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You're right that the US is a fabulously wealthy country. Still, this might be a misguided comparison: the least developed region of NZ still has a higher HDI t
by woodruffw 4y ago
You're right that the US is a fabulously wealthy country. Still, this might be a misguided comparison: the least developed region of NZ still has a higher HDI than two US states[1][2], without considering territories.
If you decided to wander around West Virginia (as I have), you'd see plenty of people burning coal and/or firewood for heat in winter (and WV winters are much harsher than NZ ones, from what I know about NZ). You'll also see extreme indigence of a sort that's otherwise almost completely invisible in the US.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_Human_Development_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ...
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_New_Zealand_by_Human_Development_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_New_Zealand...
- whendoyoushrink 4y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c... > Household Disposable Income per capita (including social transfers in kind) 1 United States 62,300 19 New Zealand 32,600 (2019) Roughly 50%. I can't find similar data for the bad pockets of America.
- woodruffw 4y agoThe closest available metric is probably the BEA's PCPI[1], which is $42,315 for WV. So about 30% more, but I think a more fair metric would probably adjust for differences in social entitlements and welfare. (Per capita for both also doesn't tell us much about distributions, or even sheer numbers: the two states that have lower HDIs than the least developed region of NZ have nearly as many people as all of NZ.) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_adjusted_per_capita_personal_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_adjuste...
- pessimizer 4y agoIt's at least better to take the median: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income#Median_equivalent_adult_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...