You are saying that USA will always be perceived as a superior place to live because of the better pay; the guy is saying that it's not always true because some

You are saying that USA will always be perceived as a superior place to live because of the better pay; the guy is saying that it's not always true because some people value other things (family time, housing affordability, social security network etc), so some talent will prefer to remain/move to europe/canada etc. While I generally tend to agree with you more (unfortunately people go for the money), he has a good point. The U.S isn't for everyone.