Some Good Economic News

No, really, I'm not kidding. See A Way of Life Is Ending. Thank Goodness by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF of the NY Times. Excerpts:

"The share of people in the developing world who live in extreme poverty has been reduced from 1 in 2 in 1980 to 1 in 5 today..." (so that means the extreme poverty rate fell 60% since 1980)

"In 1990, more than 12 million children died before the age of 5. Now that figure is down close to 6 million."

"When child mortality drops and families know that their children will survive, they are more likely to have fewer babies — and to invest more in them."

"Ancient diseases are on the way out. Guinea worm and polio are likely to be eradicated in the coming years. Malaria has been brought under control in many countries, and a vaccine may reduce its toll even further."

"Poor people used to go blind routinely from disease or were unable to work for want of reading glasses. Now they are much less likely to go blind, and far more likely to get glasses."

"Some of the biggest gains resulted from economic growth in China and India."

"Despite the gains, a Pew poll early this year found that the budget area that Americans most wanted to cut was “aid to the world’s needy.” Perhaps one reason is that aid groups and journalists alike are so focused on problems that we leave the public mistakenly believing that the war on poverty and disease is being lost."