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]France has higher and more evenly distributed median household income.  So the average person is arguably better off in France.  But the socialism that ensures that has probably restricted their growth in terms of industry and technology, which we have in abundance, thanks to the 1%, but whose benefit does not trickle down to our majority.  It’s a tricky dance to encourage free markets but also encourage benefits for all.  No one has a perfect model for this. [/quote]

French median income is 23k euros a year, or $27,000. American median income is $63,000. Median means half make more, half makes less. [/quote]

Income is a narrow measure.   Life expectancy in France is 4.7 years higher than in the USA and 9 years higher than in Alabama and France has much higher literacy than the USA (#PaulKrugman).  They also have far more vacation time and mandated parental leave of approximately 1 year where the USA has none.[/quote]

So you now don't deny Americans are much richer? You're just coming up with different metrics, aka changing goalposts. I have no idea what literacy rates means in this context. It's a straw man argument that serves no real purpose beyond a misleading "gotcha" that also tells us nothing. I delved into the matter and it seems more complex than you might think. France boasts a 99% literary rate, officially, but at same time French reports acknowledges at least 10% of adults struggle with basic literacy and as many as 28% score below level 1 in literacy, meaning they struggle with complex information. Which means using the American definition of literacy, its not really that different. And I don't doubt that a lot of it also comes down to how each country captures its ESL populations.

The point about life expectancy is real and the only serious one worth exploring. Americans by and large have national problems with obesity and chronic diseases. But those reflect lifestyle, not a failure of health care. [/quote]

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