the economic situation in Europe is much more dire than the US...

> the economic situation in Europe is much more dire than the US...

Is it, though? The US reports by far the highest levels of lifetime literal homelessness, which is three times greater than in countries like Germany. Homeless people on Europe aren't denied access to free healthcare, primary or even tertiary.

Why do you think the US, in spite of it's GDP, features so low in rankings such as human development index or quality of life?

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andrepd 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yet people live better. Goes to show you shouldn't optimise for crude, raw GDP as an end in itself, only as a means for your true end: health, quality of life, freedom, etc.

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juniperus 4 days ago | parent [-]

In many of the metrics, yeah. But Americans can afford larger houses and more stuff essentially, which isn't necessarily a good replacement for general quality of life things.

	▲	motorest 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		> In many of the metrics, yeah. But Americans can afford larger houses and more stuff essentially, which isn't necessarily a good replacement for general quality of life things. I think this is the sort of red herring that prevents the average US citizen from realizing how screwed over they are. Again, the median household income in the US is lower than in some European countries. On top of this, the US provides virtually no social safety net or even socialized services to it's population. The fact that the average US citizen is a paycheck away from homelessness and the US ranks so low in human development index should be a wake-up call.

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suddenlybananas 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Several US states have the life expectancy of Bangladesh.