[serious] Why is the UK so amazing?

[MikeH]

You are ignoring debt in your calculation of who is richer.

Is a man with $1000 who is also $2000 in debt richer than a man with $800?

[Jon Miller]

Depends on the cost of a night out and a place to crash afterwards.

JM

[Tupac Shakur]

You are ignoring debt in your calculation of who is richer.

Is a man with $1000 who is also $2000 in debt richer than a man with $800?

I don't understand why you think Irish government debt has a direct effect on the well-being of the average Irishman. It may lead to him paying more in taxes in the future (if the government doesn't default or get bailed out), but it doesn't affect his standard of living in the present.

[MikeH]

1. They pay higher proportion of taxes now.
2. The proportion of taxes that they currently pay that are used to pay for services they consume is lower.

Both these affect his standard of living now.

[Tupac Shakur]

1. They pay higher proportion of taxes now.
2. The proportion of taxes that they currently pay that are used to pay for services they consume is lower.

I'm not sure I believe either of these statements are true.

[MikeH]

I spent 5 seconds checking before I posted it.

[Tupac Shakur]

Sounds about right.

[Cort Haus]

Why the obsession with specific economic indicators to assess a country? So the US is apparently fabulously wealthy but is still full of terrible poverty and is practically a theocracy compared to most Western countries. Australia is nice but they have no water (when it's not getting flooded) and the place is full of the most appalling spiders. I'm sure Canada is great but a country made of ice isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Anyway, this is just a troll thread, so no need to take anything too seriously here.

[MOBIUS]

Funny how the order of that list of countries is almost exactly inversely proportional to the ones I’d rather live in.

I have either lived in, or visited, all of them. So I feel reasonably qualified in making that judgement.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Anyway, this is just a troll FORUM, so no need to take anything too seriously here.

Fixed

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Funny how the order of that list of countries is almost exactly inversely proportional to the ones I’d rather live in.

And inversely proportional to propensity for sheep shagging, go figure.

[Tupac Shakur]

Funny how the order of that list of countries is almost exactly inversely proportional to the ones I’d rather live in.

Not everyone is rational, sadly. I imagine your ludicrous nationalism is the problem in this case...

So the US is apparently fabulously wealthy but is still full of terrible poverty and is practically a theocracy compared to most Western countries. Australia is nice but they have no water (when it's not getting flooded) and the place is full of the most appalling spiders. I'm sure Canada is great but a country made of ice isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Is that really the best counterargument you could think of?

[MikeH]

Anyway, this is just a troll thread, so no need to take anything too seriously here.

No, it's serious. See the thread title.

[Tupac Shakur]

No, it's serious.

Yes.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Funny how the order of that list of countries is almost exactly inversely proportional to the ones I’d rather live in.

Not everyone is rational, sadly.

When it comes to matters of the heart no one is rationale. Do you deny Moby his chance at a little tail?