> It’s pretty simple - the EU is unable to produce alternatives. This is because they don’t have the software talent for it.
Honestly, that's not true. Anyone can make a facebook/instagram/whatsapp alternative and the world is full of them. Anyone can even install mastodon and set up their own social network, as America's president has even done: https://www.pcmag.com/news/trumps-social-media-site-quietly-... so it doesn't even require 'software talent'.
What American companies succeeded at was marketing and growth hacking, some of their techniques used are illegal in the EU but they used their network effect of being massive in the US to gain a foothold here. But this has nothing to do with software engineering. Even in the time of facebook's rise Europe was full of competing social networks like hyves.
> Any talent they do have immediately runs for the SF Bay Area of the United States at the first opportunity.
Only those who care about raw salary over everything else. Quality of life, welfare and cost of living is much higher in the EU. The cost of life is huge in silicon valley and that's more a reason why salaries are so high; otherwise people just wouldn't be able to live there.
Edit: I see your edit, yes employers in the US provide free healthcare but only as long as you work there, and you can be fired at any moment and have to pay top dollar suddenly. Not cool when you have a family to support. These are the welfare benefits that make the EU a much more relaxed place to live.