France or USA

[David S]

USA  (Was there a doubt?)

[David S]

Well I agree France is overall much nicer, but I think if you were a billionaire you could arrange a pretty nice existence in the US, and pay very little taxes.  I don't think France is the better choice for everyone, just the non-rich.

It doesn't help matters that food is so atrocious in America!  Though to be fair, France is not one of those countries that has legalized prostitution or drugs.

Ok I'm no where near a billionare, but still managed to retire at age 55 with a comfortable although not extravagant existence.

As for food, well if you eat at Mickey D's yeah the food is lousy. But there are countless excellent restaurants in the US. What don't you like about them? From what I hear of France, the people don't get fat because they can't afford to buy enough food for that to happen. 

While I agree that drugs and prostitution should be legal, I don't use either and I don't view that as an important quality-of-life issue.
BTW Prostitution is legal in Nevada.

[David S]

USA

Opebo, since 60% of American are in the stock market, its absurd to claim that being ordinary requires you not to have capital.  Actually, in America, not having capital makes you the minority.

Hah, incredibly dubious statistics there.  But seriously, nearly all stocks are held by the top few percent of the population.  Just because some poor working stiffs keep their meager retirement savings in stocks doesn't change the class differential. 

The bottom 90% or more of the population, who depends upon their wages for existence, and not income from return on capital, is better off in France than the US.

This may be foolish on my part but I'm going to ignore John Ford's admonishment to not talk to you, and ask how you arrived at that conclusion.

[David S]

What are the wage rates in France and what are you using for  a wage rate in the US?

Yeah you could be working for minimum wage here, but you don't have to. Automotive assembly line workers make excellent pay and their benefits are as good as any in the nation, better than most white collar workers. Its hard work but the compensation is great.

A friend of mine was a mechanic in a test lab for one of the big three. They make better pay than the line workers, get the same benefits and don't work nearly as hard. He was able to retire at about age 52 with a great retirement package from the company. Plus he was a diligent investor and made somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million on his investments. Smart man!   

In America success is not guaranteed. But if you work hard and invest your money you can do very well. I can name many other success stories.

Having said that, I also have to add that the future for unskilled workers does not look so bright. Competition with China and Mexico is driving wages down. (Thank Slick Willie for that.) However, if you were to force higher wages here, or in France, you would make those workers even more uncompetitive.