Until we can measure standard of living in different ways, more stuff is better.
No offense meant, but that’s the stupidest thing I’ve read rattling off a smart man’s keyboard in a long time.
Taken to the extreme, you’re saying that a morbidly obese divorced guy who had two coronary bypasses and works 90 hours a week, but has a BMW, Porsche, iPad, and coastal 6-bedroom home in La Jolla has a better standard of living than a happily married woman who works 35 hours a week, is healthy, in good physical condition, and has a two bedroom condo in City Heights, a 10-year-old Camry, and an Android tablet.
Come on, you’re smarter than that. It’s a complex mixture of health, happiness, relationships, free time, and quantity of toys.