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I don't think you're recognizing the effective tradeoffs that exist between the German and US economies. In Germany per capita average individual consumption is

I don't think you're recognizing the effective tradeoffs that exist between the German and US economies. In Germany per capita average individual consumption is more than 30% lower than the US. ($25,000 thousand per capita vs. $36,000) That translates into some major differences in material living conditions. The average German home is about 50% smaller than the average American home. Germans have 30% fewer cars per capita. Meat consumption is 20% lower. Many German homes don't have common household appliances that Americans take for granted. 30% of Germans don't own microwaves. Same for dishwashers. Most Germans don't have air conditioners. Only 42% of German homes have clothes dryers. Only 50% have freezers. It's not just an issue of America being stupid. Things like strong social safety nets, universal healthcare, and free university all come with major major economic tradeoffs. Europeans do sacrifice a lot in terms of middle-class luxuries to enjoy those benefits. You may say that things like bigger houses, fancy appliances and steak dinners aren't worth the stress and struggle, you need to recognize that that's a personal preference. One that many Americans are unlikely to agree with you on. The reality is that Germany is a fundamentally different culture than America. And most Americans wouldn't choose to sacrifice their creature comforts for a Western European lifestyle. I'd be shocked if any more than a small percent of Americans would move into a house half with half their current square footage, even in exchange for free healthcare and eight weeks of vacation. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_household_final_consumption_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_household... [2]https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/fun-at-home/news/a7654/house-sizes-around-the-world/ https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/fun-at-home/news/a765... [3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_... [4]https://www.homeappliancesworld.com/2018/09/18/the-growth-of-germany-goes-on/ https://www.homeappliancesworld.com/2018/09/18/the-growth-of...

bbbobbb 7y ago
You should also check the average savings per person in Germany vs USA (both total and percentage). Not buying tons of random shit doesn't always mean you can't afford it. But you are right, it largely comes down to the mentality/preference on how to spend your money. I had just some medical issues that resulted in me being hospitalized for a month (while receiving tons of care in terms of specialists, MRIs, X-Rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, drugs). I can imagine this kind of random thing ruining somebody financially or at the very least eating heavily into their savings. I received majority of my salary during that time and the final bill was $0.30 for 3 months worth of new expensive drugs I have to take. So yes, choose between safety nets or fancy appliances / larger houses / steak dinners (all of which people with decent jobs can still afford any time of course)

bbbobbb 7y ago

You should also check the average savings per person in Germany vs USA (both total and percentage). Not buying tons of random shit doesn't always mean you can't afford it. But you are right, it largely comes down to the mentality/preference on how to spend your money. I had just some medical issues that resulted in me being hospitalized for a month (while receiving tons of care in terms of specialists, MRIs, X-Rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, drugs). I can imagine this kind of random thing ruining somebody financially or at the very least eating heavily into their savings. I received majority of my salary during that time and the final bill was $0.30 for 3 months worth of new expensive drugs I have to take. So yes, choose between safety nets or fancy appliances / larger houses / steak dinners (all of which people with decent jobs can still afford any time of course)