In any comparison of living standards, income and taxes between nations the distribution of income is a critical factor. In this regard the average values are useless. The median is a somewhat more useful number, but even that is inadequate. Per capita figures are completely useless for this purpose (not for all purposes of course). The article states that GDP per capita in the US is 47,440. That's impressive. How is it distributed however. I would be much more interested in the distribution of income than in the per capita output. Income distribution in the US is very much skewed, whereas in some other countries it is much less so. To illustrate, suppose in a country of 100 million, one person in a hundred makes a million a year, and 1 in a thousand makes 20 million per year. All the rest make $10,111 per year. The per capita (or average per person) income in that country is $40,000, yet there are 98.9 million people living on 10K per year.
Another important number is balance of payments. This speaks to economic sustainability. The personal and corporate savings rates are important as is the Debt to GDP ratio. The crime rate is important as is the literacy rate and mean level of education. The total tax burden including the inflation tax is the only tax number that matters, and that figure must be viewed in comparison with the level of entitlements received.
The article is devoid of meaningful information that would allow someone to make an apt comparison between the United States and other countries. It is a useless article.
