France also has much lower homelessness and supports child care and health care to a greater extent. In the US the most prominent cause of bankruptcy is medical debt, rents are up an extraordinary amount, homelessness is up quite a lot. Child mortality in the US is the highest in the developed world, from a combo of our terrible infant mortality stats and gun accidents.

What are drugs for? For most people, it's not as much chasing the high as pushing away the pain. Look at your own drinking for example (not necessarily you, dminor, but many readers). Mind-altering chemicals are overwhelmingly used in the US to numb oneself and push away the pain of daily living. Folks start with a little to take the edge off, dull the fear & give themselves a bit of mental space, not have to think about the bills, and then...