The lasting impact and practical effects of the iron curtain on both culture and economic is real.
In fact, there is special income tax, Solidaritätszuschlag, that is paid on all income as special assistance in rebuilding and equalizing the former East.
Hearing that you only lived in LA makes your take on the US very partial and flawed.
LA has a reputation even within the US of being what you describe as a "shithole."
I lived in Germany for years, the former east, and it would be unfair to call Germany a "shithole" based on my own experience in the former Soviet bloc, which has struggled both pre and post reunification due to Communist rule.
In fact, there is special income tax, Solidaritätszuschlag, that is paid on all income as special assistance in rebuilding and equalizing the former East.
And you know nothing about me.