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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
You have to look at the wealth gap as well. The distribution of wealth matters. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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?[/quote]

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?[/quote]

This reminds of the lyrics of "All This Time" by Sting:

Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the earth
Better to be poor than be a fat man in the eye of the needle
As these words were spoken I swear I hear the old man laughing
What good is a used up world and how could it be worth having?

[/quote]

Um, well, if you want to have greater wealth but have a lower life expectancy than in Europe, you're in the right country.[/quote]

That’s because American eat like crap[/quote]

And we have a government that does a crap job of regulating food producers.[/quote]

It's the governments fault that most Americans eat massive portions of crappy food? I shop at Walmart and seem to do just fine.[/quote]

You say that now, but you and/or your kids are still going to get colon cancer like the rest of us.[/quote]

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