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India and Pakistan are overall poor but there’s also a vast upper and middle class with wealth and those are the people buying subscriptions to the economist. T

India and Pakistan are overall poor but there’s also a vast upper and middle class with wealth and those are the people buying subscriptions to the economist. They have equivalent wealth to, for example, Bay Area tech industry managers but have much better lives than in the USA with private drivers, live-in chefs, live-in child care… these are my friends and I know that they can pay more than me for a subscription to the economist.

Marsymars 1y ago
> India and Pakistan are overall poor but there’s also a vast upper and middle class with wealth I mean... kinda? Switzerland has 9 million total people, and more millionaires than India and Pakistan combined. But anyway this post is saying that Indians have the cheapest subscriptions, not taking purchasing power into account.
- sieve 1y ago
  > Switzerland has 9 million total people, and more millionaires than India and Pakistan combined. Well, based on official figures, perhaps. I am pretty sure, however, that India alone has more than 20 million dollar millionaires. A large part of the Indian economy operates outside the tax net. Some of it is deliberate (income from farming is not taxed, even if you earn tens of millions of rupees from your acreage), the rest is due to garden variety tax fraud. Basic apartments in the top 10 cities start at $200,000 (could be something like $500,000 in places like Mumbai). And plenty of people own 2-3-4 of these. You have to move to distant suburbs if you want cheaper housing. Millions of Indian households hold large quantities of gold. Millions invest in the stock market. An upper-middle-class life for a family of three in one of the major cities requires around $30,000 easy (double that if you are the splurging kind) which can buy you a LOT more than what the same sum can get you in LA/NY/London. Once you add these up, my figure is completely within the realm of possibility.
  - fakedang 1y ago
    20 million dollar millionaires means that more than 1% of Indians have 1m USD, which is certainly not the case - the number of Indians actually paying income tax alone is just around that number. India actually has about 320k USD millionaires, Pakistan 20k and Switzerland 370k, from a cursory Google search. You forget the fact that most Indians don't live in the city in 1-2 Cr (roughly $120-250k) homes, and their gold jewelry usually amounts to $50k tops.
    - sieve 1y ago
      > most Indians don't live in the city in 1-2 Cr You only need about 5-10% of them to do so to start hitting the numbers from my claim. > the number of Indians actually paying income tax alone is just around that number The number of businessmen who avoid taxes is a significant minority. > India actually has about 320k USD millionaires Based on the number of people I know who own multiple properties (which makes them dollar millionaires even if you ignore everything else they own), I find it VERY difficult to believe this figure. If 8% of the US population can be millionaires, I don't see why 1.5% of the Indian population cannot. We may not agree upon a number, but I believe the figure is much, much larger than what the official figures state.
      - noddybear 1y ago
        The onus is on you to present evidence to justify your claim. Without actual data beyond anecdotes, your claim can and should be dismissed.
      - fakedang 1y ago
        > You only need about 5-10% of them to do so to start hitting the numbers from my claim. Dude, a bit more than 1% of Indians pay ANY form of income tax. Assuming that the number of corrupt politicians and people laundering black money is another 15 million (a very very far stretch), that's still 2% of the entire population. > The number of businessmen who avoid taxes is a significant minority. Thanks for proving my point. > Based on the number of people I know who own multiple properties (which makes them dollar millionaires even if you ignore everything else they own), I find it VERY difficult to believe this figure. Your anecdote means shit compared to statistical data that says otherwise. > If 8% of the US population can be millionaires, I don't see why 1.5% of the Indian population cannot. Because again, India is a highly unequal country, with very few opportunity for the brightest and most entrepreneurial. Why has India not manufactured even one hard tech startup yet? Why is it so hard to get even one manufacturing unit up without the blessings of some babus and Lalas? That's why India is poor and unequal. No surprise why people who move out of India tend to be more successful, especially those who migrate to the US. > We may not agree upon a number, but I believe the figure is much, much larger than what the official figures state By that respect, Switzerland would still have a lot more millionaires simply by virtue of the number of people parking their assets there. There are no official figures for that either.
rendaw 1y ago
How do those places do with regard to air quality, public health, sanitation, medical quality, etc?
- s1artibartfast 1y ago
  Excellent if you are in a hyperwealthy enclave. Imagine having a well-trained private doctor on call and the ability to fly to top tier medical facilities globally
  - DrNosferatu 1y ago
    Imagine always having to be looking over your shoulder, for non-enclave people, and never being able to leave your walled garden.
  - tim333 1y ago
    The air quality is pretty bad in Delhi regardless of who you are. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_Delhi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_Delhi

