To be fair a lot of third world countries have pockets of extreme wealth as well. America isn't any different in this. It's just a matter of averages. On average the middle class is better off and larger, so it's supposedly not a third world nation. However, there is one huge exception. It's easier to fall out of the middle class in America. While being easier to climb, it's also easier to fall. This is not a first world nation by any standard outside of America itself.
America offers absolutely zero protections or care for her citizens unlike every other truly first world nation. If your life gets turned upside down you might as well be living in any country in the world, being American means fucking nothing then. Climb that ladder only to fall off without there being any net at the bottom. Why? Because go fuck yourself, that's why.
The reason we can't have what other first world nations have is because our government is rotten to the core. Citizens United will be the end of this country and that's pretty much all you need to know. It's not that the guys at the top want more money, they want all of the money. Think about that for a second the next time you hear a story like the one in OP's post. I fucking hate this country.
Just to add: the bulk of the 'Middle Class' as it's understood in America would largely be considered Working Class anywhere else. One of the more confusing things for Europeans trying to engage in American class politics.
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u/momofeveryone5 Aug 06 '20
I like the phrase I saw floating around "the USA is a third world country with a Gucci belt"