Wealthiest nation could easily be true depending on your chosen measure. The US is number one in total wealth. Almost double the next wealthiest.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_w...
When people say "most wealthy nation" they mean GDP, not per-capita. America's wide discrepancy between those two is usually the point.
Re:This is Real, That's Not
by voodootrucker on Saturday December 05, 2020 @12:06AM
(#25311942)
But GDP is most certainly not a measure of wealth, and not doing it per capita makes no sense.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/gross-domestic-product
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth
Edit: GDP is more like income than wealth, and not per-capita makes no sense because the expense of welfare programs would be on a per-person basis.
I think the rationale for ignoring per-capita is that you're talking about the wealth of a "single entity", the US. And, well, yeah... ok, I guess (ignoring the fact that, as you point out, GDP is more like income than money in the bank).
I agree that looking at it that way is meaningless for the purposes of figuring out whose populace is the financially healthiest, but... that's what people do, for some reason.
All I'm saying is that's what people mean colloquially.
Re:This is Real, That's Not
by voodootrucker on Saturday December 05, 2020 @12:37AM
(#25312079)
That's genuinely understandable. My worry is that it was true back in the days of the boomers, and it has been so ingrained in us that we didn't even notice it shifting, and now lack of awareness of this fact causes a kind of cognitive dissonance preventing us from fixing these issues, not least of which the OP.
We've squandered our wealth for ever-increasing cash flow, and by the time we're done I'm worried that the country will be a empty hulk.
That's nonsense, by that token India is far richer than Switzerland. That's simply not how 'wealthiest nation' is used in the colloquial sense.
For your meaning other terms would be used, e.g. saying India has a larger economy than Switzerland, or a larger market.
Everyone keeps repeating this, but it's not true. Switzerland beats America by mean net worth. And look at median... whoa 22.
By government deficit (and likely household, corporate, etc), I bet we're #1 in all categories. The truth is, America is great at spending money. That doesn't make it wealthy, quite the opposite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_financial...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_pe...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_governmen...
re: be kind.
Sorry, I don't mean to be mean or pick on you personally. That experience must have been terrible. Normally I'd let the data speak for itself, but I will reveal my reason for posting it is because I don't think we give a fair shake to people like yourself.