On 11/4/2014 terrier3 said: On 11/4/2014 muttmom said: Europeans pay higher taxes. The countries are similar in size to our states. Before the EU there was a vast difference in living conditions from country to country. The EU changed that. Residents of poorer countries, in general, live better but in the wealthier countries the life style is not what it once was.
If European countries can have their workers receive a living wage, free education and healthcare....we can do it - only bigger & better.
The lifestyle in Europe may not be what it once was...but the same can also be said here. The difference is that European countries share a larger portion of corporate profits with their workers - Germany is a great example.
A German worker at McDonalds doesn't get handed apps for food stamps and medicaid to go along with their new job. They make enough money to live on decently, with some left over too!
As of 2015 the German minimum wage will be 8.50 euros which I think is $10.61. They also live in a country that is more expensive than ours and are taxed more than we are. They have the lowest rate of home ownership in the developed world and are dead last in the EU for home ownership. The consumer prices are 3.04% higher in Germany compare to here. Their utilities are 57% higher in Germany than the US. Price of gas per gallon as of 10/27 is an average of $7.19/gallon. Transportation, sports and leisure, clothing and shoes and eating out is more expensive there than here. Car prices are about 20% higher than than here. The only that is less expensive there is rent and that is only in larger cities. If you make over 8005 euros a year the tax rate is 14% and up whereas here a $40.000 salary can expect an effective tax rate of 10%. The one tax that is less in Germany is the corporate tax rate which is 15% compared to ours at 35%. To say that a worker at McDonalds in Germany is making enough money to live and has some left over too is just not in any way accurate.
As for our minimum wage, I agree it could be raised but not to $15.00 hr. We have never had such a huge jump and while it may be sustainable for large corporations, it wouldn't be for small businesses and they are the ones who employ the larger percentage of minimum wage workers.
As a matter of fact only 4.3% of the our nation’s 75.9 million hourly-paid workers and 2.6% of all wage and salary workers are paid minimum wage. In 1979, when the BLS began regularly studying minimum-wage workers, they represented 13.4% of hourly workers and 7.9% of all wage and salary workers so that has lowered.50.4% of the people on minimum wage in this country are between the ages of 16-24 yrs old and 64% of the people on minimum wage are part time workers not full time.
In Australia where the minimum wage is $16.87/ hour teens still don't receive that amount. it goes by age.
Younger than 16-$6.21/hr
16- $7.98/hr
17- $9.75/hr
18- $11.52/hr
19 - $13.92/hr
20 - $16.48
And again their taxes are higher and cost of living is more expensive as well.
As for the stock market being fine, well how would we really know when $85 billion a month is being pumped into the economy and interest rates are being kept artificially low. We have the lowest labor participation rate in 40 yrs and the jobs that are being filled are part time not full time. I don't think this is fine.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
JFK
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