Yes America is still a great place to succeed if you have drive and above average intelligence. If. As an expat, I think Indonesia is a great country. I make by lunch what the average person makes there in a year. I can eat the best restaurants and stay in the best hotels in a city of 15m. However the problem with both of those is looking at them with the benefit of hindsight. What if you had to spin the wheel again? Maybe above or below average intelligence, maybe above or below average drive? Could be born anywhere on the social spectrum? Where then?
The fact is mobility in the US is less than other countries. Numerous young people are 6 figures in debt with a worthless degree. But it's no where near like India where if you're from certain classes people wont even talk to you.
However, if you didn't get a worthless degree, and know how to work, and have actually known poverty (like immigrants), then the US will be a pretty good fit.
On the other hand, the US has bred a new class of entitled, lazy, as they say shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in 3 generations? I feel it goes for whole countries too.
The country is paranoid, internally and externally. Its basically the safest time to be alive ever, yet people have never been more afraid of terrorism, crime, bugs, neighbours, school shootings, when all combined are less than the chance you'll die driving. But at least everyone has guns to keep them safe.
As others have said, it sort of depends what you're after. Want to bust your ass working 100 hour weeks, and have the biggest car, and biggest house you never see to show for it? US is your place. Want to work 40 hours a week, and have a nice social existence with your neighbours, have the basics covered and no huge worries like you're be in debt for life because you got sick? Well America might not be the best fit.
Yes there are pitfalls. Post secondary education with a stupid degree is one. Buying into the housing ponzi scheme of the mid 2000s was another. For the people who saw that (or ballsier yet bet against it) you did ok/prospered. That is definitely the exception though. I think I have a decent head on my shoulders, but I realize that most people aren't that smart, which I think is a problem on this board. Here you have people of above average intelligence and drive. So often I think they don't have the ability to step out side themselves. Like the guy who said anyone who says America is materialist, he assumes is poor. Warren Buffet himself said the tax situation was fucked up (rich should be taxed more).
