A quick estimate is that global GDP divided by the world population would be about $13,000 per person. (Of course, actually dividing up all the money in the world would also break the economy, so it would soon be less.) That’s about the GDP of El Salvador or Sri Lanka. That doesn’t leave much room for funding museums, etc.
For what it’s worth, I believe that many people can live pretty great lives for $13k/year. I think that healthy-ish Americans today can do this, with a bit of prep and being willing to live in the right places.
I’d expect that if a magic wand were raised and everyone had their incomes changed to $13k/yr, it would go much better than many people here might imagine. In the US, services would quickly change to cater to less expensive needs. That said, there is a major question of how this would actually work in practice. It’s hard to imagine, as this would have profound implications for real estate prices, salaries, living costs, etc.
Happiness is currently correlated with well-being in the US, but (A) it’s not clear how much causation there is, in which way, (B) it includes a lot of zero-sum comparisons, and (C), even the low ends aren’t too catastrophic.
Related, incomes in the US have gone up a ton in the last hundred years, but happiness levels have moved surprisingly little.
Lastly, I’d flag that in this world, I’d expect there would likely be more culture (i.e. museum-like experiences) generated yearly in total. The extra people with income would offset the losses we get at the top.
I’m not saying that I don’t prefer the extra wealth—just that I don’t see a need to feel bad about a picture of the world where everyone has $13k/yr. I think this would be much better than what we have now, in total (as those elevated would gain more than those who lose would lose).
“Feeling good” or “Feeling bad” about the current state of such a complex world is a hard thing to be objectively correct or incorrect about.
For what it’s worth, I believe that many people can live pretty great lives for $13k/year. I think that healthy-ish Americans today can do this, with a bit of prep and being willing to live in the right places.
I’d expect that if a magic wand were raised and everyone had their incomes changed to $13k/yr, it would go much better than many people here might imagine. In the US, services would quickly change to cater to less expensive needs. That said, there is a major question of how this would actually work in practice. It’s hard to imagine, as this would have profound implications for real estate prices, salaries, living costs, etc.
Happiness is currently correlated with well-being in the US, but (A) it’s not clear how much causation there is, in which way, (B) it includes a lot of zero-sum comparisons, and (C), even the low ends aren’t too catastrophic.
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/as-incomes-rise-variability-in-happiness-shrinks
Related, incomes in the US have gone up a ton in the last hundred years, but happiness levels have moved surprisingly little.
Lastly, I’d flag that in this world, I’d expect there would likely be more culture (i.e. museum-like experiences) generated yearly in total. The extra people with income would offset the losses we get at the top.
I’m not saying that I don’t prefer the extra wealth—just that I don’t see a need to feel bad about a picture of the world where everyone has $13k/yr. I think this would be much better than what we have now, in total (as those elevated would gain more than those who lose would lose).
“Feeling good” or “Feeling bad” about the current state of such a complex world is a hard thing to be objectively correct or incorrect about.