Quote:
Originally Posted by Byte1
Obviously, "some" have not lived in other countries or "they" would know that educated professionals in many countries do not make anywhere near what they would make in this country. Lawyers working as security guards at American installations overseas. Doctors working as receptionists, teachers working as maids, etc. Of course, when someone suggests that "1st world" countries pay more "proportionally" then that is also debatable. I've seen how middle class earners live in other countries, including those that I suppose are considered 1st World countries in Europe. It seems that SOME folks are always looking at the grass on the other side of the fence and attempting to make comparisons with what we have here. Out of all the countries I have lived in or visited in my lifetime, I did not see one that I would consider living in permanently. I did see one that might have been decent, had it not had a corrupt and dangerous government, and the criminal element was not so prominent. Just remember that if other countries subsidize transportation, health care, etc. the money has to come from somewhere. Most any country that "GIVES" the most freebies, have the highest tax rates. Our low income and even poverty level folks live a lifestyle equal to many other country middle class earners.
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The US was the ONLY main country that exited WW2 without having its industry decimated - look at Europe and Japan then. Both Japan and Europe have done a remarkable job of getting back on par with the US. I was NOT comparing countries today and I certainly think that the US has a world lead in Silicon Valley software production.
.....What I was talking about is INCOME disparity in the US, which has more of that than Finland, Sweden,
Germany, New Zealand, Japan, and etc, etc. It is a KNOWN FACT that the discrepancy (wages difference) between the US is like 100 to 150 times greater for US CEOs than the average line workers. In JAPAN the discrepancy is about 10 times. And it is similar in Europe and other far east countries. The US has the most dicrepency. it was NOT that way in 1950 or 1960. The US rich have gotten richer and greedier than in other counties. That is part of the reason why costs are rising so much in the US. And the OIL and GAS industry and others are partly responsible because of US pay discrepancies. Tax % and brackets are BIG factor. All these factors are playing into current US Inflation, potential recession, and potential problems for Seniors on fixed incomes.