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While also spending more money on various things, or having to spend them on privatised health care etc. It's not directly comparable. My point also discussed t

While also spending more money on various things, or having to spend them on privatised health care etc. It's not directly comparable. My point also discussed things like infrastructure and public services, which are often very neglected compared to their European counterparts.

odiroot 5y ago
Maybe if you only take San Francisco and New York City in consideration. USA has famously cheaper life than EU (especially gas and food). Not that I would trade places.
- kazen44 5y ago
  mind you gas prices are heavily subsidized in the US. The same goes for food. Also, from experience i have found vegetables to be ludicrously expensive in the USA, the same goes for beer and wine.
  - wyager 5y ago
    How are gas prices heavily subsidized in the US? They are certainly heavily taxed...
hardolaf 5y ago
Yeah, that statement made zero sense by the other person. Sure, on paper, us Americans at the median have more money. But after you pay for a single visit to the ER or urgent care, or after you have a kid, or any expenses, Western Europeans are far better off. I know, I've been near that income level before. It's not a fun experience over here. That said, now that I've moved into a job that pays at least $225K per year, you know, life in the USA is amazing for me. And everything everywhere else in the world is so cheap! Why can't my fellow country men just pull themselves up their bootstraps and get a high income earner job? It's so easy! You just go to the job tree and get one /s. But more seriously, we need to completely restructure our society in the USA before the poor and middle class violently rise up against the government and make us into what Mexico was 120 years ago.
- wyager 5y ago
  Most Americans have employer provided health insurance. Fewer than 10% have no health insurance. Hardly anyone is paying out of pocket. > we need to completely restructure our society in the USA The specific primary reason the USA is rich is that we’ve resisted the temptation to do harebrained projects like this.
  - hardolaf 5y ago
    Most Americans pay a shit ton of money before their insurance kicks in to pay for the majority of their non-preventative care. I personally need to spend $3,000 before I only pay 10% of the bills that insurance receives until I hit $6,000 in a calendar year after which I pay nothing else.

odiroot 5y ago

Maybe if you only take San Francisco and New York City in consideration. USA has famously cheaper life than EU (especially gas and food). Not that I would trade places.

kazen44 5y ago
mind you gas prices are heavily subsidized in the US. The same goes for food. Also, from experience i have found vegetables to be ludicrously expensive in the USA, the same goes for beer and wine.
- wyager 5y ago
  How are gas prices heavily subsidized in the US? They are certainly heavily taxed...

hardolaf 5y ago

Yeah, that statement made zero sense by the other person. Sure, on paper, us Americans at the median have more money. But after you pay for a single visit to the ER or urgent care, or after you have a kid, or any expenses, Western Europeans are far better off. I know, I've been near that income level before. It's not a fun experience over here. That said, now that I've moved into a job that pays at least $225K per year, you know, life in the USA is amazing for me. And everything everywhere else in the world is so cheap! Why can't my fellow country men just pull themselves up their bootstraps and get a high income earner job? It's so easy! You just go to the job tree and get one /s. But more seriously, we need to completely restructure our society in the USA before the poor and middle class violently rise up against the government and make us into what Mexico was 120 years ago.

wyager 5y ago
Most Americans have employer provided health insurance. Fewer than 10% have no health insurance. Hardly anyone is paying out of pocket. > we need to completely restructure our society in the USA The specific primary reason the USA is rich is that we’ve resisted the temptation to do harebrained projects like this.
- hardolaf 5y ago
  Most Americans pay a shit ton of money before their insurance kicks in to pay for the majority of their non-preventative care. I personally need to spend $3,000 before I only pay 10% of the bills that insurance receives until I hit $6,000 in a calendar year after which I pay nothing else.