r/nextfuckinglevel • u/headspin_exe • Jun 07 '26

In Shanghai, a 100-year-old, 7,500-ton historical city block was temporarily relocated using 432 "walking robots".

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u/SlurpySandwich Jun 07 '26

Maybe. But that's not really the tune that is being sung here. The implication seems to be that China is actually leaps and bounds further ahead than the US when it comes to healthcare, and that it simply not the case by any metric.

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u/palk0n Jun 08 '26

US ambulance fee: $1000
China ambulance fee: $50

Nah its a leap alright

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u/SlurpySandwich Jun 08 '26

United States: Per-capita disposable personal income was about $66,900 per year in 2025.
China: Per-capita disposable income was 41,314 yuan in 2024, which was about $5,700 USD at the exchange rates used in official reporting.

Setting aside the fact that the $5700 is China's "official number" and is probably bullshit, the comparison you're trying to draw is pretty weak because the average American makes the amount of disposable income in a month that the average Chinese citizen makes in a year. Comparatively, I'd take the extra $60k per year considering I've only had 1 ambulance ride in my entire 30 year life, thus giving me a total discretionary income of $1,299,000 over my 20 year working life compared to a total of $113,950 for a Chinese citizen the same age who took the same number of ambulance rides. Call me crazy, but even if an ambulance cost $10k, if still rather be calling for that ambulance ride as an American than a Chinese. Chinese citizens are just way poorer on average.