I also grew up and lived in France for 20+ years and have lived in UK for 5+ years. It's true that I earn more in UK than in France but for example to compare public health systems, although both are free, NHS is really the worse and it does not seem it's going to get any better in the future.
25 years of economic stagnation, low innovation, increasing marginalization of France as a consequential economy in the global order (they've been sinking down the list for 40 years), perpetual high unemployment, and a GDP per capita that has failed to keep up to such a dramatic degree that it needs to climb 70% to catch the US.
With results like those, the tax payers are clearly not getting a good return on their non-free education system.
Not to mention the median wage growth is four to five times faster in the US than in France. So much for your theory.
Demographically France is about 80% white. The US median white household has an income of $73,000 as of 2016 ($108,000 with a college education) and a median net worth of nearly $150,000. Both higher than France. I use the direct demographic comparison, because it would be absurd to compare an 8th generation French family to a first or second generation Latin American family in the US (the US is 63% white by comparison, with far more immigration on a percentage basis in the last 40 years than France has seen).
The US has a superior university education system. It's not even remotely close. That has been the case globally since WW2. The rest of the world has been trying to catch up and copy what the US accomplished with its universities, for decades. The top 50 US universities put France to shame.
The US has a far lower unemployment rate. The US is a high innovation economy, France is a low innovation economy, which you can witness across nearly every economic area in comparing the US to France. The US is superior to France in: manufacturing, agriculture, aerospace, software, Internet broadly, mobile, medtech, biotech & pharma, and energy. The US has a far more dynamic small business economy than France does, with a much more liberal entrepreneur culture. The US has less air pollution than France; NYC has dramatically cleaner air than Paris.
Per the OECD better life index, the bottom 10% in the US are far better off than the bottom 10% in France. The US poverty line is also much higher than it is in France.
Better infrastructure in France? Eurozone spending on infrastructure per dollar of GDP, is now below that of the US, and that's really saying something because the US level is far too low. How long do you suppose France can continue to maintain what it does have, with such persistently low wage growth, such persistently low GDP growth, such high taxes and high regulation?
Did you subtract health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles? Nowadays, for a family of 3 that could run around $500 out-of-pocket per month for employee premiums alone. And that's before adding employer-paid premiums, which are usually 80-90% of the entire premium cost, which could otherwise be going straight to employee pocket.
> I use the direct demographic comparison, because it would be absurd to compare an 8th generation French family to a first or second generation Latin American family in the US
And yet you're comparing a 5th generation New England family in the US to a first generation Lebanese family in France? OK then. And yes, Lebanese would be statistically white.
> The US has a superior university education system.
And a superior college debt system. Did you subtract college debt payments from your "median disposable income" as well by the way?
> The US is superior to France in:
Capitalism. Yes, US is indeed superior to France in that. Which is exactly what GP meant by benefiting 5%.
Just because other countries have different systems, does not mean it is not working out for them, or that we need to start doing silly number comparisons that say nothing about the culture of each country.
France is doing pretty good in the engineering department, naval, nuclear and aeronautics are top notch. I would guess that the university system is not that bad eh?
The US has a great learning system for higher education, and the expensive part is covered with the high salaries you get afterwards. Plus the best part of being in America, always be in the front row for new movies, videogames, etc (well, Japan sometimes gets the games first, but oh well)
So don't be a hater, just go out and explore stuff. Diversity is what makes us great.
Is there even an incentive to work? What are the unemployment benefits?
So what you are saying is that it is a great place if you are content with the government saving your life when you are ill without expecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that will ruin the rest of your life? Without considering whether you are able to pay, as if you were a human being that deserves help and humanity? And helping you if you lose your job??!?!
As you see, neither of them helps the discussion a lot, as they are aggressive and the typical reaction would be to take a defensive position.
> Is there even an incentive to work?
Most of the people there work. A little bit later, as they take more vacation. And they survive. And on average wouldn't trade it for an American lifestyle.
It is a matter of life choices. And the point is that these programs enhance mobility so more people can choose, which is better.