● Millionaire Surge: Last year, the world added 2.6 million millionaires, bringing the worldwide total to 16.3 million millionaire households. The US added 1.1 million of those 2.6 million. This brings our total to 7.135 million, or about 43.7% of the world's millionaires. Not bad for a country with only 4% of the world population. BTW, the next biggest competitor is China, which has only 2.4 million millionaires but has almost 20% of the world's population.
● Wealthier Too: Global wealth grew last year by 14.6% to $152 trillion. We added $7 trillion of that. By comparison, Europe added only $5 trillion. Asia added $8 trillion. But get this.... as of 2008 (I don't have newer figures), the US was estimated to hold $118 trillion of that $152 trillion, or about 77% of it!! We kick ass!
● Comin' Home: American companies are indeed returning their manufacturing facilities to the US. With Chinese wages growing 15% in the past decade, it now makes sense to hire American workers. To give you a sense of the scope, a recent survey found that more than half of US CEOs of manufacturing companies with revenues greater than $1 billion are planning to bring production back to the U.S. from China or are actively considering it. The top three reasons cited are labor costs, proximity to customers and product quality.
● Superbugs Not So Super: In even better news, a group of British scientists think they've found a way to attack the growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. For those who don't know, one of the biggest threats humans face is the growth of these so-called superbugs which are resistant to our antibiotics. What has happened is that as humans have misused antibiotics, these bacteria have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics which used to kill them. This is leading to a massive and growing number of deaths from infections that were easy to treat even twenty years ago. Well, this group of scientists has discovered a way to attack the shielding that protects the bacteria from the body's immune system. The result, if it all pans out, is that virtually any bacteria can be made vulnerable to the body's immune system. And since these antibiotics would not be attacking the bacteria itself, they would no longer help the bacteria to evolve into superbugs. This could be a huge moment for humanity.
● Not Potheads: Finally, we have this. With pot now legal in Colorado, Colorado has become very interested in tracking how many people are lighting up. If you listen to the potheads and the scaremongers (who are in hyperdrive), you will probably hear that nearly 100% of us will use pot. This has always struck me as false. Indeed, in my experience, pot use really is something that is isolated in certain loser groups. So what is the number? Get this: 485,000 Colorado residents use marijuana monthly (legally or illegally) and 686,000 residents use it at least once a year. That works out to 9% in any one month and 12% in a year. That's it... 12% of the public use the drug, 9% are true potheads, and the rest are clean. That's not at all what we've been told.
In any event, this is great news because it shows once more how responsible the public is when given a choice. It also puts the lie to the idea that there is this massive market demand for pot, i.e. not everyone is doing it.
There you go... things are much better than people want you to believe!
No takers on good news, huh?
ReplyDeleteBoo! No good news! No good news! Boo! ;-)
ReplyDelete1. Actually, not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but I think that maybe all of those new millionaire/billionaire/trillionaire people have been created from the stock market surge and I predict that number will spiral down sometime right around the 2016 election cycle.
2. It makes a great deal of fiscal and marketing sense (Made in America labels) for manufacturers to begin to move back to the mainland. And if they can just get rid of the child labor laws, we have a whole new crop of potential experienced child laborers. [Too soon?]
3. I don't think that we have seen the real numbers of pot users yet. The legalization is still in its infancy. So, as the munchkins [Hah!] come out of their hidey holes now that the wicked witch of laws is melting, I think that those percentage numbers will rise dramatically. Many law abiding citizens either didn't try pot (or admit that they did anyway) because it was illegal. Insurance forms and medical forms will probably start to define "smoking" questions into two - cigarettes, marijuana. Either that or "Marijuana use - Amount -Yes/No If yes - How frequently? If yes - Inhalant/oil or herbal; Ingested - oil or herbal"
Oh, and as for the super bugs/bacteria - I have every faith in medical research/science that they will find a way to limit the effects of them with new drugs. I also think our own natural defenses will evolve with it. If people would just learn that antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses, then we could save a lot of trouble. Viruses are much harder to kill because they morph/adapt quickly.
ReplyDeleteBtw, speaking of viruses with no known cure, has anyone been following the Ebola outbreak that is growing in western coastal Africa for the last few months? So far it keeps moving into new areas.
Andrew, I always suspected the "legalize it" crowd was in the back pockets of "Big Doritos" and "Big Mountain Dew." Is it now safe to vilify potheads as enablers of corporate avarice?
ReplyDeleteThe rising number of millionaires is nice but kind of like the stock market, I doubt most people see a connection between how the wealthy are doing and how everyone else is doing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying most people resent the wealthy (I think everyone's big concern is their personal finances) but the un or underemployed aren't going to be comforted by there being more millionaires out there.
Also, I'm not surprised about the marijuana news. Just because something is legal doesn't mean everyone is going to run out and do it. When has anything in life worked that way?
"...but the un or underemployed aren't going to be comforted by there being more millionaires out there."
ReplyDeleteAnthony - I agree. Though I do think that it is used to foment unrest by the socialist class, I agree that most people are just concerned about their own world. It is used against the wealthy to prove that they are hoarding money rather than letting trickle down. Which is interesting that the leftie/socialists swear that "trickle down" economics is bogus.
Bev, Too soon? LOL!
ReplyDeleteI think the percentage of people who are getting rich based on the stock market is a good deal higher these days than in the past, but it's still encouraging. It shows that America is still the greatest wealth creator in the world.
