Progress Deniers

What am I missing?

 It struck me while riding the train to work,  and going to and from the United Center, and just generally travelling around the City of Chicago and the Country, that it's obvious that there has been substantial improvement in quality of life for most Americans in my lifetime. 

 I remember looking out the window on those rides years ago and things have improved big time.

In addition, I'm seeing so many women and minorities in all walks of life . Business managers and executives, lawyers, doctors, bankers, government, military-- I could go on and on.  Major positive change.

The hard core poor have Medicaid, Food Stamps and subsidized housing, among other safety net programs. What they need is more jobs and better training for the age we live in.

Crime is down. Of course problems persist , especially gun violence

Rust Belt cities have rebounded and Gentrification of city neighborhood has become a bigger concern than what once was called Urban Decay. However the poor have not disappeared and homelessness and poverty persists. 

The quality of the environment has improved in the air, land and water.

We now are approaching energy independence and fossil fuel alternative energy sources are becoming more viable

 Safety has improved for cars, work place and in general.

 Major improvements in food production and consumption- the whole natural/  organic, farm- to-table/ locally grown , healthier food movements.

Only working poor and working class white men are doing worse, or have experienced little progress. Also the cost of higher education ( while more accessible) has become out of reach without incurring crushing debt.

Yet all politicians and most media , not just Trump and Sanders, say these are the worst of times, and harken back to a bygone era. When was that?

I know I live and work in an "ivory tower" , and I'm not as aware of the world the poor inhabit. However  with respect to the undeniable progress that has been made over the last several decades, what am I missing here? Why are so many in denial of that progress?

Eric