Having no rights is awesome as long as you're at the top percentiles of income (i.e. SWE), for the rest of the workers in the economy, not so much. And that's clearly reflected in the misery one can witness daily in American society, even in the richest cities.

Should I be expected to care about the plight of those in percentiles below me?

Yes

I witness plenty of misery every time I visit Europe. It reminds me that most places are about the same averaged out.

Reminder that the US has the highest median disposable income in the world, not just the highest top percentiles.

We are specifically talking about Stripe workers. But yes, I’ve chosen a contract job with even less rights than a full time employee at certain times in my life for more pay.