Pretty sure you were not one of LUCKY individuals which makes your post, though slightly ignorant, understandable.

I agree. A very well done and thought-provoking post.

I moved here from Az. My daughter & Grandson moved with me. She is a Certified Medical Assistant which means she has student loans to pay. In Az she was making $16/hr and had 3 1/2 yrs experience. Here DOCTOR offices were offering her $10. She is a single parent. She bought a small house with the Gov's help (due to low income). It is actually less expensive for her to make mortgage payments than it was to pay Rent. With all the elderly here in Fl, where would these Dr's be without their Medical Assistants running their offices? But they offer such low salaries because they can get away with it. After living here for almost 3 yrs, she has FINALLY found an office that pays a decent salary of $15/hour.

Standard of living : The US ranks around 30th in the world in the World list of the standard of living. There are separate categories for "infant mortality", which tells you about Health care. There are many other categories, but its PURPOSE is to provide a yardstick to measure or compare various countries. It is very informative. The Scandinavian countries are at the top. I believe that Canada is about # 11. Not sure where New Zealand is - I have not looked at that list in about 6 months. Had no reason to.

Liberals and car accident : If New Zealand is a liberal country, then I would LOVE to live there. So smart! As to they take away a person's driver's license for 2 years because they were caught driving badly, I would also LOVE that mentality towards driver safety. A teenager in the US that CAUSED a traffic accident SHOULD have their license taken away for 2 years. Then, they would NEVER forget it - which may stop them from driving drunk in their future life and KILLING someone. I would NOT like to be killed by a bad driver, would you? A liberal, country of GOOD drivers - what's NOT to like? Go New Zealand, you rule!

Yes, communism is bad. WE have a greater chance of going off the deep end in the OTHER direction. I agree with ALL the rest of that good discussion.

Apples and oranges and other fancy fruit.....I looked at New Zealand that way.......by the by they speak English in New Zealand.

You get “points” for tiny infractions. Such as stopping a little too close to an intersection. Going a tiny amount above the speed limit in a school zone. Not coming to a full stop at a stop sign. I’m not talking about major things, like DWI, totally reckless speeding, etc. The government is a nanny state in New Zealand.

A large number of people want to leave New Zealand to go to Australia because the wages/costs increase their standard of living significantly.

A tiny two bedroom, one bathroom condo costs about $500K and a tiny home costs over $1M. The equivalent home could be found for about $250K.

The food costs were at least double, maybe triple.

But New Zealand and Australia are great places to visit. But be prepared to spend a lot of money on that trip!

They do speak English in New Zealand, but with a significant accent. Not as thick an accident as the UK.

Thank you! Saying that I am only SLIGHTLY ignorant is the BEST thing anyone has said to me in years. I have real tears in my eyes. This IS an emotional moment. I could fall in LOVE. .......I remember back.....I got a term paper back from an English Professor with a C+ grade on it and the message......"only slightly ignorant".....
..........Those were the days, my friend ......we wrote and never won....

3 percent a year and inflation right now is 1.6%, and social security increase for next year is 1.3%, so you have a small loss of purchasing power at a restaurant. However, a healthy economy has at minimum a 2% inflation rate, or higher, as stated by the goals of the federal reserve.

What is not measured very well, is the economics of price stability. If prices are to remain flat, and corporations want to grow income, there are only two answers, more customers, or cutting costs. Cutting costs involve eliminating jobs, and substitution of cheaper ingredients. . both of those do not have unlimited opportunities to growth.

So, in the end, from behavioral economics, is to have inflation run between 2 and 3% with salaries increase about the same, so that citizens see a wage increase, they feel good, and they can still afford the same items. . . not bad feelings. . . and companies can grow revenue a small amount, still good.

If you want more, you have to work harder or smarter, but inflation and price increases at the current level are not a significant business killer, as some wildly generalized predictions have been posted.

finance guy

Absolutely correct.as to the situation TODAY using standard economic theory. Interest rates are low and the Fed is under strong pressure to keep it that way. That could change with changes in Washington. Also, CV (if unresolved in 2021) will / (or could) cause a DISTORTION in standard economic theory. WE could have negative interest rates or rampant inflation in 2021. Many Historians believe that in the US and the world there will be normal History before CV and strange, distorted History after CV. It could be that big of a factor. China could emerge the dominant economic country.

