Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "" video.
-
8
-
GDP per capita numbers are probably some of the worst ways to measure quality of living, there are too many other factors involved like cost of living, social benefits and the overall quality of living.
European countries overall dominant the top ten indexes when it comes to quality of life, which I think the only countries outside of Europe to make the top ten is Australia and Canada, and last I remember, the UK and the US were slipping further behind.
Overall, you need a high enough GDP per capita to have a good living, but there is far more to it than just that when it comes to the quality that citizens feel and heck, I've even heard many Americans that have moved to eastern EU countries which are still developing and catching up to western EU countries and saying the quality of life is better in those eastern countries then in the US, there's a massive difference on the GDP per capita of the two, so clearly, GDP per capita is a poor indicator and for eastern EU countries to even offer a better quality of living then the US suggest there is something wrong with the US.
I think a big difference in what determines quality of life is the extent of social programs in a country and cost of living, European countries have far more social protections and programs that in a sense means you don't need as high as a wage like you do in the US, the US has very little in the way of social programs so Americans really need higher wages because you're out for yourself and the government doesn't offer much help.
Overall, countries with much stronger social programs and protections tend to have a higher quality of life because it covers everyone, which is a massive benefit for the lower and middle classes, whereas the US and many other countries that offer very little, you literally have to fend for yourself and the results show for themselves with the difference with poverty, crime and many other metrics.
I remember it once being said that if GDP per capita was 1 million and there were two people in the economy, GDP per capita would divide it equally at 500k per person, and clearly, that isn't how real life works, the more of a wealth divide there is, the worse GDP per capita becomes, the more billionaire and millionaire in a country, the worse GDP per capita becomes, if everyone was treated equally, then GDP per capita would work but clearly that isn't the case, especially the case in the US where there is a massive wealth divide and the same for many developing countries which make GDP per capita almost useless as a measure, either way, there are a lot of countries that on paper look poorer but yet they are offers a better quality of living to its citizens, which ultimately is what really counts.
Another major flaw with GDP numbers is that a natural disaster is seen as economic growth lol, in the long term it could generate more growth with the redevelopment, but in the short term, it's a hit to the GDP, yet the current system sees it as economic growth lol, another thing I've noticed, higher taxes within reason usually means higher quality of life, probably because of a much greater social safety net, lower taxed countries seem to be on the other end of the scale, looks good on paper but in reality, it actually hurts the citizens far more, it's the major contrast I see between the EU and US.
If GDP were to measure from the bottom up, so lower and middle classes, it would be much more accurate, but as it measures everything as an equal basis, it's not accurate at all for the average person, but it becomes a bit more accurate for countries that treat its citizens more equal, which none do on a 100% scale, just some do better than others.
1