From what kind of background do you need to come to understand that 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense [1] and most of the people in this world need to work all kinds of unpleasant jobs in order to survive? Is he living in an ivory tower isolated from the rest of humanity?

But I guess, good for him, he may have leaned something really new: a sizable number of people have a hard time, even in first world countries.

[1] http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-househ...

In many parts of the western world, things aren't nearly as bad for the average worker as they are in the US. Remember that Hacker News is a global forum, so don't take for granted others' knowledge of the US or developing nations.

I never lived in the US...

TFA was about Brits, not Americans.