On pot, I suspect the numbers will increase some, but I don't think you'll see a huge spike. My whole life the potheads have told us that everybody does it. But when I look at the people I know, even though they had plenty of chances, almost none of them ever did it. They just didn't want to do it. Either way, it will be interesting to track.
Bev, Short of heavy regulation, I think people will continue to misuse antibiotics because it's just human nature.
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting is that if these guys are right, then they can attack any bacteria because they are essentially making it drop its shields rather than trying to find a way to punch through the shields.
tryanmax, Big Dew indeed! What yourself buddy, they know where you live! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnthony, This article isn't really intended for the public at large or to sway poor people. My intent was to point out, again, to all of you that things are much better than the ideologues (left and right) want you to believe. They are selling the end of America, and it's just not true. America chugs along.
ReplyDeleteWhat interests me about the pot news is how low the number is. For decades we've been told that "everyone does it." If that was true, you would expect to see a huge number of people come out of the shadows and an even bigger number decide to finally try the thing. Yet, the numbers are miniscule. That suggests to me that everything about the drug culture that we've been taught (and seen on film etc.) is a myth.
Bev,
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying liberals (and in fairness, some conservatives) don't try to foment class discord, but IMHO society doesn't work that way. There are a lot of more important influencers on politics than income (think where one lives, what one does, marital status, religion, age, race and sex).
Bev, I've written about this before, but I think the problem with the wealthy (why they are so easily demonized these days) is that they aren't earning it in ways that the public respects or which benefit society at large.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, The new populism is all about being anti-wealthy, but as you note, it ultimately isn't as strong of a motivator as dozens of other more personal factors.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI think that America is in bit of a rough patch, but I also agree with you that we are not in decline and comparatively speaking, we continue to do well.
Pot use being low doesn't surprise me. Use was pretty high in college in my experience (I went to a small, very expensive, private liberal arts college) but its my pet theory that a lot of people kind of use college to get the crazy out of their system (for the first time they don't have parents monitoring them so quite a few of them dive into drugs, alcohol and sex with both feet) but go on to lead respectable lives.
Students showing up hung over doesn't shock and horrify most professors (if it hurts their performance/grades, that's their problem), but most employers wouldn't tolerate a pattern of efficiency degrading behavior.
Anthony, That was really my only point -- we are not in decline. I agree that we've hit a rough patch, but America is a tremendous place that is still that shining city on the hill even when it's experiencing bad times. I just want people to realize that so they don't fall for this idea that everything is falling apart and we are doomed.
ReplyDeleteI avoid talk radio like the plague, but many of my relatives listen every day. And every time I'm exposed to it, I'm shocked at the doomsday message these a-holes are sending out continuously. Nothing they say is true, but they are painting the picture of a country where no one works, where everyone is constantly getting poorer, where businesses are closing, where our innovation has failed, and where everything else has fallen apart. It's all a lie, but they repeat this like dogma. People need to hear the truth, that this is all BS.
Agreed on college.
As far as pot goes, I think much of the allure came from being illegal and "different." It had been around for years in the jazz community, and minority groups, but went "mainstream" by reaching into pop music of the time and the affluent kids of suburbia. I don't discount it as a legitimate recreational drug like alcohol, but I suspect it is much more potent and dangerous than it was back in the day.
ReplyDeleteAs for millionaires, I hold them no grudge since I'm one of them, even if on paper. But, I must say, a million isn't what it used to be. It may still make one relatively welthy, but no longer "filthy" rich".
Jed, There is a debate on what constitutes a millionaire. Some say a million in assets. Some say a million in income. Some say a million in liquid assets, I'm in the any of the above camp, but you can definitely see just having a million in assets or income would not nearly as much as it used to be.
ReplyDeleteOn pot, I understand that it's much more potent by this point because they keep refining it to increase the potency.
What about a million in bitcoins?
ReplyDeleteBtw, I think there would be a lot of people in NYC who would be surprised to find out that they are millionaires if one counted assets...
I'm a millionaire but I don't feel "rich".
ReplyDeleteMuch of the misuse of antibiotics is due to pressures put on by parents. For years, different societies have stressed that most illnesses in children (otitis, pharyngitis, gastroenterititis) were viral and self limited. But when a physician tries to tell the parent this, the parent demand antibiotics or they will take their business elsewhere. It has gotten better but slowly. Of course now we have the other problem of parents refusing to immunize their kids. sigh
Not sure if the rate will change but I have had more patients admit to me that they have tried it than before it was legalized. I can't figure out how people get over that nasty smell and taste.
Bev, We should tax them on it too and see how like "soak the rich" then!
ReplyDeleteKoshcat, I've heard that from my doctor friends too that parents (especially patients) are demanding antibiotics even where they won't be helpful.
ReplyDeleteNo idea on the pot stuff. I guess getting high is worth it to them.
Koshcat - This goes waaaaay back. All the doctors in my family have had the same problem. Their patients complain that a doctor is not treating their cold or flu if they don't prescribe a pill. "Get plenty of rest in bed and drink plenty of fluids" just doesn't seem like "medical care".
ReplyDeleteTalk radio will drag you down into a hole of misery and despair.
ReplyDeleteKit, They will. I was subjected to Mark Levin today as he went through his new enemies list. It was like listening to something out of Nazi Germany as he squealed about traitors and the such. The latest additions are the "Chamber of Crony Capitalism" (Chamber of Commerce) and the American Conservative Union, both of which are now minions of John Boehner. It was honestly sickening.
ReplyDeleteBev, I've become a firm believer in rest + juice. That cures so many things.
ReplyDelete