Is Europe really falling behind behind the US in terms of prosperity for it’s citizens?

So. open any news channel and people think that Europe is somehow years behind the United States and even China in terms of economics. They often point out to VW being dominated by BYD and Chinese automakers, and US big tech giants leaving European tech industry in the dust. They also mention the fact that GDP growth in the USA has outpaced that of the EU.

While these facts are certainly true, I don't think they are really that important in terms of life for the average European. Like does anybody think that the US economy is trash because Meta is losing to TikTok? Looking at all quality of life metrics, Europe is the best place to live in the world.

But I want to focus on even more, is that in terms of GDP growth, the main reason the US is outpacing the EU is that the dollar is really overvalued. If you look at GDP per capita in terms of PPP, most European countries have either kept up or out grown the US. I also can't understand the notion that this is somehow something new. The US tech industry was always way ahead of Europe. America was (since Reagan) more business friendly than Europe. In the 1970s when Microsoft and Apple were founded, Europe didn't really have much to show back then as well. Apart from Sweden and Finland maybe, Europe has always been behind the US when it comes to tech. And yet it hasn't mattered. If you look at any meaningful quality of life metric, Europe has progressed faster than the US in the last 40 years. Housing, healthcare and specially education have become super expensive in the US in the past 40 years, while in Europe they have remained largely affordable (except housing, but even that has been less dramatic than the US). Northern European countries have also managed to remain more fiscally responsible than the US. And all of this is coming at the same time that Europe is dealing with millions of refugees, with a war on it's border and high energy prices. So I don't understand why people keep acting as if the American model is somehow working better. The only thing that the American model has been better it has been creating Big Tech companies that have addicted and depressed children and ruined human relationships. They haven't really made life better for most Americans. So what's exactly wrong with having an economy that works for the people instead of creating harmful multinational companies?