6 ms·

We're already way off topic, but it's 40%. And we're talking about two countries with significantly different tax rates and social contributions.

chrisseaton 4y ago
> but it's 40% Eh? 42800 / 28571 = 1.498 > significantly different tax rates and social contributions Eh? "includes all forms of income as well as taxes and transfers in kind from governments for benefits such as healthcare and education"
- Bud 4y ago
  You might want to actually read that Wikipedia page; those figures are very very heavily massaged in multiple ways, and not everyone would necessarily agree with how they are massaged. Suffice it to say, there's a large fudge factor here, much larger than the difference you are trying to point out.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    > those figures are very very heavily massaged in multiple ways One person complains they don't account for taxes and benefits, and another complains they do!
    - Bud 4y ago
      True. Fair enough. It's hard to figure out precisely what the right way to measure this is.
  - socialdemocrat 4y ago
    Yeah, I think when you start trying to cram that much stuff into a single number it will end up misrepresenting reality. People like the simplicity of single numbers for comparison, but it is about as sensible as describing a personality by a single number. I think I would rather show the median value for a variety of variables. Not everything makes sense to turn into dollars. How do you turn health care into dollars? What you pay for it is not a true reflection of the quality. US tends to look good when things are turned into dollars and a lot worse when real world metrics and outcomes are measured such as health, happiness, safety, stress, life expectancy, leisure time etc.
- Rexxar 4y ago
  So 50% more in one direction, 33% less in the other. This is the eternal question of percentages misunderstandings between peoples. But this doesn't feel "quite a lot poorer" to me, just less rich that the number one.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    So where's 40% from?
    - Rexxar 4y ago
      Ask the one who use this number. I would suggest 33% and bad rounding.
- pseudojim 4y ago
  > Eh? 42800 / 28571 = 1.498 I calculated percent difference. > Eh? "includes all forms of income as well as taxes and transfers in kind from governments for benefits such as healthcare and education" You're right, thanks. I was reading off my phone and missed that.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    > I calculated percent difference. But the difference is 14229, which is 33% of US income, or 50% of France income.
    - pseudojim 4y ago
      (|42800 - 28571| / [(42800 + 28571) / 2]) x 100 = 39.87% I was taught to use an average of the values in the denominator in a case like this to avoid the confusion @Rexxar pointed out. https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/algebra/percent-difference-calculator.php https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/algebra/percent-d...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

chrisseaton 4y ago

> but it's 40% Eh? 42800 / 28571 = 1.498 > significantly different tax rates and social contributions Eh? "includes all forms of income as well as taxes and transfers in kind from governments for benefits such as healthcare and education"

Bud 4y ago
You might want to actually read that Wikipedia page; those figures are very very heavily massaged in multiple ways, and not everyone would necessarily agree with how they are massaged. Suffice it to say, there's a large fudge factor here, much larger than the difference you are trying to point out.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  > those figures are very very heavily massaged in multiple ways One person complains they don't account for taxes and benefits, and another complains they do!
  - Bud 4y ago
    True. Fair enough. It's hard to figure out precisely what the right way to measure this is.
- socialdemocrat 4y ago
  Yeah, I think when you start trying to cram that much stuff into a single number it will end up misrepresenting reality. People like the simplicity of single numbers for comparison, but it is about as sensible as describing a personality by a single number. I think I would rather show the median value for a variety of variables. Not everything makes sense to turn into dollars. How do you turn health care into dollars? What you pay for it is not a true reflection of the quality. US tends to look good when things are turned into dollars and a lot worse when real world metrics and outcomes are measured such as health, happiness, safety, stress, life expectancy, leisure time etc.
Rexxar 4y ago
So 50% more in one direction, 33% less in the other. This is the eternal question of percentages misunderstandings between peoples. But this doesn't feel "quite a lot poorer" to me, just less rich that the number one.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  So where's 40% from?
  - Rexxar 4y ago
    Ask the one who use this number. I would suggest 33% and bad rounding.
pseudojim 4y ago
> Eh? 42800 / 28571 = 1.498 I calculated percent difference. > Eh? "includes all forms of income as well as taxes and transfers in kind from governments for benefits such as healthcare and education" You're right, thanks. I was reading off my phone and missed that.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  > I calculated percent difference. But the difference is 14229, which is 33% of US income, or 50% of France income.
  - pseudojim 4y ago
    (|42800 - 28571| / [(42800 + 28571) / 2]) x 100 = 39.87% I was taught to use an average of the values in the denominator in a case like this to avoid the confusion @Rexxar pointed out. https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/algebra/percent-difference-calculator.php https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/algebra/percent-d...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]