Why would you compare the US to developing countries. If you want to compare us to other countries, compare us to developed countries. Yes our median and mean

Why would you compare the US to developing countries. If you want to compare us to other countries, compare us to developed countries. Yes our median and mean incomes, disable incomes, household wealth etc... are high. But those values aren't very evenly distributed at all. Just look at average household wealth by race. You'll find an enormous discrepancy. (I was actually shocked when I looked at this. I knew it was bad, but not that bad) We have a huge number of people doing incredibly well, and a huge number of people barely getting by. The social programs other developed countries offer go a long way towards easing the burdens of that 2nd group. You can point to Finland and say that yes they have $16k less in disposable income, but they have universal health care (which you already pointed out), they have paid family leave, they have worker protections, better unemployment etc...