US takes 'richest nation on earth' crown from Switzerland

Re:US takes 'richest nation on earth' crown from Switzerland by adventured on Friday September 20, 2019 @02:03AM (#21023688)

And the US ranks ahead of both Germany and Sweden in median household net wealth. Those two are almost universally held up as extreme achievers on quality of life and both have notoriously good economies.

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Re:US takes 'richest nation on earth' crown from Switzerland by dagw on Friday September 20, 2019 @05:42AM (#21024855)

I don't know about Germany, but Sweden has one of the highest private debt levels in the 'western' world. That seriously drags down the net wealth numbers. Also the whole point of the "Swedish model" argument is that a high net wealth shouldn't be a requirement for a high quality of life.

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Re:US takes 'richest nation on earth' crown from Switzerland by vannevar on Friday September 20, 2019 @03:52PM (#21030552)

True. It's interesting to note that the ratio of the median to the mean for Germany is similar to the US, where France and other high-medians have smaller ratios. Why is wealth more naturally distributed in France, but less so in Germany and the US?

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