UK, Italy, France quality decline, now poorer than all 50 states

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically, Europeans are "poorer" on average according to per capita GDP numbers, yet have nearly a decade higher life expectancy than the poorest states in the USA, higher literacy, and much more leisure time.

I think a lot of us would rather be "poor" Europeans by these standards.

I don’t think taxing us more and chilling our innovative ecosystem is going to make us happy. But I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to give it a try. We’ll see how it goes.

Do we actually have an “innovative” ecosystem? A tiny handful of companies control almost everything in this country, from what we eat to where we shop to what we watch on tv.

If I go to Europe or almost any other country there are actual small shops on almost every corner instead of mega chains like what we have here.

Yes, we have a system that supports innovation and we have highly innovative and nimble companies. It’s far more difficult in the EU countries to do the same things. And they absolutely do have great giants and tech, of course.

I get your point about the small shops and I completely agree. I don’t like the landscape either on that front.

However, there is no comparison between what we’re able to “birth” and get going and change direction. It’s not a function of brains, imagination, or hard work. It’s the way are system is designed.

I do think many people don’t realize this. They don’t work with smaller and medium sized companies that have innovative ideas/solutions and watch them take off. Maybe people think this doesn’t happen anymore? It absolutely does happen and in places you wouldn’t expect it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically, Europeans are "poorer" on average according to per capita GDP numbers, yet have nearly a decade higher life expectancy than the poorest states in the USA, higher literacy, and much more leisure time.

I think a lot of us would rather be "poor" Europeans by these standards.

I don’t think taxing us more and chilling our innovative ecosystem is going to make us happy. But I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to give it a try. We’ll see how it goes.

Do we actually have an “innovative” ecosystem? A tiny handful of companies control almost everything in this country, from what we eat to where we shop to what we watch on tv.

If I go to Europe or almost any other country there are actual small shops on almost every corner instead of mega chains like what we have here.

Only 46 companies have driven the vast majority of stock growth over the last 100 years. I am not sure if that counts as proof of an innovative ecosystem or not. We are just a bigger market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to watch that stupid YouTube video — can someone summarize?

A guy doing man in the street interviews in London. One American, the rest British. All expressing surprise as most thought the UK would be in the top ten if it were a state. One women guessed the bottom 25% and said Americans like working more than the British.

The average European is fed anti-American news stories nonstop. Even if it is better here, they will never come to that conclusion.

I had six month maternity leave but European friends don’t believe me. It simply isn’t possible. Same with me going on a long vacation.

I told them my salary (around $300k) when they weirdly asked me, and their response was that healthcare is surely making up the difference. As if a healthy 40 year old woman pays $150k per year in healthcare. They had never even known someone making that much money and these are people with advanced degrees.

#tonedeaf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I travel around Europe, the biggest safety issue I have to worry about is pickpockets. When I travel in the US, or just live here, the biggest safety issue I have to worry about is shootings.

I'll take pickpockets over shootings.

I guess you're not a woman.

I'm definitely a woman. And I've been to Europe many times. My kids have had lockdowns in school. Our friends in the UK have never had their kids in a lockdown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I travel around Europe, the biggest safety issue I have to worry about is pickpockets. When I travel in the US, or just live here, the biggest safety issue I have to worry about is shootings.

I'll take pickpockets over shootings.

Disagree. Shootings are so rare but pickpockets are endemic in Europe. And cops don’t seem to care.

pickpockets don't generally kill you. Material things are just that and can be replaced.

Shootings in this country aren't rare. MCPS has had several gun related incidents in the past year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You have to look at the wealth gap as well. The distribution of wealth matters.

This is correct. I am not going to look up the stats for EU member states, Canada has a similar issue compared to the U.S.

The top 20% of Americans has an higher average income than the top 20% of Canadians. But the bottom 80% of Canadians has a higher average income than the bottom 80% of Americans. Plus the govt services and work culture are far more generous to Canadian workers than American workers. I think you will find EU countries often have a similar situation.

On the whole it is much hard being in the bottom 80% of Americans than the bottom 80% of the countries shown in the video.

I'm familiar enough with these creative "stats." Whoever came up with this one is playing a game by jumping one demographic that is definitely poor in the US, the poor, with fewer benefits etc compared to most western countries, and excluding the rich to make it seem like the middle class is richer in Canada. It's not quite the truthful picture. Median salary (meaning 50% make more, 50% make less) in the US is $64,000. In Canada it is $46,000. This gives you a more accurate picture.

