Perspective, again

News about the American and global economies continues to be pretty grim, with zero new jobs created last month in America, European debt crises still driving markets downward, and bank shares everywhere under attack by speculators.  Every coffee shop I'm in is filled with people looking for work, or fretting about their circumstances.  I don't know anyone who doesn't feel poorer than he did three years ago, even if it is just on paper.

So I appreciate the shot of perspective that the Economist provided in this week's issue in a article about the global middle class.  Accompanying the article is this chart showing the growth of the middle class around the world over the past two decades:





According to this joint study by the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, nearly 2 billion people have risen into the middle class from poverty since 1990, which is welcome news.   But what really made me think is the asterisk at the bottom of the chart, which defines what the study's authors mean by "middle class":  people living on $2-20 per day. 

I don't want to belittle or dismiss the worries of any Americans, because whether you are making $1 a day or $1000 a day, to suddenly have your income eliminated or severely cut creates short-term hardship.  But the next time I'm tempted to lament my retirement account balance while sipping a $4 coffee drink, I hope I can hold my tongue and spare a thought instead for the billions of people who would view my situation with envy, and who are working hard every day with bustling determination to earn their way up to my blessed situation.