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Only by nominal, by PPP the difference doesn't seem that different. US is $30 trillion by PPP, the EU is $29 trillion.

PPP statistics don't account for the lower value of ersatz products/services. They artificially equate the value of product/service suites across countries, instead of relying on market price signals to gauge value.

That is definitely one measure, but it is also an economy where someone working at the restaurant in a hotel in Miami earns about one bottle of water per hour. If the bottled water is expensive or if the salary is low is a matter of perspective.

The purchasing power of the average American is much higher than the average European.

USA was not impacted by WW2 (by this I mean it wasnt bombed to nothing) and 50 years of communism.

They were neck-and-neck in 2008. The gradual accumulation of regulatory restrictions limiting contract freedom, and taxes, turned the tide.

Year 2008 was like world war 2?

That's an interesting take...