Europe and US Living Standards

TCS Daily.

A Danish immigrant to the US absolutely destroys the popular myth that the Scandanavian economic model is just as good as the US. While I've often heard of comparisons to Sweden in the past, I guess that has lost some steam recently as the Swedish economy tanked, and liberals are now pointing to Denmark. The main point is that US citizens have bigger homes, more & larger autos, just as much leisure time, and better healthcare, along with higher incomes, while the bottom 10% in both countries are about equal.

"The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the poorest 10% of Americans on average earn 39% of the US median income while their Danish counterparts earn 43% of the US median income, as Tim Worstall recently pointed out. Thus, the poorest 10% in America and in Denmark have about the same annual income (accounting for purchasing power parities and all social income transfers). Not surprisingly, the top 10% of Americans are much better off than their Danish counterparts with an average income of 210% of the US median income compared to 123% in Denmark. "Rich" people in Denmark thus do not make much more than the median income in the United States.

As for the average industrial worker, the Danish Ministry of taxation estimates that American workers earn roughly 33% more than their Danish counterparts when accounting for purchasing power parities and social transfers of income. Taken together, these numbers indicate that the 10% poorest in the United States have roughly the same standard of living as their Danish counterparts while the remaining 90% of Americans are better off than the Danes. "