TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

BY ALMOST ANY MEASURE, LIFE IS SWELL IN THE U.S. WHAT WENT RIGHT?

Hello, pilgrim, and congratulations. Your hard traveling has brought you to a strange and wondrous place: Right now, on a day you are lucky to be alive to see, the U.S. is enjoying its best economic and social health in 25 years. We're living longer, breathing cleaner air, drinking cleaner water. Crime is in free fall, with violent evildoing near a 22-year low, and the downtowns we once gave up for dead are bristling with coffee bars, green markets, life. New York City, that trusty symbol of terminal decay, is bloated no more. It boasts America's sharpest drop in crime, a...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!