EU gdp per capita was 90% of the US in 2013 and is now at ~65%.
It’s a disaster over there and better inequality metrics in Europe do not make up for that level of disparate material abundance for all but the very poorest Americans.
EURUSD FX change also reflects real changes in our relative economies. The Fed can afford to engage in less contractionary policy because our economy is doing well and people want our exports.
But at what price? I've seen documentaries about homeless and drug addicts on the streets of US cities that made my skin crawl. Turbo-capitalism may work fine for the US GPD but it doesn't seem to have worked fine for the US population in general. In other words, the very poor you mention are increasing.
Aggregate statistics give you a better view than documentaries, for obvious reasons. I could make a documentary about Mafia in Sicily that could make you convinced that you would have someone asking for protection money if you started a café in Denmark.
There are roughly 300k homeless in France and roughly 500k homeless in the US. France just hides it and pushes it to the banlieus.
You're right, homelessness was a bad example and documentaries can distort reality. There are still some things about the US that I dislike and at least partially seem to be the result of too much laissez faire capitalism, such as death by gun violence, opioid abuse, unaffordable rents in cities, few holidays and other negative work-life balance factors, high education costs, high healthcare costs, and an inhumane penal system.
