[deanCommie]

GDP per capita is a terrible way to compare the actual lived experience of the citizens. It's regularly used to make Americans feel better about their lot, given that even the poorest US states tend to have higher GDP per capita than the Canadian provinces and some EU countries that are thrown in America's faces as doing better.

But massive corporations and billionaires don't improve the day-to-day life of citizens. Americans are wealthy on paper but are one health crisis away from destitution.

[esoterica]

The median income in America is much higher than almost everywhere else in the developed world. It’s not just a small number of billionaires padding the gdp and pulling up the averages.

[acchow]

GDP per capita is not a measure of actual societal progress. You have societies that don’t have natural gas pipes or potable water and so they buy tanks of propanw and bottles of water which is expensive (higher GDP) but doesn’t give a better quality of living. Instead, if you built the infrastructure then the costs (and GDP) for the same/better outcome would be lower.

For America, we burn a lot of productivity on vehicles that last 10ish years plus the gasoline to drive them. In much of Europe, they get the same/better experience with extensive subways and bike lanes and high speed rail.

[esoterica]

GDP per capita is not the only metric by which America is wealthier than other developed countries. Median incomes are also higher.