I feel the same. I found a way to leave the country. Will be leaving in the new year. I have kids and I can't have them growing up here anymore. Time to try something new.
Between shipping manufacturing jobs elsewhere, and allowing in immigrants who do menial work, people at the low end of the economy are pretty pinched for work.
Isn't the unemployment rate close to record low? I mean, a lot of people work 2 and more full-time jobs to make ends meet, but that seems like a different issue.
Then you have to be willing to do economics like in Europe and redistribute (the GDP) wealth to basically make everyone middle-class. But Americans are also unwilling to do that. That's "socialism" or "communism" or whatever label conservatives like to add to it. The US may have a somewhat higher GDP than many European countries, but most Europeans feel much more financially secure than most Americans.
Which is exactly my point. Many Americans don't feel like the economy is better in their own lives. But, overall, from a macroeconomic perspective, the economy is doing great.
If you look at the average salary, it has kept up or exceeded inflation, but it has taken some time to catch up. But again, it's the sentiment. If people feel poorer, they are poorer, even if they are not actually poorer.
Apparently, the majority of Americans believe they won back their country yesterday. Looks like Trump is going to win the popular vote. That's where we are.
Worth noting that the French law only deals with food waste from supermarkets as far as I know. Not households or agriculture. It's a great start, though.
Unemployment. Like many others, I keep an emergency fund with high yield that can keep food on the table for the fam while looking for a new job. Replenish as soon as I get a new job.
Do everything you can to learn the language quickly. Take any language class offer you get. It will make life much easier in a new country, especially if you're looking to make friends. Immerse yourself in the culture immediately.
Remember that Europeans, especially Scandinavians, are not as openly friendly as Americans. They can seem cold and distant at first. It's not because they are not friendly, it's just a cultural feature. Once you get to know them, most open up and they are awesome.
On financials, keep all your bank accounts and credit cards open in the US and use a US address for them (and get a credit card with no foreign transaction fees). Don't advertise to the US banks that you moved overseas. Just use a family member's or friend's address. Also note that European banks don't have rewards credit cards, so I only use US rewards cards with no foreign transaction fees when living overseas. They'll send you replacement cards overseas if you ask them to, even when your account address is in the US.
If you don't already have retirement IRA accounts set up (not just 401k), do it before you leave the US. Also, open a brokerage account (e.g. Schwab or Fidelity) with a US address before you leave and don't change the address to your overseas address, ever. Leave as is. It can be very hard for Americans to invest because foreign banks are required to report different things to US authorities about customers who are American citizens. They don't want the bother, so they may not allow you to open an account there. And once you move it will be much harder to open the account in the US. Use a service like Wise to move funds cheaply to your US accounts for investments and paying off credit cards.
Get a cheap eSIM phone subscription with a US phone number for two-step verification abroad. You can use Wifi-calling to connect.
Finally, remember that you are eligible to vote in the US as a US citizen living overseas. You'll still be registered as a voter in the state and county you moved overseas from. You'll use your most recent address, and you don't have to have any attachment to that address any longer. It's only for voting purposes. If you're not already registered to vote when you move overseas, you'll also use your most recent address to register to vote. More information here: https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter.
There are a lot of very poor people in the US compared to other developed countries. There are also a lot more extremely rich people. The inequality is palpable, and it shows in the stats. The US government also doesn't step in with coverage when it comes to healthcare, unemployment and other emergencies to the same degree as governments in other western countries.
Because whatever happens on the national level affects what happens on the state level.