There was an earlier thread comparing the economies of EU countries to US state economies. The best countries of the EU would only beat out 4 or 5 US states if compared individually. (been searching, can't find the right key words yet, will post link if I can find it).
Our "peons" have a standard of living better than the middle or even upper middle class in European countries, when measured in terms of income, food, housing, possessions such as cars, TVs, microwaves, etc.
If European nations were admitted as states into the America union, they would be our poor, dependent cousins.
If the UK, France, or Italy became U.S. states, they would rank as the 5th poorest of the states, ahead only of Arkansas, Montana, West Virginia, and Mississippi. The richest EU country - Ireland - would be the 13th poorest. Sweden would be the 6th poorest.
Good economic development, in other words, results in even poor people being relatively well off in the states, wrote Dr. Fredrik Bergström, President of The Swedish Research Institute of Trade, Robert Gidehag in the book Sweden versus the US.
Hence, the EU no longer is or is seen as the great economic liberator of Europe.
In other words, a redneck driving a pick-up with a gun rack lives better than European gentry.
In the 1990s, U.S. growth was twice that of Europes, and three times that of Japans. The U.S. per capita income is now 55% higher than the EU-15 average, and 50% higher than Japans.