&gt; I&#x27;d rather be poor today than rich twenty years ago.<p>Since everybody else is commenting I&#x27;ll join in too. :-)<p>Rich twenty years ago meant that instead of an iPhone, you had a secretary. Your TV was smaller. Your music was better. You talked to people in person. Oddly enough, the world at that time was a lot less crazy than it is today too.<p>Being poor in any era is in no way desirable compared to being rich in any era. A statement like that assumes poor means &quot;I could probably live really cheap if I had to today&quot; similar to tiny-housers.<p>The reality is closer to being uncertain of whether you will eat every day, where you will sleep and not to mention a feeling of hopelessness that can very easily come from feeling stuck in such a situation. When you&#x27;re worried about having enough money to survive, things like getting a better education or job training go out the window.<p>Just by saying &quot;I&#x27;d rather be poor...&quot; you&#x27;re getting the theoretical ability to CHOOSE it.