I think about this a lot. If I were born in Europe, I would get a degree in mathematics and skate by doing easy work.

I was born American, I saw my chance for greatness, and I'm working on it. I'm currently a few years into my career - I've made a few hundred thousand for myself and at least a few million for my employers/society-writ-large, and I know that if I were European, I'd still be in school.

For me, the American system did a much better job of aligning my interests with society's interest.