Stupid is as stupid does and stupidity votes Obama

[Asher]

I like how Canada's numbers are extremely close to the US', but we do so without killing eachother and with saner banks.

Canada actually comes almost on par with the US once you subtract the ridiculous health care private expenditures Americans need for slightly inferior results.

[Hauldren Collider]

To base the economic condition of poor folks in the western european nations based on some anecdotes of a holiday in Italy? Yeah I'd say that was pretty ridiculous.

It wasn't an anecdote. He pointed out a very useful metric, household consumption.

[DaShi]

10/10 Good job, Alpert. You're trolling like a marine now!

[kentonio]

It wasn't an anecdote. He pointed out a very useful metric, household consumption.

Italian people live in small apartments and ride ****ty scooters?

[giblets]

Our poor people are wealthier than European poor people. I believe Jaguar used the example of rural Tennessee farmers owning $30k trucks and nice houses while the Italian poor drive ****ty scooters and live in miniscule apartments.

I know around here the farmers ain't all that wealthy but damned if I don't see a lot of awesome lifted Fords.

Farmers aren't necessarily poor.

edit: median pay for "farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers" is $60,750 and the top 10% make more than $106,980.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm#tab-5

Yeah, you'll probably see some nice trucks and houses in rural areas.

[giblets]

I like how Canada's numbers are extremely close to the US', but we do so without killing eachother and with saner banks.

Canada actually comes almost on par with the US once you subtract the ridiculous health care private expenditures Americans need for slightly inferior results.

And the extra food expenditures Americans use to make themselves obese?

[giblets]

I was curious about how much worse off they might be btw so I did some back of an envelope maths (please excuse any errors).

UK Minimum Wage = £6.08 which comes out at £12,646 based on 40 hour week. No tax on the first £7,475 so that leaves £5171 taxed at 20%. I make that an after tax of £11,612. There's also an £11.66 a week for National Insurance contributions, so £606 annually. I make that £11,006 which works out at about $17,856.

US Minimum Wage = $7.25, so $15,080 on a 40 hour week. Do we need to take any tax off that?

Take off payroll tax. Employees pay 7.65%, I think. So that leaves around $13927, which exchanges for £8579.

[Hauldren Collider]

Italian people live in small apartments and ride ****ty scooters?

No, they have less stuff. Sometimes that less stuff translates to ****ty apartments and scooters, because that is less consumption than a lifted F-150 and a McMansion.

[Hauldren Collider]

Take off payroll tax. Employees pay 7.65%, I think.

The other half comes out of your paycheck as well, for all intents and purposes. It's an accounting gimmick.

[kentonio]

No, they have less stuff. Sometimes that less stuff translates to ****ty apartments and scooters, because that is less consumption than a lifted F-150 and a McMansion.

Oh very scientific! His holiday in Italy showed him that western europeans have 'less stuff' than US people.

[giblets]

The other half comes out of your paycheck as well, for all intents and purposes. It's an accounting gimmick.

I know that, but it wasn't needed for his calculations.

[kentonio]

So $13,926 after tax. About $4k under the UK figure.

[Hauldren Collider]

Oh very scientific! His holiday in Italy showed him that western europeans have 'less stuff' than US people.

No, his statistics did. His holiday in Italy only provided anecdotal support.

[MRT144]

Why was he taking a holiday in Italy?

[kentonio]

You'll want to provide some counter to the numbers I just posted then which seem to point to the American poor getting a pretty **** deal.