standard of living in the usa is sinking ...., page-13

I wouldn't consider myself wealthy if I had a beat up old house hours away from work, that was falling apart and had two rusting, uncomfortable and inefficient 1972 Holdens on the driveway. The accumulation of 'stuff' is a function of how cheaply that stuff can be produced, not how wealthy the owners are.

I would define key aspects of wealth as having opportunity, social mobility, an education and above all good health, not in owning stuff. I don't have children, but if I did, I would hope the country they lived in gave them every chance to determine their own destiny, not be defined by how rich or poor their parents were, what colour of skin they happened to be born with, or where in that country they were born.

The great trick that the politicians in the good ol' US of A have been able to pull off is in convincing poor people, trapped in poor environments that they too can be wealthy, when in fact their chances of moving up the socio-economic ladder is poorer than almost any developed country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mobility#Comparisons_with_other_countries

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/us/harder-for-americans-to-rise-from-lower-rungs.html?_r=1&sq=mobility&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=all

In the US, how wealthy your parents are is the key factor that determines where you end up.

http://www.pewstates.org/projects/economic-mobility-project-328061