American economy is really about cheap oil/gas. They had a leg up in semiconductors and then that led to mega tech corps. Average GDP per capita looks good on

American economy is really about cheap oil/gas. They had a leg up in semiconductors and then that led to mega tech corps. Average GDP per capita looks good on paper, but heathcare and education are really expensive. They increase the GDP because money is spent but in Europe it's a lot cheaper so they seem poorer but by purchasing parity they are richer. If you earn in USD for US company and spend in another country, then yeah the money goes further, otherwise median American isn't doing that much better.