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It's fascinating and awesome that we're billed as this but I don't see it. I see extremes in both directions and the rest living on the brink. Pockets of wealth and success sprinkled amongst "paycheck to paycheck" and overall financial instability. One mistake or just plain misfortune (cancer, extreme accident) and they are down and out.
It feels like we are increasingly becoming a low-wage service sector economy. Livable wage jobs are often a desperate dogfight, fierce competition. Then, of course, if you're fortunate to get that job you devote an incredible amount of your short time on this planet to it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Qatar and Emirates and other middle eastern oil countries have always seemed to be the richest to me, but for a really sizable country I'm sure we're right up there at least in the top 5-10. As many poor, unemployed or underemployed people there may be here, we still have a median family income of about $52,000 and the mean (average) is $69,000. That's higher than in most countries. Despite the decline in the middle class, there are still a lot of us in the $100-500k income range. That may still mean living paycheck to paycheck, depending on one's lifestyle, but that's by choice.
Its like when I hear how amazing the US health care system is, in spite of the fact that 'the good part' is totally inaccessible to anyone but the wealthy and the health care racket in this country bankrupts people for basic health services. Seeing how Europe does it made me realize how idiotic our system is. Being the 'theoretical best' at something is meaningless if its the blessings are limited to a tiny handful of people while everyone else does without.
The middle class in the rest of the first world, so called rich countries, think they are suffering too. When has the middle class ever been satisfied?
The 7th rating in per capita is also confirmed by Forbes.
There's unquestionably a big disparity in the US ratings between GDP and per capita statistics.
GDP and Per Capita Income are aggregate statistics. They throw everything into the same bucket and average it. It doesn't account for equability of distribution. If Bill Gates decided to move to a small, impoverished town in South Carolina, it would suddently have one of the highest per-capita incomes around, even though people still lived in shacks.
Wealth inequality is very real in the US and the gap between rich and poor is growing larger everyday. Personally, I'd rather live in a country that had the greatest social mobility and quality of life for the average citizen over the one with the most billionaires per capita, but I suppose that's just the socialist in me.
I would tend to agree. The opportunity to become rich in the USA is unnmatched but the quality of life/security is deeply concerning. We work more, too.
The entire world is gradually becoming, thanks to automation and efforts by the big corporations to spread "multiculturalism" (i.e. cheap labor) a world by the rich, for the rich, where asset prices skyrocket and real wages stagnate while living wage jobs are forced out by immigration (cheap labor) which lets big corporations pay less and thus higher profits, higher stock prices... so stock prices are doing great, virtual money is floating around everywhere, yet the average joe doesn't have access to this money... and the government still has to pay for medical care for all these immigrants... the top 1% really doesn't care if they destroy the economies of entire governments as long as their pockets are lined before it happens. The fractional reserve banking oligarchy is part of the problem...
What we need is some wage inflation which can help with this asset bubble problem, the high debt levels, and ease the burden for the average person a bit... inflation is good because you can pay off your house with cheaper money, and yet if you position your retirement money properly it won't lose purchasing power.... people have been fooled into thinking inflation is bad.
Inflation is bad for the rich and those with lots of stockpiled cash, which isn't the average person. Inflation is great for people in debt, which is most people... Wage inflation is sorely needed...
A global currency which all wages are tied too might help prevent the sort of exploitation of third world labor that happens as well... force corporations to pay everyone around the world a living wage... that's why it hasn't and won't be done. The current players have to be uprooted first.... labor is not valued high enough these days... people who don't go to college and own their own business are seen as failures.. which is what... 80-90% of the population? Really it's time for workers to value themselves higher, like what we start to see when some fast food workers strike.. a step in the right direction.. now if we could only get the third world types in all countries to do what some brave people are doing in places like the platinum mines in South Africa... demand a greater wage... things would improve.. despite what some would have you believe about labor being 'worthless' and 'deserving what you get' .. well DEMAND MORE...
GDP and Per Capita Income are aggregate statistics. They throw everything into the same bucket and average it. It doesn't account for equability of distribution. If Bill Gates decided to move to a small, impoverished town in South Carolina, it would suddently have one of the highest per-capita incomes around, even though people still lived in shacks.
Yes, I know.
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The current players have to be uprooted first.... labor is not valued high enough these days... people who don't go to college and own their own business are seen as failures.. which is what... 80-90% of the population? Really it's time for workers to value themselves higher, like what we start to see when some fast food workers strike.. a step in the right direction.. now if we could only get the third world types in all countries to do what some brave people are doing in places like the platinum mines in South Africa... demand a greater wage... things would improve.. despite what some would have you believe about labor being 'worthless' and 'deserving what you get' .. well DEMAND MORE...
