Get beyond the notion that the United States has a “disproportionate amount of the world’s rich people,” and this CNN.com article makes an interesting point.
Actually, you have to look at the end of the story:
The true global middle class, falls far short of owning a home, having a car in a driveway, saving for retirement and sending their kids to college. In fact, people at the world’s true middle — as defined by median income — live on just $1,225 a year. (And, yes, Milanovic’s numbers are adjusted to account for different costs of living across the globe.)
In the grand scheme of things, even the poorest 5% of Americans are better off financially than two thirds of the entire world.
In other words, the poorest of the poor fare better in a country with a relatively free economy. Where have I heard that argument before?
