US Living Standards Are Lower That Most Americans Realize

Via Tyler Cowen, a useful comparison of German and American living standards:

Cowen says he’ll take America. And I would too. Not only do we have better food and music, but like Cowen I have a fun job and I’m in good health. Under the circumstances, the “work longer hours for more money much of which is clawed back by health care costs” trade looks okay. But differently situated people will look on this differently. What’s important, I think, is that conventional American dialogue about this tends not to acknowledge how many countries there now are out there where the GDP per hour worked is at-or-near American levels and greater American output is caused by Americans working more. I’d say the Dutch seem to have outpaced us in material living conditions for the average person, for example. But the idea that it might even be possible for some other country to be more prosperous than the USA rarely seems to be considered.