Ahh, just in time for the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, word surfaces that the standard of living in Britain is now higher than in the U.S. For a country that has prided itself on McMansions, luxury cars and overpaid jobs, the U.S. has been knocked down by those across the pond. Feeling sad, Americans?

Researchers at the Oxford Economics consultancy are now stating that variables such as free health care and increasing incomes are making Britons better off than their American counterparts. When it comes to health care, this is no surprise.

47 million Americans don't have health insurance and health care insurance premiums continue to be abhorrently high. While those that continue arguing about taking health care insurance public instead of private, about a sixth of those living in the U.S. live every day without that type of insurance. From this standpoint, those in the U.S. that do pay health insurance costs continually see price increases. Result: less money to spend elsewhere.

Those Oxford researchers also state the GDP per citizen figures are higher among Britons than Americans, and Britain's continued financial market success has created a soaring housing market at the same time America is feeling a housing bust and a mortgage crisis created by greedy loan providers and ignorant homeowners. The researchers did state that British citizens may not feel more rich due to Americans having access to much cheaper goods. So, while Americans may make less, they can buy more.