During this time of Thanksgiving, let us be reminded of how rich most of us are. According to Care International: if you make $40,000 a year, you’re in the top 3% of income earners in the world. In 1 hour you make $20.83. Meanwhile, the average worker in Zimbabwe makes just $0.53 in the same time. If you make $40,000 a year, it would take the average worker in Indonesia 53 years to earn the same amount. Furthermore, your monthly income could pay the monthly salaries of 150 doctors in Kazakhstan.
Around the world, there are approximately 1.3 billion people who don’t have access to electricity. When politicians talk about the poor in America, realize that our poor (not homeless) are richer than most of the world.
I write of these facts on Thanksgiving because I need reminding of how blessed I am to not worry about basic human needs as many in other parts of the world still do. It is easy to look at others around the U.S and Canada and compare ourselves to them and believe that we are coming up short. However, when we compare our economic situation to the majority of the world, we quickly realize that we are truly rich and should be thankful.