Minimum wage around the world

[eridani]

Well, the develped world anyway.

[sheshe2]

1. Wake up America!

Thank for your post eridani.

[Doctor_J]

2. And most of those come with free healthcare

and lots of other essentials that cost dearly here

[BrotherIvan]

3. To be honest, it's not free, it is paid for, but I understand where you are coming from

The Danish wage looks like it is trying to keep up with the very expensive cost of living. For their very high taxes, they also get clean, safe cities with great public transportation and cops that carry night sticks at best. There are parks, forests and green spaces throughout the city as it is planned for people, not industry. They don't pay for education and students actually receive a stipend. They get many employee perks such as vacation time that only high level management gets, family leave, sick leave etc. They have some of the best social programs and services in the world.

And you know what they joke about? That their military should just be replaced with an answering machine. That's how they have nice things.

[progressoid]

4. And education.

[Prophet 451]

9. Well, it's not free exactly

But their society has decided it's better to make sure that everyone gets healthcare by funding it through taxation.

[Old Crow]

5. A few thoughts regarding this graphic...

#1. I love it. It drives home an important message and needs to be seen by as many people as possible. I've forwarded it to friends and family.

#2. It's not completely accurate. Due to fluctuations in the currency exchange rates and variations among these countries in the cost of living, this kind of dollar-equivalent wage comparison is pretty fuzzy. Be forewarned: a lot of folks on the right will use this criticism to dismiss the entire graphic.

#3. PPP is more exact. A better comparison of minimum wages has been created by economists using something called Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). If you compare the annual earnings of minimum wage workers by PPP, you get a more precise comparison. Here are the figures for several countries, including a few in this graphic (below); all figures are in annual International Dollars, which is a hypothetical currency based on PPP. Because Germany and Denmark do not have national minimum wages (rather, the minimum wage in most fields is typically supported by strong union representation), they are not listed.

France: 19,740
Luxembourg: 23,265
Australia: 21,654
Belgium: 20,408
Netherlands: 20,375
New Zealand: 18,838
Canada: 16,261
USA: 15,080

You'll notice that in this more exact comparison of wages, the disparity between the United States and other countries is not as great as in the graphic.

#4. But PPP comparisons ignore the cost of healthcare and higher education. When you throw the added financial burden on the American worker of those two factors, the numbers provided in the original graphic are not far off.

Bottom line: Although the graphic is a somewhat ham-fisted simplification, it's overall message is on-target. The American worker, compared to his peers in other developed nations, is getting the shaft.

[dreamnightwind]

8. Excellent post, thanks - eom

[kmlisle]

6. Traveled in New Zealand and Australia last WInter

And all the wait staff made 15 an hour plus more for overtime - up to 30/hr on weekends. The economy is booming - lots of restaurants lots of people eating out and shopping because they can afford it. And they laugh politely at Americans for tipping because they already are making a living wage. They think our system is crazy.

[Old Crow]

7. ... and they're right. :)

Love me some New Zealand! I've never been there, but it just seems an all-around awesome country.

[kmlisle]

12. Highly recommended!

Aukland


Waiheke Island wine tasting


Milford Sound


The Southern Alps

[Old Crow]

13. Thanks for sharing your photos.

Looks like the trip of a lifetime, with some drop-dead gorgeous scenery. I wanna go more than ever now.

[Prophet 451]

10. It's about $10.25 here (UK)

And that's because our conservatives prevent anything above the automatic rate-of-inflation raises.

[indepat]

11. TPTB think $7.25 an hour is just about right and the people in the meantime are hyped as to how

Amurika is the greatest nation in the world to live. This dichotomous cacophony is trumpeted daily by the MSM.