Thereís no shortage of bad news these days, from turmoil in global markets to political dysfunction in Washington to killer heat waves and drought in various corners of the world. Worries about the future abound. In these dog days of August, finding reason for optimism might seem as futile an exercise as watering wilted tomato plants.
Rather than indulge in handwringing pessimism, however, the Motley Fool investment website recently posted an article listing 50 things you should ěfeel good about.î Hereís a sampling:
The average American spends less than half as much of their income on food today as in the 1940s. No one ever talks about long-term food deflation.
A cancer-stricken man from Eritrea just received an artificially grown trachea derived from his own cells. More awesome medical technology at work.
Part of the reason Medicare and Social Security are money pits is because people are living much longer than expected.
Nine percent of American households are millionaires. Itís not just those at the very top who are doing well.
GDP per capita in the United States is 12 times higher than it is in China. Remember that next time someone mentions how domineering Chinaís economy is.
Overall cancer death rates in the U.S. fell more than 1.5 percent per year from 2001-2007. Falling cancer death rates have saved nearly 1 million Americans over the past two decades.
2010 was a record year for both patent applications and patent grants. Innovation is nowhere near dead.
If youíre reading this at your computer, youíre part of the 30 percent of the world with Internet access; 70 percent of the planet would love to be in your shoes.
One of corporate Americaís biggest challenges right now is what to do with record amounts of cash. Nice problem to have.
Real manufacturing output is 75 percent higher than it was in the 1970s.
In 1900, 44 percent of all American jobs were in farming. Think about that: Almost half of all ingenuity was devoted to eating.
Traffic deaths per 100,000 people have fallen by half since the late 1960s.
Perhaps youíll come up with some ěfeel goodî ideas of your own. Even if it doesnít bring lasting relief, it might at least momentarily take your mind off the heat outside your window, and the hot air churning around elsewhere.