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- Hacker News
- Given the inequality in the USA, it would be more relevant to the rest of the world if he used the mode instead of the median. The mode is what most of the population gets to experience. In most OECD countries, the mode and median are a closer than the USA, so the median is a better approximation of the mode. Comparing the USA's median to their daily experience is a little misleading, the mode would be less so.by rstuart4133
- Wow, there's so much wrong with this "statistical analysis" to the point of absurdity. Goes to show that even a 30-year economics professor can be duped by AI.by text0404
- Looking at a generation that benefited from both an epic housing price run up and same for stock market and observing that the old people seem to be very rich is A) stating the obvious and B) not a sign of the system being healthy and sustainableby Havoc
- The chart there is deceptive—to be fair, we should be showing 1 and 5 percentile as well. Saying “walking around a mall you might encounter a few decamillionaires” is shifting focus from the fact that 1 in 10 people are experiencing near zero net worth and the bottom 1 percentile likely are suffering way more than the top 1 percent are enjoying their riches.by skaushik92
- Seems fringe and out of touch with my reality and everyone I know. Does anyone have any info on who the author is and what sorta school of though he's involved with?by jackb4040
- This whole article is giving off "PragerU"
Is this chart based off personal or household net worth?
by ah27182 - Of course people in US are very wealthy if you are looking at dollar amounts. It would be impossible for cost of living to be this high, without a lot of people having decent amount of wealth.
But people's perception of their own wealth depends way more on relative value of their wealth compared to cost of living. If you live in a city where some shitty 2 bedroom apartments cost 1m$+, you aren't going to feel all that rich even if you have 10 million dollar net worth.
by tzone - I was born and grew up in the states and am living outside the country (near Europe) and the smallest things made me realize how truly rich Americans are compared to the rest of the world, in real terms. Even things like fast food or Walmart are a testament to the abundance the US has (not saying it is right or wrong). And these systems are supported by the simple fact you just have a lot of rich people walking around relative to the global population.
To put it more succinctly, I know engineers/lawyers/doctors in this country I’ve been living in that make 2k a month and it’s good. They work hard, it’s stressful. A fast food worker in the US can make $15/hr and bring in 2.4k a month.
by randysalami