As for Euros, outside places like Switzerland, most people do have lower incomes compared to American peers. Material wealth is higher in the US. Quality of life is subjective. I love Europe, but most people do live modest lives in small apartments. It's not all historic urban centers but plenty of grimy suburbs and tower blocks.

As the middle class in America is stretched more and more Europe looks better and better. If education, housing, and healthcare are unaffordable to the median income person making $64k, that “extra” 18k in income matters less and less, doesn’t it? Would you rather make 46k with health insurance or 64k without it?

What makes you think Europeans don't worry about housing affordability or cost of living?

My god, some of you clearly never pick up an European newspaper or stay on top of European politics. I lived in the UK for years and I travel widely in multiple European countries. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. And as for education, the average British student graduates with more debt than the average American student, and yet faces significantly lower starting salaries. All this is easily found by, you know, reading newspapers and online articles.

And even Europe isn't without crime. They have a problem with their migrant populations, and periodic violence from migrants, including Islamic terrorism that flares up every now and then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Norway, Finland and Denmark are also socialist countries with higher standards of living that the US.

This is a very often quoted falsity. Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden are not socialist countries. They are free market economies with many social programs. They also have small very homogeneous populations but that is slowly changing for the worse.

😳😳😳

God forbid the gene pool be polluted, right pp?

Do you have any stats that says things are moving in the right direction?

Yes I’m sure statistics support your desire for “homogenous” Scandinavian countries, right pp?

Midsommar was PP's fever dream. Blondes dancing around a maypole while discreetly offing anyone of color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You have to look at the wealth gap as well. The distribution of wealth matters.

This is correct. I am not going to look up the stats for EU member states, Canada has a similar issue compared to the U.S.

The top 20% of Americans has an higher average income than the top 20% of Canadians. But the bottom 80% of Canadians has a higher average income than the bottom 80% of Americans. Plus the govt services and work culture are far more generous to Canadian workers than American workers. I think you will find EU countries often have a similar situation.

On the whole it is much hard being in the bottom 80% of Americans than the bottom 80% of the countries shown in the video.

I'm familiar enough with these creative "stats." Whoever came up with this one is playing a game by jumping one demographic that is definitely poor in the US, the poor, with fewer benefits etc compared to most western countries, and excluding the rich to make it seem like the middle class is richer in Canada. It's not quite the truthful picture. Median salary (meaning 50% make more, 50% make less) in the US is $64,000. In Canada it is $46,000. This gives you a more accurate picture.

As for Euros, outside places like Switzerland, most people do have lower incomes compared to American peers. Material wealth is higher in the US. Quality of life is subjective. I love Europe, but most people do live modest lives in small apartments. It's not all historic urban centers but plenty of grimy suburbs and tower blocks.

As the middle class in America is stretched more and more Europe looks better and better. If education, housing, and healthcare are unaffordable to the median income person making $64k, that “extra” 18k in income matters less and less, doesn’t it? Would you rather make 46k with health insurance or 64k without it?

64k without. I'd rather live a shorter life spending my money the way I want to. Health insurance will let me live longer, but why would I want to?

Hard to believe the myth of American Exceptionalism is still alive in 2026.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically, Europeans are "poorer" on average according to per capita GDP numbers, yet have nearly a decade higher life expectancy than the poorest states in the USA, higher literacy, and much more leisure time.

I think a lot of us would rather be "poor" Europeans by these standards.

I don’t think taxing us more and chilling our innovative ecosystem is going to make us happy. But I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to give it a try. We’ll see how it goes.

Do we actually have an “innovative” ecosystem? A tiny handful of companies control almost everything in this country, from what we eat to where we shop to what we watch on tv.

If I go to Europe or almost any other country there are actual small shops on almost every corner instead of mega chains like what we have here.

Only 46 companies have driven the vast majority of stock growth over the last 100 years. I am not sure if that counts as proof of an innovative ecosystem or not. We are just a bigger market.

