It’s Thanksgiving Day on 11/23/2023. Much of the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays have lost their original historical meaning in an avalanche of Black Friday Sales and Christmas Gift Lists.

It’s good to reflect on what Americans should be thankful for.

Opportunity to Enjoy Indoor Plumbing and Hot Water: In 1955, we moved to rural American North of Joliet Illinois. The old house had indoor plumbing, but most of the neighbors had an outhouse in the back and a water pump in the kitchen. That’s where the rural tradition
of taking a bath only on Saturday night began. It was only on Saturday that Mom would take the time to heat up hot water and fill a tin tub. In Africa, women walk miles to gather drinking water. Today, even if you live in a poor area, everyone has indoor plumbing and
plenty of hot water.

Opportunity for Plentiful Food: In the history of China, over 100 million have starved to death. My Dad’s only comment of the one time he visited Vietnam was that he could afford to eat three bowls of rice versus only one in China. When we were in the rural outskirts of
Joliet, Illinois, every boy in the neighborhood carried a long gun. It was a pellet gun; .22 caliber rifle; or .410 gauge shotgun. Everything that the boys shot, even a small squirrel or dove, was eaten by the family.

In America, nobody starves to death. According to a June 19, 2023 Pew Research article by Drew Desilver, “41.9 million people in 22.2 million households (12.5% of the total U.S. population) received SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits in the 2022 fiscal year, which ran from October 2021 through SeptemberIn April, 2023, the national  average food stamp benefit was $181.72 per person and $343.00 per household.”

Opportunity to Improve Your Economic Circumstances: My Dad won the last national scholarship competition in China before the Communists swept south to Canton, China, and that’s how he was admitted to America. He was stationed at the University of Iowa, where he earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering. After my Dad died, I looked through some old papers and discovered he received $100 per month as a research assistant at the U. of Iowa.

By the time he died at age 97 (and Mom died at age 93), they were millionaires although he never earned more than $50,000/year and Mom never earned more than $35,000/year. I have clients who came from the Philippines with nothing but a desire to fill America’s nursing shortage and by retirement age, they are millionaires. Filipino nurses often volunteer to pick up an extra shift at the hospital and work during holidays when the pay is double or triple.

Opportunity for a Free Education: If you lived in the British system, at a young age you take a test that determines whether you can go to college or only are allowed into trade school. In America, you get a free education from kindergarten through high school. The  community college system is cheap and there are many scholarships. I worked my way through college and graduated with only the original $1,000 student loan. For three nights/week, this was supper: a 10 cents package of Jiffy Mix held together with water and one egg and fried with Crisco. I could not afford milk or butter. I had 12 weeks to work in the summer and it had to last me 12 months.

Conclusion: In America, we all should be thankful for many aspects of life that are just a dream in less-developed countries!

To RSVP for the seminars or schedule a free consultation, please contact Dr. Harold Wong at (480) 706-0177 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. His website is www.drharoldwong.com.

Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in Economics at University of California/Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs.