15:["$","main",null,{"className":"min-h-screen bg-black text-white","children":[["$","script",null,{"type":"application/ld+json","dangerouslySetInnerHTML":{"__html":"{\"@context\":\"https://schema.org\",\"@type\":\"Article\",\"headline\":\"Why Europeans Are Poorer Than They Think\",\"description\":\"The income gap between the US and Europe is bigger than most Europeans realize — and the data is uncomfortable.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-08T04:43:24.331Z\",\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"ignasi\"},\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"VidLink\",\"url\":\"https://vidlink.it\"},\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https://vidlink.it/read/why-europeans-poorer-than-they-think-f5a1fc\"},\"video\":{\"@type\":\"VideoObject\",\"name\":\"Europeans shocked to find they're poor by US standards\",\"contentUrl\":\"https://vidlinkvideos.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/videos/595639c4-81a9-4b94-81e2-0dcbfd6c3d85.mp4\",\"duration\":\"PT19S\",\"uploadDate\":\"2026-05-06T18:25:54.311Z\",\"embedUrl\":\"https://vidlink.it/videos/europeans-shocked-to-find-they-re-poor-by-us-standards-f5a1fc\"}}"}}],["$","article",null,{"className":"mx-auto max-w-[760px] px-5 pt-32 pb-24","children":[["$","header",null,{"className":"mb-10","children":[["$","h1",null,{"className":"text-3xl md:text-5xl font-bold leading-tight tracking-tight mb-4","children":"Why Europeans Are Poorer Than They Think"}],["$","p",null,{"className":"text-lg md:text-xl text-white/70 leading-relaxed","children":"The income gap between the US and Europe is bigger than most Europeans realize — and the data is uncomfortable."}],["$","div",null,{"className":"mt-6 flex items-center gap-3 text-sm text-white/50","children":[["$","img",null,{"src":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocL2ON-HYAb2xYx-sUFO8s1u_Eh5819y2As9KMvNg1tRVxpWzaW77A=s96-c","alt":"ignasi","className":"w-8 h-8 rounded-full object-cover"}],["$","span",null,{"children":"ignasi"}],["$","span",null,{"children":"·"}],["$","time",null,{"dateTime":"2026-05-08T04:43:24.331Z","children":"May 8, 2026"}]]}]]}],["$","div",null,{"className":"mb-12 rounded-xl overflow-hidden bg-black aspect-video","children":["$","video",null,{"src":"https://vidlinkvideos.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/videos/595639c4-81a9-4b94-81e2-0dcbfd6c3d85.mp4","controls":true,"playsInline":true,"preload":"metadata","className":"w-full h-full"}]}],["$","div",null,{"className":"prose prose-invert prose-lg max-w-none article-body","children":[["$","section","0",{"className":"mb-10","children":[["$","h2",null,{"className":"text-2xl md:text-3xl font-bold mt-10 mb-4","children":"The Number That Stops People Cold"}],["$","div",null,{"className":"text-white/85 leading-[1.75] [&_p]:mb-4 [&_a]:text-blue-400 [&_a]:underline [&_a]:underline-offset-4 hover:[&_a]:text-blue-300 [&_em]:italic [&_em]:text-white [&_strong]:font-semibold [&_strong]:text-white","dangerouslySetInnerHTML":{"__html":"

Ask a European if they're poor. Most will laugh at you.

They have healthcare. They have holidays. They have good trains and cheap universities. Life is fine.

But compare disposable incomes — actual money in actual pockets after tax — and the picture changes fast. The US median household income is significantly higher than in most of Western Europe. Not by a little. By a lot.

Our World in Data has the chart. It's not a right-wing talking point. It's just what the numbers say.

The shock isn't that Europe has lower wages. The shock is that most Europeans have no idea how large the gap actually is. They assume the US is richer at the top and roughly equal in the middle. That assumption is wrong.

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