These numbers are very apples to oranges. You also need to account for additional healthcare spending, dental, vision, pension, benefits, cost of living, expens

These numbers are very apples to oranges. You also need to account for additional healthcare spending, dental, vision, pension, benefits, cost of living, expenses, costs of education etc. I lived and worked both in LA and in Germany and while the salary sticker prices are quite different, the outcomes are quite similar. Furthermore, the "prosperity" in the US is much, much more unevenly distributed with luxury on one end (e.g. Westwood or Pasadena) and living and working conditions for others that felt more like a third world country (e.g. south of LAX felt very sketchy). And that is not even touching on the drugs and homeless problems. Germans definitely grumble too much, but Americans overshoot in the other direction and gloss over very real problems.