If the post above about average houses costing $90k there are true, then the Amazon workers are earning about $26k a year, that's around 3.5x salary to house cost.

I live in the middle of The Netherlands; the average house price is 360k and the average wage is 36k, that's around 10x salary to house cost.

One important point: in almost all cases in NL both partners work, the general rule is that women work part time and increasingly couples under 40 both work full time. That's how the insane house market is propped up.

Healthcare costs are around 200 EUR / person / month at the limit (you pay ~110 and the deductible is about 900 EUR a year).

You need to add costs of education, which is free in Netherlands, and multiple other social services (like public transit).

Education is most certainly not free here. It would cost me 20k to do a Masters, and my wife took on debts of ~80k to pay for her education.

Cost of living in the middle of nowhere in the US is almost certainly less than nearly anywhere in Western Europe. The media home value in Bessemer is like $90,000.

Go on...

Food? Health care? Transportation?

If you have a counterpoint, make it.

I'll try for you: the cohesive view of cost of living would show these rubes to be peasants to the unskilled European's millionaire.

Interesting point, where's your data?

> Interesting point, where's your data?

Exactly. Why would u/flavorous make a drive-by comment and not cite any data?

I expected something like this, for international comparisons:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cost-of-liv...

rayiner did give a data point. Just not a source. And that's because they were indulging you.

That link and your refrains about data are signs of flailing due to lack of rhetorical content. Your argument is Europe good; US bad.

Food and housing is extremely cheap in America. Americans have an extremely low cost of living and low taxes compared to every other wealthy country. Also higher wages for similar jobs.

One reason everyone thinks it's bad is journalists are 1. naturally neurotic people 2. all have student debt 3. all live in expensive cities like NYC and 4. their industry has fewer people earning less than they did 10 years ago. Similar for some other activist classes, though not all.

> their industry has fewer people earning less than they did 10 years ago

has fewer people and they earn less, not fewer people who earn less.

The COL in Bessemer is going to be less than in Western Europe. Do you live in America?

You're right that healthcare could be more expensive, but there is also employer-covered health insurance.

Healthcare is likely less expensive at that income level. An ACA silver plan in Alabama for a single person making $30,000/year is expected to cost $85/month with subsidies: https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

That’s 3.4% of income, lower than the typical health insurance tax in European counties.

Food in America is cheap. Transportation is pretty cheap because gas is cheap and old Japanese cars are low maintenance. At $15/hour healthcare is cheap because everywhere in the US has subsidized healthcare through the ACA.

I think the cost of living in Small town Alabama is going to compare pretty favorably to anywhere in Europe.

Until you get sick and/or can't work that is.

Up thread there were claims of reasonable (by broken American healthcare system standard) zero cost insurance plans offered by Amazon. Was that true or false?

asdff's point is that if you're unable to work, you no longer have access to those benefits since you will no longer have a job.

Every state I’m aware of has workers comp, federally everyone gets COBRA, Medicare, Medicaid, SS disability, short and long term disability- these are all things.

Are they perfect? No. Pretending the systems flaws are somehow Amazon being evil vs the American medical and safety net being a morass of bureaucracy and bullshit is just wrong though.

Good point, it's even cheaper in Bessemer AL than basically anywhere in Europe, too

energy is cheaper in the US: electricity and gasoline (half price or cheaper). Groceries are significantly cheaper (food is of lower quality, but at least cheaper). Sales tax is around 20% in Europe vs 4% in Alabama. Property tax is a quarter of what it is generally in Europe...I can go on and on. If you are not a felon, you own a car and are healthy, life is pretty easy in the US, even for a low wage worker.

You should include car costs ( + gasoline, maintenance, insurance) vs walking/biking/public transit. And healthcare costs, and education costs, and social safety net ( meaning that you need less of a savings account to be able to avoid disaster ).

I'm certain that a small town in Italy or Spain could come out cheaper.

Ditto life expectancy, suicide rates, and other happiness index stuff.

Apropos of nothing: Much pedantry about wages in a blighted area. Crickets about billionaires sharing some of their cheddar with the peons.

Crap, i also forgot time off, maternity/paternity leave, "sick days", etc. It's hard to put a price on 30 days of paid vacation per year.