Americans have worse health outcomes (including lifespan), travel far less and have less time off, and retire later. That said, you do get much more space, nicer housing stock, (arguably) better access to education, and generally more 'stuff', so it's a tradeoff.
It's a hard life in Europe. My friend owns 11 bars that are packed 24/7 on a Mediterranean shoreline. He is what anyone would call successful. But he lives in a little apartment and drives a beat up old Mercedes, not because he's modest but because that's what "rich" looks like in Europe. If you ask him, he'll tell you that taxes ensure that you can never be rich in Europe.
My friend in middle America owns one bar, multiple houses, multiple cars, kids in private school. And what's mind blowing is that no one in America would consider him "rich." That's just middle class America.
I'd love to visit wherever you're going to point to as a counter example. Let me know where I'm headed this summer.
Btw I checked about health outcomes. It's actually only true if you look at America as an average. Middle America has much better health outcomes. Look at Utah for example. Again, point was that middle America isn't like the coasts.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-visualization/state-life-expec...
Utah is 1.7 years behind the EU average. Even Hawaii with the highest life expectancy in the US is behind all but the former Eastern Block EU countries.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240324032202/https://www.ined....
(Archive link to get comparable 2022 data.)
But I bet healthcare costs are way higher there. To match with higher income, I guess.
Compared to where? What is that based on? The strong public sentiment, determining elections, is that the US is unaffordable. People work multiple jobs and can't afford health care, housing, education, or even food.
But you can look at random places like Tel Aviv, or London, or Milan. CoL is high in big cities around the world.
How about South Dakota vs the UK.
>The strong public sentiment
That's everywhere in the world. Of course, politicians are catering to what everyone complains about. But objectively, healthcare is better than it ever has been in the history of the world in every country in the world, including the US.
Right?
So you're right, it determines elections. But it shouldn't. That's really what I'm trying to say.
In fact, I pay their private health care costs myself because I don't want to wait a year for them to get shoulder surgery in the "free" health care system that's clearly not free.
If you value a big house and are content to drive for all your errands most of the US is set up for that.