More jobs would drive up wages. Supply and demand. But stronger economic growth would also likely bring better jobs.
??Not sure what you mean with the comparisons.
Per Capita GDP PPP, IMF 2016
USA – $57,440
EU - $39,320
Americans are about 46% wealthier than Europeans. That's extremely significant. People constantly compare the US to little rich, homogeneous nations in northwest Europe that aren't really comparable to an extremely diverse, continent-sized country of over 300 million people, but the US still typically comes out on top in honest assessments even against them.
Sweden - $49,840
America's advantage over Europe has accumulated over many years and results from factors like the USA's traditionally freer system and a culture that emphasizes entrepreneurship and work ethic. The US economy is still pretty stagnant right now, but that's by its own lofty standards, not compared to Europe.
The US spends more on education per pupil and on healthcare than any other country on earth.
Your last paragraph is mostly straw man arguments, except for education and healthcare, and with education spending isn't the problem. Entrenched teachers unions who are resistant to reforms like school choice and merit pay are. They need to be reminded that schools exist for the sake of students, not teachers. As for healthcare, Americans have a better system than countries with single payer, or at least did before Obamacare. Americans had more access to drugs, preventative screenings, diabetes and heart treatments, and other key items than those in socialist systems do. Healthcare quality was also the best, with the US having the highest cancer survival rates in the world. At least as importantly, the US for-profit system has been the engine of innovation for the world, producing the bulk of key medical advances over the past half century. These benefit the whole planet, propping up socialist systems. Without the US system we'd enter a medical dark age.
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captainburrito (128)
6 years ago
"The US spends more on education per pupil and on healthcare than any other country on earth."
But doesn't get as much as others. Other countries can get universal healthcare for all the nation for what the US spends on healthcare. But medicare and medicaid only cover some.
Ranking of US pupils isn't that great.
"Healthcare quality was also the best"
Shame not everyone can access it.
"At least as importantly, the US for-profit system has been the engine of innovation for the world, producing the bulk of key medical advances over the past half century. These benefit the whole planet, propping up socialist systems. Without the US system we'd enter a medical dark age."
Surely Americans should be able to access them and not end up bankrupt from medical emergencies. Do Americans want to continue like this and prop up the rest of the world or should they negotiate fairer prices for themselves and let the rest of the world pay more?
Per capita GPD is indeed high but so is wealth inequality. Social spending in the US actually ranks higher than many of the european states but Americans get far less bang for their buck.
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krl97a (5619)
6 years ago
"But doesn't get as much as others.....Ranking of US pupils isn't that great."
Because government schools are run poorly, not because we don't spend enough money on them. Even now you've got thousands of teachers striking because they don't feel their substantial pay raises were enough, kids be damned. We shouldn't even have public unions. Schools should exist for the sake of students, not of teachers.
"Other countries can get universal healthcare for all the nation for what the US spends on healthcare."
No they can't. There's no such thing as "universal healthcare", and people in other countries don't have access to the screening, drugs, and high end treatments that Americans do. There can be universal coverage, but coverage doesn't matter if there's nothing to buy. Coverage isn't the goal. Healthcare is.
"Shame not everyone can access it."
Actually everyone can access US emergency rooms whether they can pay or not, Medicaid covers many poor families who can't afford insurance, and there are many charities available for the remainder of poor people. A lot of doctors do pro bono work. It's not perfect, but not everyone can access needed treatments in single payer countries. The facts show that Americans have more access to things like preventative screenings (by a huge margin, it's not even close), diabetes treatments, heart treatments, and pharmaceuticals than those in Canada or other socialist systems.
"Surely Americans should be able to access them and not end up bankrupt from medical emergencies."
They do. And Canada has the same overall bankruptcy rate as the US, so that's another old misleading leftist talking point that's been debunked. The studies that generated those headlines turned out to be garbage put out by activists.
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krl97a (5619)
6 years ago
Before Obamacare polls showed that the vast majority of Americans were insured one way or another and were satisfied with their insurance. What problems existed, like outrageous price per treatment at hospitals, were due to the government intervention that already existed (sans price controls) and the third party payment system that comes from relying on insurance rather than consumers paying out of pocket like they do at the grocery store or other sectors of the economy. The same dynamic has caused spiraling college tuition rates in recent decades.
Only a small percentage of the population was involuntarily uninsured, however. The solution to that would have been tweaking Medicaid to include these people, not completely flipping over the healthcare system for the entire country and driving up prices for most Middle Class people with idiotic central mandates that reduce choice and market flexibility.
"Per capita GPD is indeed high but so is wealth inequality."
Median income is also very high in the US, and "poor" Americans are among the most well off people on earth.
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