You have a false assumption at the start. Germany has a much lower per capita disposable income and per capita GDP and consequently, a lower standard of living than the US. Both per capita GDP and per capita disposable income are 10 to 15 percent lower in Germany the US."
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That's true all European counties have a per capita income about what they have in Alabama or Mississippi, the lowest in the US. Most of those countries don't even get that high. Semi-socialist countries pay a steep price but hide that from their populations.