This looks like a heavily opinionated article with a questionable use of data.
Others have mentioned the lacking focus on inequality already, so I want to add some other points:
While European countries have lower GDPs, their citizens work less hours than Americans[1] and spend less on health care[2] while having similar or longer life expectancies. Privatized education might similarly inflate GDP numbers without improving the actual quality of life.
The author - funnily enough a specialist for tax competition and board member of the Cayman Financial Review - is way too eager to draw political council from this apples to oranges comparison.
Others have mentioned the lacking focus on inequality already, so I want to add some other points:
While European countries have lower GDPs, their citizens work less hours than Americans[1] and spend less on health care[2] while having similar or longer life expectancies. Privatized education might similarly inflate GDP numbers without improving the actual quality of life.
The author - funnily enough a specialist for tax competition and board member of the Cayman Financial Review - is way too eager to draw political council from this apples to oranges comparison.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_time [2] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS