If I'm greedy, if I'm avaricious, if I've got my feet firmly planted on the escalator of competition, then this is also not going to make much sense. Giving thanks is a subversive activity. Because people can give thanks wherever we are. Paul gave thanks in prison. Corrie ten Boom gave thanks in a concentration camp.
People find ways to give thanks in poverty, or in oppression.
That's not to say that being poor or imprisoned or oppressed is good. But if I can find something to thank God for, then that means that the oppressor is not the one who is really in control. Paul gave thanks that even when he was in prison, that his needs were taken care of. He was able to remain in touch with his friends by letter, even though he couldn't come and see them in person. He gave thanks to God that even in prison, people listened to him.