you provided point to Americans being more productive over a longer period of time. People are becoming better at producing and consuming. However, by only looking at these numbers, you ignore what I feel makes us human. I don't think that the ultimate goal in a person's life is to add to their country's GDP. We are more than a cog in a machine. You can point to improvements centered around work, but what about enjoyment and free time? Surely a better life is one where you have more time to enjoy with family and friends, rather than being able to exceed your company's 3rd quarter sales projections.

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