The development of the American economy has not become an indicator of well-being for the vast majority of U.S. citizens.
This is what The New York Times says.
“In virtually any other high-income country, people have become richer in the past three decades and have been able to live much longer. But not in the United States. Although average incomes have increased, much of the economic benefits have gone to the rich”, – writes the NYT.
There are several reasons for these trends, but the most important is the lack of political power among the general population. The publication notes that political elites have teamed up with oligarchic elites to “make corporations and the rich more powerful, and most workers and their families less powerful.
For this purpose, in particular, the struggle against trade unions began. Studies have shown that the proportion of Americans who belong to trade unions has fallen from 35% in the middle of last century to about 10% now.
“The decrease occurred mainly because employers became more aggressive in preventing trade unions, and government policy made it easier for them”, – the article says.
In addition, the minimum wage in the United States is lower than in other developed countries. As of 2018, Americans had a slightly lower minimum wage than in Slovenia. At the same time in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, this figure was much higher.
“In addition to the minimum wage, the United States has done less to combat growing corporate concentration. Large U.S. companies are better able to retain the wages of workers who do not always have good employment opportunities and can also set higher prices because of less competition” , – the publication continues.
The most problematic area in the media, however, is healthcare. The system is very bureaucratic, which makes it inefficient. However, the prices for medicines, medical procedures and visits to doctors in the U.S. are about twice as high as in other developed countries.