Hard agree with most of this. There's something to the notion that the US (and possibly Canada) should be in a wealth tier beyond other rich countries. But the

Hard agree with most of this. There's something to the notion that the US (and possibly Canada) should be in a wealth tier beyond other rich countries. But the security thing is a real thing that affects even people who make good money. American cars/bigger houses/etc. can be transitory because our healthcare system sucks and our education system is too expensive. I wouldn't dismiss these things because there's two generations now that are experiencing all of the insecurity in healthcare & education costs without experiencing the benefits that accrued to prior generations. Our current model may not be sustainable. (Also & this isn't 100% germane to your argument, but most of the US population is eligible for some part of the safety net at some point. Notably, most infants are eligible for WIC because they are not born to well-off families. Obviously ditto the Social Security & Medicare. It's probably fair to say that most Americans will lean on the safety net at some point in their lives.)