That math is so bad I don't even know where to begin... Nobody pays the marginal rate on all of their income in the U.S. unless they're making millions in W2 i

That math is so bad I don't even know where to begin... Nobody pays the marginal rate on all of their income in the U.S. unless they're making millions in W2 income, so 500k W-2 salary is 280k after taxes, not including any deductions from taxable income (including deductions, the post-tax range is anywhere from 280k-350k for a unmarried individual with no kids). Also, most things are not 3x more expensive than they are in Germany; if anything the opposite is true: our produce and meat are 1/4 of what Germans pay, we pay less for utilities, we pay less for auto fuel, we pay less for travel, we pay less for pretty much all our day-to-day expenses, and that's before you take into account exchange rates which makes things in American even cheaper compared to what Germans have to pay. So $500k in California is the equivalent of about EUR 600-750k German salary. And $500k salaries are a lot more common in California than EUR 600k salaries are in Germany...