Marsymars 1y ago

> India and Pakistan are overall poor but there’s also a vast upper and middle class with wealth I mean... kinda? Switzerland has 9 million total people, and more millionaires than India and Pakistan combined. But anyway this post is saying that Indians have the cheapest subscriptions, not taking purchasing power into account.

sieve 1y ago
> Switzerland has 9 million total people, and more millionaires than India and Pakistan combined. Well, based on official figures, perhaps. I am pretty sure, however, that India alone has more than 20 million dollar millionaires. A large part of the Indian economy operates outside the tax net. Some of it is deliberate (income from farming is not taxed, even if you earn tens of millions of rupees from your acreage), the rest is due to garden variety tax fraud. Basic apartments in the top 10 cities start at $200,000 (could be something like $500,000 in places like Mumbai). And plenty of people own 2-3-4 of these. You have to move to distant suburbs if you want cheaper housing. Millions of Indian households hold large quantities of gold. Millions invest in the stock market. An upper-middle-class life for a family of three in one of the major cities requires around $30,000 easy (double that if you are the splurging kind) which can buy you a LOT more than what the same sum can get you in LA/NY/London. Once you add these up, my figure is completely within the realm of possibility.
- fakedang 1y ago
  20 million dollar millionaires means that more than 1% of Indians have 1m USD, which is certainly not the case - the number of Indians actually paying income tax alone is just around that number. India actually has about 320k USD millionaires, Pakistan 20k and Switzerland 370k, from a cursory Google search. You forget the fact that most Indians don't live in the city in 1-2 Cr (roughly $120-250k) homes, and their gold jewelry usually amounts to $50k tops.
  - sieve 1y ago
    > most Indians don't live in the city in 1-2 Cr You only need about 5-10% of them to do so to start hitting the numbers from my claim. > the number of Indians actually paying income tax alone is just around that number The number of businessmen who avoid taxes is a significant minority. > India actually has about 320k USD millionaires Based on the number of people I know who own multiple properties (which makes them dollar millionaires even if you ignore everything else they own), I find it VERY difficult to believe this figure. If 8% of the US population can be millionaires, I don't see why 1.5% of the Indian population cannot. We may not agree upon a number, but I believe the figure is much, much larger than what the official figures state.
    - noddybear 1y ago
      The onus is on you to present evidence to justify your claim. Without actual data beyond anecdotes, your claim can and should be dismissed.
    - fakedang 1y ago
      > You only need about 5-10% of them to do so to start hitting the numbers from my claim. Dude, a bit more than 1% of Indians pay ANY form of income tax. Assuming that the number of corrupt politicians and people laundering black money is another 15 million (a very very far stretch), that's still 2% of the entire population. > The number of businessmen who avoid taxes is a significant minority. Thanks for proving my point. > Based on the number of people I know who own multiple properties (which makes them dollar millionaires even if you ignore everything else they own), I find it VERY difficult to believe this figure. Your anecdote means shit compared to statistical data that says otherwise. > If 8% of the US population can be millionaires, I don't see why 1.5% of the Indian population cannot. Because again, India is a highly unequal country, with very few opportunity for the brightest and most entrepreneurial. Why has India not manufactured even one hard tech startup yet? Why is it so hard to get even one manufacturing unit up without the blessings of some babus and Lalas? That's why India is poor and unequal. No surprise why people who move out of India tend to be more successful, especially those who migrate to the US. > We may not agree upon a number, but I believe the figure is much, much larger than what the official figures state By that respect, Switzerland would still have a lot more millionaires simply by virtue of the number of people parking their assets there. There are no official figures for that either.

rendaw 1y ago

How do those places do with regard to air quality, public health, sanitation, medical quality, etc?

s1artibartfast 1y ago
Excellent if you are in a hyperwealthy enclave. Imagine having a well-trained private doctor on call and the ability to fly to top tier medical facilities globally
- DrNosferatu 1y ago
  Imagine always having to be looking over your shoulder, for non-enclave people, and never being able to leave your walled garden.
- tim333 1y ago
  The air quality is pretty bad in Delhi regardless of who you are. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_Delhi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_Delhi