Apart from the "arguments" concerning effects, pro and con, of minimum wage, I would like to salute you. I, like you and many here who have commented, have had some rough times, but to go days without eating (and probably those were the days when you were not fed anything at public schools either), and to live in a cold climate with no heat at all, is a testimony to you and your determination (which you must have had in spades to be able to retire and enjoy the life we have here), and hard work. It made me remember what my mother told me, no matter how difficult we had it (mother also widowed and with no particular skills plus did not even drive !), that there is always someone who has it tougher. Good for you, if only these days people had what you had inside to overcome such a horrific life, and not just to survive, but to truly overcome as you have, such people today who take personal responsibility and don't look to the government to improve their lot in life, are rare, and you and others in "our generation", perhaps a buzz word today but so true, are among the hearty, and determined, folks who really made this country what it is. Imagine being not only without food for days as you were, and without heat or shelter, and then taking off in a wagon to the complete unknown in search of a better life. Hope you and I are not a "dying breed", but I fear younger folks today could not make it.

I don't disagree at all, it's just that sometimes that is very difficult to do. For a number of years I hired individuals for positions in public schools, from teaching to class room assistants, from custodians to clerical people. It was extremely difficult to hire and KEEP good class room assistants for the teaching staff. They were paid minimum wage as per the union dictates. Since they were not highly paid, many thought nothing of picking up personal packages, making trips to the post office, even picking up dry cleaning and dropping off checks to pay utility bills, all on paid time. Yet, I was forbidden to raise the wages of those assistants who went out of their way to help the classroom teachers, who often stayed long hours with no hourly wages, to get ready for a special event for parents or the community. In other words, when every one must be treated "evenly", "fairly as some call it", there is no incentive to excel, to go the extra mile as you pointed out. Everyone was still going to make $8 an hour, and the chances of loosing your job for doing personal errands on paid time ? No possibility ! The time and effort, plus the amount of taxpayer MONEY put into doing background checks and then paid training hours required to instill the skills needed to work with young students, guarantees job security. It's ALL INSIDE the individual, some will always give their all and do their best and more. Others will get by with as little as possible. It's in every setting, from hospitals to schools, from restaurants to factory floors. It's a difficult quality to "screen" for. Most individuals are able to pass personal interviews and convince the interviewer they are dedicated, hard working, individuals who would never attempt to "cheat" their employer out of the time the paid for.

As the write above pointed out, it takes a good sized pool of individuals to find a few responable individuals, and when you do, you "should" (but can't always) be able to reward them with higher wages; if only as an example to others that hard work and dedication does pay off ! A "chart" or "agreement", that gives the specific amount you will be paid each hour and for each year of work for an organization, regardless of your "hustle" as the writer above called it, only guarantees mediocre performance from "some" (never ALL) folks, while others will always give 125%, rather they are having a "bad hair day or a migraine day". Never could find a way around that in my personal administrative experience. From the CEO and CFO, to the support workers, incentives, in the form of $$$'s, work ! It's a powerful motivator, just profuse "thanks" are not always enough.

Oh how right YOU ARE ! Good grief, and one more point, not only the taxes taxes taxes, and getting LESS for all those taxes, but also you forgot to mention taxing your pensions to the hilt too. I know, probably people who came from (just a guess, maybe Wyoming, South Dakota, I don't know, but I have not found a less expensive location (though friends have told me Texas is even more affordable). Family members who "thought" Arkansas would be a good choice over Michigan for retirement, really experienced a shock, and yesterday they got another tax raise... so don't look that direction if you are trying to get out of Florida, but I don't blame anyone for trying to do the best they can for themselves !

Are you serious, or just making a little levity in these depressing times ? If you are really serious, try Illinois or Michigan, you'll really find you can appreciate Florida after that. Can't speak for N.J., but if it is really that inexpensive, since it does have an ocean, I would consider living there !