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In the UK, unions have been utterly castrated by the Thatcher government. > Similarly, due to a combination of high wages and welfare, most workmen can subsist
by antihero 13y ago
In the UK, unions have been utterly castrated by the Thatcher government.
> Similarly, due to a combination of high wages and welfare, most workmen can subsist for long periods without work.
Nope, most workers here are living paycheck to paycheck.
> (Most workers don't value stability, and choose consumption over savings. But this doesn't mean they lack the ability, they merely don't value it.)
Savings? You must be joking.
Let's see. Minimal level of enjoyment, a roof over one's head, food, heating, savings. Choose three, depending how skilled you are, for many, choose two.
- yummyfajitas 13y agoIn the US, we have a GDP/capita of $50k/year. In the UK, it's just under $36k/year. In Poland it's $21k/year. If it's impossible for a Brit to save, since they must consume everything they earn to survive with a minimal level of enjoyment, then how do the Polish avoid death? Do the Polish simply not enjoy life at all? And surely you'd agree that Americans should be able to save, simply by reducing their consumption to British levels.
- ahh 13y agoWell, first, GDP/capita isn't a great measure for how the average (low quartile?) worker is doing. I'd think you'd have to look at actual wage levels. Second, cost of living is different in the UK, US, and Poland. If we ignore wage levels and just look at GDP/c, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity#OECD_comparative_price_levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity#OECD_co... tells us that after adjusting for costs, the effective numbers as compared to a US citizen's purchasing power are $50K US, $32K UK, $35K Poland. Mind you, I don't know I buy antihero's argument that the British are struggling to stay alive, but your argument isn't a particularly strong counter.
- antihero 13y agoHave you heard of cost of living?
- yummyfajitas 13y agoThe numbers I gave are adjusted for PPP, though using the world bank method rather than the OECD method given by ahh in his reply. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)...