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that may be true, JT, but how many people shop at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. Here, the social pressure is to buy new, even if it's beyond one's means.
This may be true among some circles, but buying used, cheap stuff seems to be increasingly accepted, especially in our tough economy. Think about Craigslist and eBay...is anybody embarrassed to use those sites? Do people not actually brag about the excellent deals they've gotten on them? In addition to being cheaper, it's also viewed as more "green" as re-use is better than recycling. In the U.S., we have a culture of cheap that few other countries seem to have, and we certainly don't have it out of necessity.
As promised, here are some other price comparisons of certain categories of goods:
Clothing: Generally cheap in comparison to other rich countries, ESPECIALLY brand-name clothing, which is probably cheaper than any country, poor and rich included. Perhaps it's because there is less prestige associated with brand-name clothing in the U.S: Americans (outside of certain cities and subcultures) tend to wear what makes them comfortable, not necessarily what makes them look best or (worse) what is fashionable or expensive. In some other countries brand name clothes cost more in absolute terms than in the U.S., despite local incomes being a fraction of what they are here, simply because you are (stupidly, IMO) judged more on how you look than who you are, and importers can extract more money out of the poorer populace's perceived need to look good and/or wealthy by wearing prestigious brands.
Healthcare: Much more expensive in the U.S., even relative to income, than most countries, despite providing dubiously better outcomes (except in cancer care and perhaps some other fields) than countries that spend half of what the U.S. does as a percent of their gross domestic product. Reasons include ample compensation of healthcare professionals (a typical GP earns $150k a year; many neurosurgeons earn $500k+ a year; even experienced nurses can earn $100k a year), a sue-happy culture that raises malpractice insurance premiums for doctors, relatively high rates of uninsured citizens and non-citizens who often use the health system in a highly inefficient manner, forcing it to pass on the frequently uncompensated expenses to paying consumers, "heroic" procedures and treatments, and many other potential causes. A typical family of 2 adults and 2 children might find themselves paying $1000+ a month in health insurance premiums alone, with expensive additional out-of-pocket expenses and a deductible that may not be met most of the time.
Education: K-12 education is provided free of virtually any charge other than school supplies (not books) and field trip fees. Daily transportation (usually in the form of a big yellow bus) and books are paid for by the government for all students in most school districts, and school lunch is free or reduced in price for a significant percentage of students.
After one graduates from high school, the responsibility of funding an individual education is transferred from the government to the student. The majority of students continue their education at a university or college. Sticker prices for these schools range from the low $1000s a year for technical schools (at which some students complete their associate's degree before proceeding to a "real" university to get their bachelor's degree in two years) to over $50,000 a year at some medical and law schools. Each state has a university / college system which partially subsidizes the tuition for residents of that state: for example, a full-time undergrad who lives in Minnesota studying at the University of Minnesota will pay $11,750 annually in tuition, compared to a non-native who is charged $16,650 a year. In reality, most students do not pay the full sticker tag of their education: government grants for low-income students, subsidized loans, "automatic" scholarships at private universities, scholarships that one has to apply for, etc. cover a variably substantial portion of the tuition fees. Some private Ivy Leagues even completely waive the cost of tuition for students coming from families of moderate means.
Most students live at their college at least their first year, if not all of their years, and then move out on their own with their friends. The cost of this and all the other aspects of daily living comprise what are called "living expenses", which make up a significant portion of education-related expenses. The majority of college students have a part-time jobs which allay living expenses and tuition.
Still, most students enter the workforce considerably indebted to student lenders. The average student takes on about $25,000 in debt; however, certain career paths such as medicine or law are often associated with debt loads in the six digits. My aunt - a dentist - will soon have her school loans paid back in full. Now
Household Labor & Services: This is an expense which never crosses the mind of most independent Americans, as we are a "do-it-yourself" people. In other cultures, however, they are less about "doing it yourself" and more about "having someone else do it, because I have too much dignity to do it myself". Back when chores were more cumbersome than they are today, the urban American middle-class tended to have some household help; however, in this age of dishwashers, vacuum cleaners (some even robotic), electric washers AND dryers, and the like, many Americans often prefer to do household tasks independently even if they could afford another person to do them. It is not this way in some countries: south of the border, in Mexico and nations further, most have at least a muchacha that circulates among multiple households and is responsible for laundry and some cleaning. The next step-up is to have a dedicated maid. The labor of muchachas are cheap and middle-class families have little trouble affording them. Even a girl might work full-time for a neighboring middle-class or upper-middle-class family in the positions of nanny, laundry girl, and cleaner. This is the way it is around much of the world.
In the U.S., it's a bit different. Although we certainly do have an income inequality, it is still relatively benign compared to those traditionally found in some second- and third-world countries; and even if they can afford help, most Americans prefer to spend their money in other ways. Nevertheless, it seems that especially on the coasts, hired household help has seen a revival in the form of landscapers, cleaners, nannies, and au-pairs. I know little about this, but for cleaning, you're probably going to be charged at least $10 an hour unless you go into the gray (really black); which many Americans do by hiring illegal immigrants or paying citizens under the table (by not withholding taxes from their incomes).
Whether it is or is not more expensive than other places in relative terms, the words to describe household occupations - "maid", "servant", "butler", "chef", "chaffeur" all have a connotation of snobbiness surrounding them.
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