This is a graph of the standard of living since the birth of Christ. As you can plainly see, it was essentially a flat line until the 1800s. And while we can obviously never know with certitude what the cause of this upturn was, it does seem rather convincing that it started to mushroom at the very same time that free markets, economic liberalization, free trade, the industrial revolution, and liberty also developed. I mean, I know that this is a difficult thing for the socialists to accept (right on the heels of their ideology crashing and burning some 20 years ago) and all but, hey, if Bono can do it....
Seems to help if a country sits on oil: Qatar has by far the highest GDP per capita in the world. An Islamic monarchy, 94%
ReplyDeleteof labor is done by foreigners; there is no minimum wage. Understandably, they also lead the world in obesity.
Norway has a shitload of oil, too.......Hotter chicks than Qatar obviously breaking the tie.
ReplyDeleteHotter chicks in Norway? You only say that because the ones in Qatar are totally covered in sheets.
DeleteIndeed. In looking at the GDP per capita for the states, we find Alaska and N. Dakota very high,
ReplyDeleteno doubt the 'black gold' effect.
As to why the Dist. of Columbia
is far and away the highest, I shudder to think.
I think that we both know the answer to that unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is kinda hard to tell, huh? LOL
ReplyDelete