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Does that take into account cost of living? In America you can buy a gallon of milk for $1.50 at Walmart. In Australia (after some brief googling[0]) it's more

by umvi 6y ago

Does that take into account cost of living? In America you can buy a gallon of milk for $1.50 at Walmart. In Australia (after some brief googling[0]) it's more like $4.50. Same with gas, video games, you name it, a lot of things seem to cost 2-4x more in Australia. [0] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Australia https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou...

thomasahle 6y ago
Yes, you probably want to look at the Purchasing Power Parity Median: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income#Median_equivalized_disposable_household_income_(PPP)_$ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per... Or the household version: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_income https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_income
AnotherGoodName 6y ago
Not quite that extreme. ~AUD$4 for the fnacy brand which is under USD$3. Less for the loss leader store brands. Looks like 10% difference in cost of living by official figures but regardless the median wealth being so much higher isn't due to a few percent difference in cost of living or a small difference in average age as some suggested. Australia is objectively doing better on the wealth gap leading to a higher median (but not a higher mean). You can look at USA wealth historically too and see the USAs decline in median wealth over the years (but again mean wealth is doing fine). It all comes down to the thing we all know and have heard a lot. The wealth gap in the USA is increasing a lot. The lowest paid workers are now well into the poverty zone. The arguments against minimum wage are similar to the arguments for Asian clothing sweatshops.
k__ 6y ago
Back in the days, when I saw Walmart fail in Germany, I had the impression the US isnt known for having cheap food.
lotyrin 6y ago
In America you can also decide whether to be able to afford to pay rent or whether you'd like to not live in agony because having teeth is a luxury.

by umvi 6y ago

thomasahle 6y ago

Yes, you probably want to look at the Purchasing Power Parity Median: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income#Median_equivalized_disposable_household_income_(PPP)_$ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per... Or the household version: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_income https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_income

AnotherGoodName 6y ago

Not quite that extreme. ~AUD$4 for the fnacy brand which is under USD$3. Less for the loss leader store brands. Looks like 10% difference in cost of living by official figures but regardless the median wealth being so much higher isn't due to a few percent difference in cost of living or a small difference in average age as some suggested. Australia is objectively doing better on the wealth gap leading to a higher median (but not a higher mean). You can look at USA wealth historically too and see the USAs decline in median wealth over the years (but again mean wealth is doing fine). It all comes down to the thing we all know and have heard a lot. The wealth gap in the USA is increasing a lot. The lowest paid workers are now well into the poverty zone. The arguments against minimum wage are similar to the arguments for Asian clothing sweatshops.

k__ 6y ago

Back in the days, when I saw Walmart fail in Germany, I had the impression the US isnt known for having cheap food.

lotyrin 6y ago

In America you can also decide whether to be able to afford to pay rent or whether you'd like to not live in agony because having teeth is a luxury.