Americans are NOT wealthy: The truth about the US economy

July 11
38 mins

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Episode Description

Many Western economists and media outlets claim that Americans are wealthier than Europeans, but this is not true; it's based on a misunderstanding of the difference between average wealth and median wealth. Ben Norton explains how the extreme inequality in the US make its average wealth misleadingly look high, and why GDP per capita is not a good measurement. He debunks the myth of "Europoors", which is often spread by Donald Trump supporters.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFUd8uj7pA

Topics
0:00 The myth that Americans are wealthy
1:15 Average wealth vs median wealth
3:50 Data on US median wealth
6:42 Wealth inequality (Gini coefficient)
9:31 Poverty and homelessness
10:19 USA vs Europe
12:02 Wealth concentration of US elites
13:28 Distribution of growth in income
15:01 GDP per capita is misleading
21:18 US GDP by sector
23:13 Imputed rent and GDP
25:05 Life expectancy, mortality, etc.
27:10 US healthcare system
28:40 US health system vs OECD
32:58 Ridiculous "Europoor" myth
33:32 Trump cuts taxes on rich
34:27 Trump family corruption
36:20 Insider trading
36:56 Myth of American dream
38:18 Outro
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