if the US starts to orient itself after third world countries, then you're correct: It's really going good. It's all relative. I thought the US would rather compare itself to Europe, Japan, etc. but okay.
To be clear, when using something like household consumption expenditure, Japan and the subset of European countries that match up end up looking quite “poor” and have been for some time, with the gap IIRC increasing.
That e.g. personal health costs are included in there obviously, uh, muddies things.
That e.g. personal health costs are included in there obviously, uh, muddies things.