As an American who's seen and experienced "the bottom 20%" in our country, this was my first thought. People in America "consume" more economically because it's

As an American who's seen and experienced "the bottom 20%" in our country, this was my first thought. People in America "consume" more economically because it's our only option. If our cost of living is higher relative to our average income compared to other developed countries then of course more of our money is economically "consumed". Notice there's no mention or comparison to other key economic indicators like savings, quality of life and upward economic mobility. Statistically most of America's "middle class" lives paycheck to paycheck. According to a recent article on CNBC 60% of Americans couldn't afford an unexpected $1000 expense. "Just 40 percent of Americans are able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, such as an emergency room visit or car repair, with their savings, according to a survey from personal finance website Bankrate." https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/most-americans-dont-have-the-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/most-americans-dont-have-the...