Merely adjusting for Purchase Power Parity, Shanghai has almost the same GDP per capita as West Virginia (it's like 10% lower). That's not even getting into the facts of American life that you mentioned - "healthcare", adverts, mandatory cat ownership - that make everyone miserable but also inflate the GDP.
I wonder how much gets spent on advertising, medicine, and transportation in WV that contributes to GDP.
GDP is a shitty number that doesn't reflect quality of life.
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Merely adjusting for Purchase Power Parity, Shanghai has almost the same GDP per capita as West Virginia (it's like 10% lower). That's not even getting into the facts of American life that you mentioned - "healthcare", adverts, mandatory cat ownership - that make everyone miserable but also inflate the GDP.
Wait America has mandatory cat ownership? Where is my cat?!?!
It might be tolerable if we did!
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