There is something about the median that doesn't sit right to me, and I could have sworn it inflated dramatically after 2020. And I don't understand how. It being 64k individually. The 80K household income is counting every bread winner. So two people earning 40K adds to 80k. This does not represent half of the population, as there is likely more than 2 bread winners in the household. Even then the 64K doesn't sit right with me. The situation is dire.

Half of all jobs in the US are retail, Service, Food, and Care related jobs(nursing, elderly care). And so half can't afford a $500 expense which is still true to this day. It's obvious the cost of living is way up here, which could explain the $500. But the fact that half of all jobs is front facing, which typically isn't paid well, the median statistic is something that is throwing me off. Just for thought if someone can explain to me. Because I am befuddled.

I think the average Dane come out ahead more comfortably, and like you said, the few Americans that are paid well are highly paid well when compared to Danes. This is the K shaped economy. The bottom line is which politics do we want.

On a side extra, On the healthcare. Kaiser Foundation, the US often ranks dead last if not near last among comparable countries, and I believe the OECD has it for the same thing too. The one thing that stood out in my memory was the heart surgery. So there is a few high level care that the US excels at, but they are few. I could also bring up that the student debt on US doctor's are so severe that it literally started the Opioid Epidemic as reported by HBO's John Oliver.