 Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! Happy Thanksgiving! Ah, what's to be thankful for? The world is a mess! Oh, but it's a lot less messy than it used to be, my boy. Indeed. Life in America today is far better than many are willing to admit. There's much to be thankful for. Example? Well, I'm thankful for lighting and how cheap it's become. Our prehistoric ancestors needed to gather wood for 60 hours just to produce the amount of light your average light bulb emits in 54 minutes. And today, 60 hours of work can produce enough energy for 52 years of lighting. Huh, I guess that's something to be thankful for. And what about things like televisions, cell phones, toys, and software? All of those have become immensely cheap! Because of Black Friday? No! Because once again, the market has driven the prices down and pushed the quality up. Flat-screen TVs are 96% cheaper than they were in 1996. Toys are 67% cheaper, software is 66% cheaper, and wireless service is 45% cheaper, all thanks to a free market and global trade. How did you have all of that memorized? Yep, the awesome reality is, most of us lived better than billionaires did just 100 years ago. Nonsense! No one could live better than a billionaire! Are you sure about that? No matter how rich you were in 1918, there was virtually no air conditioning. Heating was subpar. Travel was slow. There were no antibiotics, meaning a simple infection could kill you. The food was low quality and have a low variety. Most of your cravings would go unmet. And speaking of unmet cravings... I'm thankful for how long this impromptu speech has kept me from my food. Oh, sorry. Dig in everybody! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!