It's a lot more common for children of poor parents to stay poor in the US than in (most of) Europe.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Social_Mobility_Index

Most people in mainland Europe are poor by American middle-class standards.

People living in Europe don't seem to agree, since they have the same access to credit cards and yet just choose to spend less.

Why oh why do Europeans in general choose to spend less than americans?