[maratd]

> I am sure that much of that take-home pay is offset by higher medical costs and the need for more retirement savings

This is not true. Those same workers get most or all of their insurance costs covered by the company. Same goes for retirement with 401k plans, etc.

> Not to mention the fact that the American work week is longer and vacation days are rarer.

This is true.

[nerdponx]

Even after employer subsidies, group rates, and tax savings from income deduction, health insurance can cost a lot of money, and you will still have routine non-covered medical expenses, as well as quite a lot of downside risk depending on your plan.

Same with 401(k). Employer match is a nice bonus but it is not enough.

[maratd]

> but it is not enough.

Not enough for what? It's clearly enough for millions to live very comfortably.

[abritinthebay]

This comment betrays an incredible misunderstanding or naivety of how medical insurance works in the US, and what/how it covers people.

Also a completely bizarre use of 401(k)’s which are not available to most citizens and are highly volatile.

Compared to the rest of the world the US spends more individually on healthcare & gets less. It’s average retirement savings are amongst the lowest in the developed world!

Hand waving away like you’re doing is not supported by the facts.

[nerdponx]

Why are you being downvoted? Even after employer subsidies, group rates, and tax savings from income deduction, health insurance can cost a lot of money, and you will still have routine non-covered medical expenses, as well as quite a lot of downside risk depending on your plan.

[abritinthebay]

There are a lot of people kneejerk downvoting things that don’t support the idea of American exceptionalism.

It’s a shame because that attitude is what is keeping America from doing better.

[ergothus]

I'm reminded of this almost every time I read a novel set in a modern western European country. Protagonists can be poor and receive reliable legal and medical care that smashes my suspension of disbelief, yet the author (inevitably from said country) did not think twice about it, presumably because the idea isnt ridiculous on its face to them.

Anecdote, not data, but it has come up enough and this background detail isnt the author TRYING to persuade me, so it has been very effective at doing so nonetheless.