My own experience in the third world was that even if people started to make more money, the cost of living and housing increased often faster than the wages.

But in the past, US companies have been able to increase their profits through downsizing in the US, through colonizing other people's resources, and through the increase of globalization.

Money flows into the US, and inflates US assets, and allows the US to have a monstrous trade deficit. That means we are consuming more than we are producing.

David Korten Quotes