A century ago, the typical American household spent almost half of its income on food (46.4%, see chart above, click to enlarge), 14.7% on clothing and 15.1% on shelter, for a total of 76.2% on food, shelter and clothing in 1901, according to the Federal Reserve. As a result of significantly increasing incomes and declining real costs for food and clothing, the average American household today spends only 14% of its income on food, 5.3% on clothing and 18.4% on housing, for a total of 37.7% spent on food, clothing and shelter (see chart above). By comparison, The Economist today reports that the typical household in India today spends 46% of its income on just food, which is more than the typical American household spends on food AND clothing AND shelter (as a share of income)! And the average Chinese household spends almost as much on food (33%) as the average American household spends on food, clothing and shelter.
This example provides more evidence that despite what many people think, our standard of living is higher now than ever before, and helps to illustrate the widespread "abundance denial" in America: Even though our standard of living has increased dramatically over the last century, and even though the typical American household has never had it so good, and even though the average American's standard of living is significantly better than almost anywhere else on the planet, and even though wealth, prosperity and abundance for the AVERAGE person is at an all-time historical high, "the media constantly dwell on minor problems without celebrating the broader, more upbeat context in which they exist."