I'm not in Germany, but Norway. A land of high taxes, on par with Germany but with high consumer prices. You obviously aren't calculating in things like not going broke due to a medical expense. I never have to worry about having maintenance medicine, for example. I'm not paying any more in taxes than I was in the US, once I included my health insurance. I honestly pay less overall because of the way US health insurance is set up.

I broke my arm in the autumn and had paid leave. I was working my 2nd season as a temp worker in a chocolate factory. (I'm in norway because my spouse is Norwegian. I'm lower middle class if anything). There also isn't as much difference between poor and rich, though the difference definitely exists.

Children's healthcare is free. Maternity leave exists and it is fairly robust. People get paid days off if they are sick, and parents get more so they can properly take care of their children (I'm pretty sure this is similar to Germany).

You don't notice the VAT most of the time. Here it is 0% for books/newspapers, 15% on food, and 25% on everything else. The VAT is included in the price, which is much preferable to having 8.5% sales tax on things as a surprise at the register (or having to do careful math and know the local tax rate). I also don't need to pay tips so a waitress can survive. I can actually have life stability in ways I could not have in the US.