Have you seen salaries in the UK? You have white collar professionals making 30-40k pounds, and meanwhile London, where most of those jobs are located is similar in COL to NYC or SF, except food is cheaper. I have never understood how it works.

Pay and expenses are, globally, highly unusual. We also get "tricked" by the Anglophone similarities of Canada the UK into thinking we're all sort of the same place. But the reality is the the US generates more revenue, and thus pays more, and protects its tech sector better than anywhere else in the Anglosphere. Great paying jobs in the US, that might make $180k USD make $50k USD in central Europe.

As much as Americans think of the UK as a sort of second status foreign overseas territory, and as much as the UK think they're an extra special independent peanut, they're just as much a part of the European pay and expense scheme as anybody else in the mainland is.

Globally, tech workers are worth $40-95k USD. It sucks, but that's what it is.

Americans are more inclined to work full-time if it doesn't pay!

This would never happen in the US because of healthcare dependence.

That said, the US has a different problem. People saving money and flying to cheaper countries instead of working in the US.

Well we saw a lot of that happen in US during covid. Why work at all if i can collect $X more not working? Its rational not to work more for less so i dont blame them.

I think this is also happening in USA long term, lots of "low income" americans who are knowledgeable of navigating welfare programs earn more than middle class workers if you factor in their entitlements.