It's easy to be negative these days, what with the economy in the crapper . . . and all that turmoil in Egypt.  But a lot of the things people complain about just aren't backed up by statistics.  Here's a list from "Cracked" of the top four.

#1.)  Everything Is So Expensive.  In 1950, you could get a decent car for $500, and gas was about 25 cents a gallon.  But you have to put that in perspective:

A low-end job in the service industry only paid a dollar an hour.  So even though you could get a steak for 50 cents, that was a lot.

The truth is, when you adjust for inflation, the prices of most things have stayed pretty much the same.  And some things have gotten a lot cheaper.

For example, in 1954 a high-end color TV . . . with a 15-inch screen . . . cost around $1,300, which was half a year's salary for some people.

#2.)  People Are Getting Dumber.  In reality, the average I.Q. score is 24 points higher now than it was in 1914.  Plus, the tests have gotten harder because of something called the Flynn Effect.

A score of 100 was the set average then, and it still is today.  But someone who scores 100 on an I.Q. test in 2011 can actually learn things much more quickly than someone who scored 100 in 1945 could. 

Here's how "Cracked" magazine put it:  Quote, "If you scored 100 on a test back in the day, you might actually be considered slightly mentally challenged now."

#3.)  Processed Food Is Killing Us.  It's definitely better to eat non-processed food, and there was less processed food 50 years ago.  But think about this:

Before 1966, food companies didn't have to list the ingredients on the label.  So you had no idea what kind of chemicals and additives they were using.

And most of the un-pronounceable ingredients you see in processed foods today are just preservatives, which are necessary to make sure the food doesn't rot before you eat it.

On a related note, people forget that the refrigerator is a relatively new invention.  And before the 1930s, basically nobody had one.  So food-borne illnesses were much more common.

#4.)  Crime Is Out of Control.  There was a huge spike in crime during the '80s, but right now the crime rate in America is at its lowest since the 1950s.

And even though a lot of people are out of work, the crime rate is actually lower than it was before the recession hit.  The FBI recently announced that violent crime was down 6.2% in the first half of last year.

It only SEEMS like there's more crime today because that's all they talk about on the news 

More From 95.7 KEZJ