One thing I noticed while in Denmark was that lifestyles, even among the middle class, are relatively poor by American standards. Late model cars or no cars at

One thing I noticed while in Denmark was that lifestyles, even among the middle class, are relatively poor by American standards. Late model cars or no cars at all, one tv per house, small houses, mostly homecooked meals... In a material ownership sense middle class Danes had less than many poor Americans. There was less of a focus on material wealth and a stronger focus on different forms of success instead - and of course the Danes didn't have to worry about college or healthcare. It seems possible for a family making less than $25,000 a year to easily surpass the level of wealth of most Danes I met and maintain insurance and a college fund for a state level school (with two years of community college to offest later costs). But in the United States the extreme focus on debt fueled spending (particularly on cars and houses) leads to not taking advantage of this. (Marketing is far more developed and everpresent in the United States than anywhere I've visited)