3 ms·
> When you account for medical costs, rent (especially compared to the localities in the USA that provide these huge salaries), extra vacation time, and for tho
by blackhawkC17 2y ago
> When you account for medical costs, rent (especially compared to the localities in the USA that provide these huge salaries), extra vacation time, and for those with children, education and child care, this gap narrows considerably.
That's what Europeans generally say to justify or cope with their low salaries, but it's not true. After accounting for all these, an SV, NYC, Seattle, etc., engineer ends up with far more disposable income than their EU counterpart.
The US has the highest average disposable income worldwide; the rest almost don't come close [1]. That's why it has much more entrepreneurial activity.
Yes, the US isn't perfect, but the EU doesn't come close to the US in terms of money for highly skilled professional workers.
1- https://www.statista.com/statistics/725764/oecd-household-disposable-income-per-capita/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/725764/oecd-household-di...
- p_j_w 2y ago>After accounting for all these, an SV, NYC, Seattle, etc., engineer ends up with far more disposable income than their EU counterpart. I said it narrows the gap, not closes it. >https://www.statista.com/statistics/725764/oecd-household-di https://www.statista.com/statistics/725764/oecd-household-di... Your link is behind a paywall, I can't view that data.
- blackhawkC17 2y agoPoint noted, Wikipedia breaks down the data better - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c....
- p_j_w 2y agoHousing is notably not included here. Further, while it says government or non-profit provided health care and educated are included in the incomes for countries where it's available, the countries where it is NOT available don't show a reduced disposable income to pay for these things. These data do not show what you think they show. They already show a smaller gap than you had originally implied, and as I stated earlier, that gap is going to narrow substantially when the rest of these factors are taken into account.
- mminer237 2y agoI agree with you, but OECD's disposable income does not include housing, education, healthcare, or childcare unless they're paid through taxes.