SHHHH...THE CHILDREN WILL HEAR YOU...:

Consider the economy. In the aftermath of a long, negative campaign, you could be forgiven for assuming that the economy is terrible. But while there are certainly many Americans who are suffering, overall, median household income in the United States increased by 5.2 percent last year, to $56,516. Median incomes increased almost across the board in every region of the country. Of course there is still room for improvement, but this is undeniably good news. 

One reason for the income growth is that more Americans are working. Unemployment has been hovering around 4.9 percent this year, the lowest since 2008, and the labor-force-participation rate has actually ticked upward on a year over year basis.  [...]

Just as America's economy was painted in overly dire terms during the campaign, crime was made out to be a bigger problem than it actually is. In reality, with the exception of a handful of cities, crime rates are down. According to the FBI, the violent-crime rate has fallen by more than half in the last 25 years. The murder rate has fallen from 9.8 per 100,000 people in 1991 to 4.9 in 2015. There have been similar declines in the rates of rape, robbery, burglary, and theft.

And while terrorism catches the headlines, the chances that you will actually be killed in a terrorist attack remain absurdly low. Since 1975, 3,423 people in America have been killed by terrorists, including 2,983 on 9/11. The chances of dying in an attack committed by a foreign-born terrorist are 1 in 3.6 million per year. [...]

And for those concerned about the family, there's good news on that front, too: More Americans are getting married. According to researchers at Bowling Green State University, there were 32.2 marriages for every 1,000 unmarried women age 15 or older in 2015, up from 31.9 in 2014. Our marriage rate is now the highest it's been since 2009, and is showing signs of stabilizing after decades of decline. We are staying married, too. Last year, the U.S. divorce rate declined for the third year in a row, and is now at its lowest point in nearly 40 years.

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