2 ms·

A lot of people are confused about the use of the phrase "richest country" so I will offer a definition. It's the country able to write the biggest check for so

by runako 6y ago

A lot of people are confused about the use of the phrase "richest country" so I will offer a definition. It's the country able to write the biggest check for something. Per capita or other distributional measures don't come into the typical usage.

sandworm101 6y ago
Given the budget deadlocks, the government shutdowns, the constant temporary budgets, I'm not sure that I would say that the US is "able" to write a check for much of anything, at least not without a multi-year debate and an election or two to decide the issue.
- runako 6y ago
  The US Government spent approximately $5 trillion in 2020 and will spend between $5 trillion and $7 trillion in 2021. Roughly $5 trillion of that is committed and generally not up for debate. That's the relevant range.
marcusverus 6y ago
Huh? Among OECD countries, the USA is tops in Household disposable income[0] (which, yes, factors in social benefits like health care) and Household Net worth[1], while being about average in (relative) Household debt[2]. Relative to the vast majority of westerners, the Average American is absolutely killing it. It's a shame that so much rhetorical energy is expended in a constant attempt to gaslight Americans about their financial situation in comparison to the Europeans. The reality is that the average American makes almost 50% more than the average EU resident[0]. [0] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm#in... [1] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-net-worth.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-net-worth.htm#indicator-... [2] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm#indicator-chart
- runako 6y ago
  You're not disagreeing with my comment? Yes, America is very rich and a lot of Americans do well. But since you posted these links, it's fair to note that they don't rebut some of the common critiques of American wealth: - the OECD wealth figures apply to the average, not median, American. Our wealth is very unevenly distributed, so our average is not a good measure. (Also the $182k figure in the OECD doc is nearly double the $104k US Census counted[1].) - as widely documented elsewhere, American finances are much more precarious due to the design of our labor markets, social safety net, and (especially) healthcare system. Americans in general have more of their financial security at risk at all times than EU residents. And we have to save for more big expenses (like college) than residents of other countries. So having more wealth does not directly translate into more financial security. 1 - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/demo/wealth/wealth-asset-ownership.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/demo/wealth/wealth-a...

by runako 6y ago

sandworm101 6y ago

Given the budget deadlocks, the government shutdowns, the constant temporary budgets, I'm not sure that I would say that the US is "able" to write a check for much of anything, at least not without a multi-year debate and an election or two to decide the issue.

runako 6y ago
The US Government spent approximately $5 trillion in 2020 and will spend between $5 trillion and $7 trillion in 2021. Roughly $5 trillion of that is committed and generally not up for debate. That's the relevant range.

marcusverus 6y ago

Huh? Among OECD countries, the USA is tops in Household disposable income[0] (which, yes, factors in social benefits like health care) and Household Net worth[1], while being about average in (relative) Household debt[2]. Relative to the vast majority of westerners, the Average American is absolutely killing it. It's a shame that so much rhetorical energy is expended in a constant attempt to gaslight Americans about their financial situation in comparison to the Europeans. The reality is that the average American makes almost 50% more than the average EU resident[0]. [0] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm#in... [1] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-net-worth.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-net-worth.htm#indicator-... [2] https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm#indicator-chart https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm#indicator-chart

runako 6y ago
You're not disagreeing with my comment? Yes, America is very rich and a lot of Americans do well. But since you posted these links, it's fair to note that they don't rebut some of the common critiques of American wealth: - the OECD wealth figures apply to the average, not median, American. Our wealth is very unevenly distributed, so our average is not a good measure. (Also the $182k figure in the OECD doc is nearly double the $104k US Census counted[1].) - as widely documented elsewhere, American finances are much more precarious due to the design of our labor markets, social safety net, and (especially) healthcare system. Americans in general have more of their financial security at risk at all times than EU residents. And we have to save for more big expenses (like college) than residents of other countries. So having more wealth does not directly translate into more financial security. 1 - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/demo/wealth/wealth-asset-ownership.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/demo/wealth/wealth-a...