[remyp]

The United States has a homeless population bigger than Malta [0][1]. 11.5% of our population -- 38 million people -- live in poverty [2]. The median household income is $74,580 and health insurance for a family of 4 costs $17,244 ($1,437 * 12) per year [3][4]. Average housing expenditure is $24,300 ($2,025 * 12) per year [5]. This leaves $33,036 per year in household income BEFORE taxes are taken in to account.

Meanwhile, the legal requirement for paid parental leave in most places is 0 days. Paid sick leave? 0 days. Notice period for firing an employee? 0 days. Cost of 1 year at a 4 year university? $36,436 [6]. You get the idea.

We're rich compared to developing countries, but we're a far cry from "unbelievably rich".

[0] https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homeless... [1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/malta-populat... [2] https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-28... [3] https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-27... [4] https://www.anthem.com/individual-and-family/insurance-basic... [5] https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/average-monthly-exp... [6] https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college

[jeffbee]

Hey look, we're just optimizing for the dumb metric. If we ever fix poverty, healthcare, education, child care, sick leave, vacation, car dependence, and housing, the GDP is going to go down by like 95%.