We in America do have the same opportunity. Those who buy expensive phones do it because of the expense itself, much like an overpriced suit or car. The United States functions on two basic principles, "I'm Better than you, so obey" - Elitism, and "I'm Bigger than you, so obey" or Terrorism.

So when you look at the US, and start a sentence that might be referring to a rational society ... just remember that we spend 30x as much as the next country down the list on Military "defense", and do not provide any kind of healthcare or dental care to our people without a cost much higher than most people's wages ever go.

The top wants to be further from the bottom. Whether that means they move up, or we move down. But the US is the single largest Terrorist country there is.