Not too long ago, I encountered an article published by The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. In it, it also claimed that Europeans were significantly poorer than Americans.
Funny, because I have been to Europe numerous times in my life, and at least one in each decade that I have been alive.
And you know what?
It has been my experience that Europeans are hardly much poorer than Americans. In fact in some important ways, they tend to be on much firmer financial footing than the average American is, particularly when you include the risk of healthcare costs and the absence of other social safety nets which Europeans tend to take for granted, but which Americans tend not to have.
Let's be frank: If most Americans actually understood the things which Europeans can afford to take for granted, things like at least four weeks guaranteed of paid vacation, long paid maternity and family leave, and zero individuals going bankrupt because they cannot afford their medical bills, they might think twice about dismissing Europeans as "poor." In fact, if the vast majority of Americans truly understood the sense of security that most Europeans have regarding those things in contrast to Americans, who are forced to do without, maybe the country would begin to really change politically.
However, it is because well-paid talking heads - apparently including Joseph Sternberg of the Wall Street Journal - leave a lot of that kind of stuff out or demonize it as "socialist" or "communist" (as if those terms were easily interchangeable), then Americans vote based on fear of the unknown. Someone tells them it's much worse in Europe - and they already want to believe in their own superiority - and so they go ahead and believe it.
That's how you get a nation like the United States to have the people of the country vote against their own best interests time after time.
Recognize that it's propaganda. That strongest voices opposed to these kinds of things stand to benefit greatly by government benefits being minimized. People who want the corporation to profit more at the expense of workers by not providing living wages or decent vacation or other benefits that could really help ordinary people.
You know, like they have in every other industrialized nation in the world?
Does that not count as quality of life and raise the overall standard of living for most "poor" Europeans, and other countries where the citizens have these kinds of things?
Maybe not according to the Wall Street Journal, or Donald Trump, or other elites.
But I can tell you that the vast majority of Europeans, specifically, whom I have met and interacted with sure appreciated having those things. And they tend to very much prefer those things over what Americans have or, in this case, do not have. Things like affordable healthcare, a decent amount of paid vacation, guaranteed paid maternity leave and family leave.
Instead of always turning to FOX News or Trump or the Wall Street Journal, I would encourage Americans to reach out to people in those other countries for a better understanding of how these things actually work and how they feel it benefits them. Don't just take my word for it, and certainly don't simply read an article by Joseph C. Sternberg or others at The Wall Street Journal and take their word for it that these are bad things.
The US is NOT a wealthy country: This is the real data Geopolitical Economy Report Geopolitical Economy Report
https://youtu.be/kzFUd8uj7pA?si=I1aDVA2A-iVz5nPr
The US is NOT a wealthy country: This is the real data
Below is the link to the Wall Street Journal article which I posted something about last month, and which also shows a skewed, Americentric attitude of superiority towards Europeans. Take a look at the article, and see how he words things, how he makes his arguments. More specifically, see the things which he conveniently leaves out:
What Happens When Europeans Find Out How Poor They Are? by Joseph C. Sternberg April 30, 2026:
The Continent trails far behind U.S. economic output. Politics is bound to catch up sooner or later.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/what-happens-when-europeans-find-out-how-poor-they-are-270cff5d?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawSjYGBleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQBqzKsH86kunNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4D6EExy73A-dRJTBSqzwTL4SZnm1WdignJTLNTPL7_1EqCY5vLh_Mcu2F2TQ_aem_yc4iotThqkF7j9eAyuWQ3Q&utm_campaign=120207446090830106&utm_content=120244863657060106&utm_id=120207446090830106&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=fb&utm_term=120233532115630106
What Happens When Europeans Find Out How Poor They Are? - WSJ
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