Basically, everything is better than twenty years ago: 40 Ways Things Are Getting Better "What has gotten materially better in America in, say, the last twenty years?" So! Much! https://reason.com/2021/08/31/40-ways-things-are-getting-better/ responding to this guy:
Since this is posted in DnD, isn't "better" subjective? Staying positive, we're in the middle of another industrial revolution. Every other week drops an invention that makes lives more comfortable or less boring. It's Christmas whether we're ready for it or not.
I mean most of those points on social progress are what social cons consider "Nancys who can't take a fuggin joke" or "why I can't do fun things anymore"
How Markets Brought Refrigeration to the Masses https://www.humanprogress.org/how-markets-brought-refrigeration-to-everyone/ excerpt . . . According to the latest government data more than 99.8 percent of American homes own at least one refrigerator. Furthermore, the US Census Bureau estimates the US poverty rate to be 13.5 percent. That means that essentially everyone in poverty, as defined by the government, has access to a technology that was reserved for the mega-rich just 200 years ago. Additionally, almost 25 percent of Americans now have two refrigerators to store their excess food and drink. The growing prevalence of refrigerators is partly due to their declining cost and partly due to people’s growing incomes. In 1919, the Frigidaire was the first self-contained refrigerator. It cost $775 (over $11,000 in today’s money). As the average hourly wage in 1919 was just $0.43, it took the average American 1,802 hours of work to afford this luxury appliance. The Frigidaire was a marvel back in its day, but had only five cubic feet of storage. As such, it would be classed as a “mini-fridge” today. Today, the standard Whirlpool French door refrigerator holds 25 cubic feet’s worth of food and drink. It has “fingerprint resistant stainless steel” and costs just $1,529. According to the latest BLS statistics, it would take the average American just 57.5 hours of work to be able to afford this – now common – appliance. (The average wage today is $26.55 per hour.) Even as the price of refrigerators decreased, refrigerator quality increased. According to the government data, 95.5 percent of households have what is classed as a “medium” refrigerator of 15 cubic feet or larger – meaning that the vast majority of people have a refrigerator at least three times the size of the most luxurious version available 100 years ago. The modern refrigerators have more settings, are more reliable and more energy-efficient. The story of refrigeration is a common one: from a task done by many servants, to a luxury good, and to now a common household appliance used by all. This type of progress exists with nearly all household appliances; from ovens to irons, from washing machines to dishwashers, and from air conditioners to water heaters.
