>> Are you saying that for people making median level of income, the US is a horrible place to live compared to the rest of the world?

> Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.

I just came back from Chad. I've also spent time in Mozambique, Madagascar, Ethiopia, and South Africa. I'm pretty sure that the quality of life for those at median income is quite a bit worse in all of those places than in the US. So perhaps it's a bit hyperbolic to make a statement such as that, comparing the US to the rest of the world.

This thread is a bit reminiscent of the old days when the East German government used to claim - with a straight face - that the Berlin Wall was there in order to keep the westerners from overrunning the Workers' Paradise of the east.

Revealed preference shows that way, way, way, more people are trying to move into the US for economic reasons than are trying to leave.