The reason I used Sweden as an example is that many Americans think commerce in Sweden must be hobbled by taxes and regulation. It must surprise some people that Sweden's GDP per capita has grown the most among Western industrial nations, and much more than the US.

I'm not claiming the wealth gap in Sweden is healthy on an absolute scale, but relative to the US it's about half. Every economy has challenges, but the historical results I posted show that US chest-thumping is exceptionally silly.