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These net worth figures don't take into account the differences in social models. The average German has been paying more taxes for their entire life. In exchan

These net worth figures don't take into account the differences in social models. The average German has been paying more taxes for their entire life. In exchange, their net worth won't be affected if they get cancer, they will get help if they go broke, etc. Comparing net worth figures directly doesn't sound fair to me given these differences...

adventured 8y ago
Your premise doesn't explain why France - which has a far more expensive welfare state than Germany - has a median net worth roughly three times that of Germany and Sweden. Or why Belgium is nearly 4x that of Germany. Or why Italy is 3x that of Germany. And so on. It's very clearly a problem that specifically has to do with Germany. Even South Korea, which has only started to become affluent in the last two decades, is well ahead of Germany and Sweden (and the US median as well). You're also making the excellent point that Americans should be far worse off than Germans and Swedes, because they should be going broke constantly due to medical bills. And yet the American median wealth is still higher. The US spends as much on its welfare state as a percentage of its economy, as what Canada and Australia do, and is just behind Switzerland. The median American receives healthcare through their employer. That directly detracts from their income potential, and given how expensive US healthcare is (typically 60% to 80% more than other developed nations), it detracts in a very big way. By your way of thinking, we should account for that massive gap in cost of healthcare and how it impacts income figures (which impacts max savings potential). It's certainly not fair to account for Germans paying into taxes for eg healthcare, while ignoring that Americans lose out on income in the relationship with their employer due to the immense cost of healthcare in the US: that is the tax.
- AnthonyMouse 8y ago
  > It's very clearly a problem that specifically has to do with Germany. It's not even a real problem, because the primary cause is that housing costs in Germany are much lower than they are in most other places. Correspondingly the homes people own aren't worth as much, but they don't care because they're using housing as a thing to live in instead of a thing to prop up their net worth on paper.
- kmmlng 8y ago
  I think part of the answer might be that Germans invest much less than most other nationalities. They do save, but in times of practically non-existent interest rates, that does not get you very far.
- cm2187 8y ago
  I think for France it has to do with real estate. French people like to own their property while it is much less common in Germany. As property prices have skyrocketed (to the point of becoming a social problem), lots of people are asset rich without necessarily having the corresponding revenues.

adventured 8y ago

Your premise doesn't explain why France - which has a far more expensive welfare state than Germany - has a median net worth roughly three times that of Germany and Sweden. Or why Belgium is nearly 4x that of Germany. Or why Italy is 3x that of Germany. And so on. It's very clearly a problem that specifically has to do with Germany. Even South Korea, which has only started to become affluent in the last two decades, is well ahead of Germany and Sweden (and the US median as well). You're also making the excellent point that Americans should be far worse off than Germans and Swedes, because they should be going broke constantly due to medical bills. And yet the American median wealth is still higher. The US spends as much on its welfare state as a percentage of its economy, as what Canada and Australia do, and is just behind Switzerland. The median American receives healthcare through their employer. That directly detracts from their income potential, and given how expensive US healthcare is (typically 60% to 80% more than other developed nations), it detracts in a very big way. By your way of thinking, we should account for that massive gap in cost of healthcare and how it impacts income figures (which impacts max savings potential). It's certainly not fair to account for Germans paying into taxes for eg healthcare, while ignoring that Americans lose out on income in the relationship with their employer due to the immense cost of healthcare in the US: that is the tax.

AnthonyMouse 8y ago
> It's very clearly a problem that specifically has to do with Germany. It's not even a real problem, because the primary cause is that housing costs in Germany are much lower than they are in most other places. Correspondingly the homes people own aren't worth as much, but they don't care because they're using housing as a thing to live in instead of a thing to prop up their net worth on paper.
kmmlng 8y ago
I think part of the answer might be that Germans invest much less than most other nationalities. They do save, but in times of practically non-existent interest rates, that does not get you very far.
cm2187 8y ago
I think for France it has to do with real estate. French people like to own their property while it is much less common in Germany. As property prices have skyrocketed (to the point of becoming a social problem), lots of people are asset rich without necessarily having the corresponding revenues.