[HeyTomesei]

Yes and no.

Western Europe's economic, tax, regulatory, and social welfare systems are a positive and negative, depending on who you ask.

Compared to the US, only a small segment of the population is either very poor or very rich. Everyone is basically lower- to upper-middle class.

But there's a price to that large safety net. The above policies create a disincentive to innovate and build wealth - the reason behind the stagnant you mentioned.

America: the sky is the limit. Western Europe: lower-middle class is the ground floor.