Have you genuinely tried to compare the salaries vs cost of living in the US vs other countries?

You would genuinely be surprised. Financially the thing that leads most Americans to bankruptcy is medical debt.

Another factor primarily lead by private industry taking advantage of people.

The US is a big place. Living NYC is not cheaper than London. If you live in the middle of the US, you're not making NYC money.

The height of money in NYC is almost unlike anything in the world, including London.

The mediums of places like Pittsburgh is still much higher than most cities on earth.

Americans struggle with wealth inequality not raw wealth. One of the mechanisms to redistribute wealth is the government itself.