This points up one of the problems with folks on this list. Almost all of you are in the upper 50 percentile income bracket. At least 1/2 the people in the US are nowhere near as well off as you are. Also realize that most Europeans get free medical care and a free education while that lower 50% or more in the US get to start their work life with many thousands of dollars owed on student loans and many receive no medical benifits at all. Fully 25% of us are trying to live off of the kinds jobs you guys worked at while in college for pocket change.
The few Europeans whom I have known who work blue collar or semi-blue collar jobs, and have told me their income, make 30-100% more then the equivalent jobs in the US pay. Just the other day I was reading an article which claimed that the income of the 20% highest income families in the US has gone up 4+ times as much as the income of the reamaining 80% in the past 20 years. To me that pretty much lays the idea that it is the poor's own fault that they are poor to rest.
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Peter J. Alling wrote:
Sorry but that depends on the country. A friend of mine who was living and working in Germany doing about the same job I was doing. When we compared wages, he was making about half what I was making. I was paying an effective tax rate of approximately 45% which included Social Social Security, Federal, State and Medicaid, (that doesn't include the employer match on SS which is actually a tax on the employee). He was paying approximately 55%. The costs are actually much higher after taxes.
Graywolf wrote:
It is a matter of reletive wages. For the average American things cost about the same in hours/worked as they do for the average European. It is only when you cross borders that things are cheaper, or more expensive. Also our tax bases are different. I believe our governments taxes income and real property higher than European governments do, and have lower import duties and transfer fees (value added/sales tax).
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John Whittingham wrote:
Wouldn't that depend on your defination of "cheaper"?
I meant better value for my money, did I offend someone?
John
---------- Original Message ----------- From: "Peter J. Alling" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:53:55 -0400 Subject: Re: FA 35mm f/2 European prices please
Wouldn't that depend on your defination of "cheaper"?
Cotty wrote:
On 18/10/04, John Whittingham, discombobulated, unleashed:
Is everything cheaper in the US?
Everything but the girls ;-)
Cheers, Cotty
___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
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I can understand why mankind hasn't given up war. During a war you get to drive tanks through the sides of buildings and shoot foreigners - two things that are usually frowned on during peacetime. --P.J. O'Rourke
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-- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com/graywolf.html
