(07-16-2017 10:00 PM)miko33 Wrote:  One thing not shown is what Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, UK, etc are getting in return for the high tax burden. For example, medical care can still be quite expensive for any U.S. resident who may have moderate health issues vs citizens of the European countries that have universal healthcare. I'm not commenting on the quality of the care - just cost. Despite that, anyone who has traveled to Europe over the past few years have a pretty good idea that the standard of living for most typical Europeans is lower than for most Americans. We have larger houses, typically more land for our houses and generally access to cars with better performance and features. Bear in mind that most Europeans aren't going to have access to high performance vehicles like Ferrari's, Porsches and Jaguars. If they own cars, it's most likely to be a Peugeot, Skoda or a small name brand hatchback with a 1.5L engine.

[quote]the left of the red column are other OECD countries, and to the right of the red bar are individual US states. These national-level comparisons take into account taxes, and include social benefits (e.g., "welfare" and state-subsidized health care) as income. Purchasing power is adjusted to take differences in the cost of living in different countries into account. [\quote]

They took into account social benefits. At least that's how o read this statement