Oh, the US is vastly more innovate and dynamic than anywhere in Europe. Are you genuinely clueless or a knee jerk America hating DC progressive? On every economic metric the American economy blows all of Europe out of the water, from economic value, corporate earnings, salaries. innovation (yes, innovation). Of course Europe has its economies and companies and FYI the American S&P 500s are mostly internationals nowaways and have large footprints in Europe too. But American companies really lead the world in innovation. What you're talking about is a function of the dynamism of the American economy that we're top heavy, which is awesome. Because it means billions and billions in R&D.

The European economic model is structured differently from the US, it prevents genuine competition and dynamism, especially at the top end, it's far more inflexible, which stifles growth. It's been like that since WWII when the consensus was to protect labor at the expense of growth. There's a reason Silicon Valley and NYC finance are crowded with European expats. And the gap between European earnings and American earnings, both personal salary and corporate earnings, has only worsened in the last decade. Significantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Norway, Finland and Denmark are also socialist countries with higher standards of living that the US.

This is a very often quoted falsity. Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden are not socialist countries. They are free market economies with many social programs. They also have small very homogeneous populations but that is slowly changing for the worse.

😳😳😳

God forbid the gene pool be polluted, right pp?

Do you have any stats that says things are moving in the right direction?

Yes I’m sure statistics support your desire for “homogenous” Scandinavian countries, right pp?

Are things moving in the right direction or not, PP. It's a pretty simple question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically, Europeans are "poorer" on average according to per capita GDP numbers, yet have nearly a decade higher life expectancy than the poorest states in the USA, higher literacy, and much more leisure time.

I think a lot of us would rather be "poor" Europeans by these standards.

I don’t think taxing us more and chilling our innovative ecosystem is going to make us happy. But I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to give it a try. We’ll see how it goes.

Do we actually have an “innovative” ecosystem? A tiny handful of companies control almost everything in this country, from what we eat to where we shop to what we watch on tv.

If I go to Europe or almost any other country there are actual small shops on almost every corner instead of mega chains like what we have here.

Only 46 companies have driven the vast majority of stock growth over the last 100 years. I am not sure if that counts as proof of an innovative ecosystem or not. We are just a bigger market.

This bums me out. There is so much going on. There is so much talent and drive and, yes, ups and downs in success. But a lot of ups. Not everything is in the stock market. I guess if you live in the DMV, it’s hard to see. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The taxation has killed the economies. Too many socialist at the voting booths. The same trend the US in on.

How are the poorest people in each country faring daily and when they face a crisis? The US does not do well in this measure. Countries with stronger social safety nets do very well. Our success should always be measured by the health and security of "the least of our brothers."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Norway, Finland and Denmark are also socialist countries with higher standards of living that the US.

This is a very often quoted falsity. Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden are not socialist countries. They are free market economies with many social programs. They also have small very homogeneous populations but that is slowly changing for the worse.

😳😳😳

God forbid the gene pool be polluted, right pp?

PP isn't talking about genetics but more about values and social norms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to watch that stupid YouTube video — can someone summarize?

A guy doing man in the street interviews in London. One American, the rest British. All expressing surprise as most thought the UK would be in the top ten if it were a state. One women guessed the bottom 25% and said Americans like working more than the British.

The average European is fed anti-American news stories nonstop. Even if it is better here, they will never come to that conclusion.

I had six month maternity leave but European friends don’t believe me. It simply isn’t possible. Same with me going on a long vacation.

I told them my salary (around $300k) when they weirdly asked me, and their response was that healthcare is surely making up the difference. As if a healthy 40 year old woman pays $150k per year in healthcare. They had never even known someone making that much money and these are people with advanced degrees.

#tonedeaf

DP: No kidding! Imagine touting 6 months of maternity leave as normal in the U.S. Only 10% of women with paid leave access can take more than 12 weeks, and only roughly 35%–41% of employers offer any paid maternity leave at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The taxation has killed the economies. Too many socialist at the voting booths. The same trend the US in on.

How are the poorest people in each country faring daily and when they face a crisis? The US does not do well in this measure. Countries with stronger social safety nets do very well. Our success should always be measured by the health and security of "the least of our brothers."

NP. I think this is a bad measure. It should be measured by the average person, not the worst. Every society will have mentally ill persons who want to live on the streets.

Europe has large populations of beggars and pickpockets. Maybe they don't consider those people to be citizens and aren't including them in their stats? What about Roma graduation rates?