Last Updated on December 14, 2025 by stlplace
This is probably 6 most dangerous words in the English, from my observation.
In the News: (ABC News) Person of interest in custody after fatal Brown University shooting, official says. (AP via Yahoo) Police have person of interest in custody over Brown University shooting that killed 2, wounded 9. And let me quote a bit below:
“We all, intellectually, knew it could happen anywhere, including here, but that’s not the same as it happening in our community, and so this is an incredibly upsetting and emotional time for Providence, for Brown, for all of us,” he (Mayor of Providence, Brett Smiley) said. “It’s not something that we should have to train for, but we have.”
This is after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, as well as 2022 Uvalde school shooting (all links go to Wikipedia).
In the K to 12 school my kids go to, they do active shooter drills every year. And there was an incident recently in the HS my old daughter goes to.
There was some reforms here and there, but no outright ban on assault weapons or guns, as of now.
As I wrote this, I just saw another gun violence (tragedy) news in Australia, which has much stricter gun laws than the USA. (BBC News) Eleven killed in shooting targeting Jewish community at Australia’s Bondi Beach, police say. (AP) Mass shootings are rare in Australia. Here is a look at some previous attacks.
Statistics of Gun Violence is probably a complicated topic. But in general, fewer assault weapons, fewer guns and ammunitions in the wild, fewer gun violence or tragedy in our daily lives. A good example is in the country I am from (China), there was very few loss of lives from guns. China probably has one of the strictest gun laws in the world, btw.
Personally I think the three big mountains for Americans: Healthcare, Housing and College cost.
Odds and Ends, and Statistics
The average American’s net worth is $620,654, but that number means little. Here’s the figure that counts (MoneyWise via Yahoo)
As of 2024, median net worth in America is just $124,041, according to UBS. That’s an astonishing five times lower than the average net worth of $620,654.
In fact, by this measure, America is only the 15th wealthiest country in the world, lagging behind Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. By comparison, the U.S. is the second wealthiest country based on average wealth.
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Investing just $575 a month into this index and assuming a similar growth rate would get you above the $124,041 threshold for median wealth in roughly 10-and-a-half years.
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