How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Western Europe

Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by tptacek on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:11PM (#33336834)

Based on the number you're citing for the average British salary, you're citing pounds, not dollars. That engineering salary you're citing is, in an ordinary UK economy, more like $225k than $150k (UK comp is also lower than US comp even accounting for currency). $225k is not an ordinary US household income.

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by orf on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:16PM (#33336875)

The median US salary is also 31k dollars, compared to 36k dollars in the UK

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by subsubzero on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:25PM (#33336960)

median US salary is $54K, given the pound to dollar exchange that would mean a UK workers average salary should be 47K(pounds) to equal a US workers average, its not even close.

https://www.thebalancemoney.com/average-salary-information-f...

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by tptacek on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:41PM (#33337152)

You're talking about the current, anomalously, news-breakingly low pound/dollar rate, right?

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by subsubzero on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:48PM (#33337227)

yeah I am, typically its $1.50-$1.25 to a pound.

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by lotsofpulp on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @06:56PM (#33337315)

But a typical US worker has to pay significant amount of health insurance premiums and has a significant $3k to $10k deductible and up to $17k out of pocket maximum.

Assuming the common 70%/30% premium cost sharing for a silver health insurance plan, an American has to pay somewhere around ~$200 per person at the minimum. That is $2,500+ per year for a healthy young adult, and goes up from there, especially for those with dependents who may not even be subsidized by the employer.

Although, the quality and quantity of healthcare actually delivered and received in both countries is heavily in flux, making comparisons even including insurance costs quite difficult.

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by Johnny555 on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @07:01PM (#33337367)

Based on the number you're citing for the average British salary, you're citing pounds, not dollars

There's not much difference between pounds and dollars these days. 1 GBP = 1.14 USD

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Re:How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Weste... by tptacek on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @07:16PM (#33337520)

Yes. That is a deeply abnormal state of affairs, and not the circumstances under which these salary numbers were set. People should be wary of analyses premised on the pound's current weakness.

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