It&#x27;s getting worse for 1st world middle class — and for exactly the same reasons it gets better for 3rd world countries: everybody is competing on the same field now. Every time I see stories about how &quot;economy is bad&quot;, turns out it&#x27;s about a US blue-collar worker, who suddenly realizes that he can no longer afford american dream of a big nice house with two cars and three bathrooms. But then I remember that at the same time, 10 guys* in China an India, doing the same job, can properly feed and clothe their families now, and suddenly I don&#x27;t feel so bad about the american guy anymore.<p>___<p>* I thought that I should write &quot;and girls&quot;, but then I remembered that these countries still often have &quot;traditional&quot;, patriarchal gender roles, unfortunately.