Raven Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Dare I ask, how much do you earn? I assure you, whilst the "average wage" of the UK is pretty high, there are one hell of a lot of people who are earning a lot less than it. A couple of years ago there were two surveys announced around the same time; the first survey stated that the average wage for the UK was £25,000; the second survey stated that 1 in 4 workers were earning £100,000 or more. Do you see the problem, there? 1/4 of the workforce are earning all of the money needed to create an average wage of £25,000; what does that leave for the other 3/4 to be earning? Let me just say, not a lot. the other 3/4 would be earning less than £100,000 . I see what you are getting at (sorry, but your maths explanation aint cool!) If 1/4 is earning >£100,000 , then to lower the average wage to £25,000 the remaining 3/4 must be earning £0 or be in debt! i got no other suggestions apart from saving money, or street crime.
SpinesN Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Ya... that universal health care.... must be nice to have doctors that don't work you for your money when you go to see them >_> The whole dynamic of life is different over here in the states. You may have higher taxes but on average you live better lives. Mass transit that works, a population that is not sedated, better education (on average :p), and of course... better food. I would love to pay an extra $75 on a game console for that. Of course that's just how I see the world.
Darv Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 The average wage in other countries most likely follows a similar pattern. So in my mind it's a non issue. If you're living in the US. You will be earning less so things are cheaper. But you should still be spending the same percentage of your wage (give or take) Another point about the higher price is in the US there is much higher demand, so everythign can be done in bulk. In Europe they need different packaging for each country, different distribution. It's just not a similar comparison.
Patch Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 the second survey stated that 1 in 4 workers were earning £100,000 or more. As Raven rightly pointed out, that is extremely unlikely. Who did this survey? It reminds me of that classic Tommy Cooper joke: Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. And there are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my dad. Or my older brother Colin Or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu. But I think it's Colin.
ZeldaFreak Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Its not really 1 in 5 its more likely the 1st quintile which only accounts for around 10% of the population
Patch Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Its not really 1 in 5 its more likely the 1st quintile which only accounts for around 10% of the population Thanks for that Einstein. Not only do you have the pedantry of a Tax Official, you are also completely wrong: Earth: 6,591,833,551 (http://www.worldometers.info) China: 1,312,700,833 (http://www.hpwt.de/China/Bevoelkerunge.htm)
ZeldaFreak Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Thanks for that Einstein. Not only do you have the pedantry of a Tax Official, you are also completely wrong: Earth: 6,591,833,551 (http://www.worldometers.info) China: 1,312,700,833 (http://www.hpwt.de/China/Bevoelkerunge.htm) of the Uk the 5 quintiles are what most econimists use to show poverty, statistics, but its about 1/5, but I was taking about the richest 10% not the amount of people generally
YenRug Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 the other 3/4 would be earning less than £100,000 . I see what you are getting at (sorry, but your maths explanation aint cool!) If 1/4 is earning >£100,000 , then to lower the average wage to £25,000 the remaining 3/4 must be earning £0 or be in debt! i got no other suggestions apart from saving money, or street crime. Strangely enough, that was exactly the point I was making. Whilst companies claim we have got a high average wage, it's a false basis to justify high prices, because the majority of people are actually earning a lot less than that; it's down to a small group earning incredibly large wages that are lifting up the average, to an unrepresentative level of earnings in the UK. Whilst he's currently out of work, at the moment, the last job my step-father was working in was paying less than the job he had been doing 15 years ago. That's not in "adjusted values" either, we're talking actual numerical difference. Employers are going out of their way to pay as little as possible, in general, and look for loopholes to ensure that they have got as few responsibilities as possible, too. They do this in an effort to maximise profits, but then they complain that their sales are down. Anyone care to guess why people aren't buying as much? Is it possible that people haven't got the money to spare?
Teppo Holmqvist Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Average income is often calculated by removing highest 10 percent (filthy rich billionaries) and lowest 10 percent (those who live in extreme poverty) from calculations. This is fairly logical, because guy like Bill Gates could seriously ramp up average income and those who are in major debt would lower it.
Phube Posted September 19, 2006 Author Posted September 19, 2006 Average wage in Leicestershire/East Midlands is £18,000. FACT. That's average!! We're well rich... People must remember that London/South East skews EVERY piece of economic data!!!
Teppo Holmqvist Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 People must remember that London/South East skews EVERY piece of economic data!!! That's why these calculations are often balanced to the take note of average inflation, higher prices and variable living standards. Of course this can create sometimes funny results. Did you know, for example, that insurance companies have calculated that suicide only makes your life 30 days shorter than it would statistically be?
Kurtle Squad Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Is it possible that people haven't got the money to spare? I definatly think so. There are so many bills and such and all that stuff; Food, Home Insurance & Contents Insurance, Electricity, Water, Gas, Morgage/Rent (unless Morgage is payed:P) Then if you've got a vehicle there's Petrol/Diesel prices, Insurance; and if not and you wanna get far you've gotta use rip-off PublicTransport *coughbusescouch*
PioRow Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 The averages are caculated in different ways. The mean average would be all the salaries added up and divided by the number of people. As people have said this doesnt give a accurate indication of the average salary because if the super rich. The best way to calculate average salary is the modal value. You put the salaries into defined boundaries then the range with the most individuals is the modal value. Either way we pay a lot of tax and it pushes up the price of everything. But I would rather live here in the UK with free health care than the USA. An extra £40 on the cost of a Wii hurts the wallet but in the bigger picture its worth it.
Nintenchris Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 But I would rather live here in the UK with free health care than the USA. Our free health care isnt worth having if truth be told... you can end up being more ill just visiting our hospitals. Anyway i cant understand what all the fuss is about... this is nothing new.. we always pay more than anywhere else in the world... and if you think about it most of you guys would have brought a Wii at £149.99 and then brought Wii sports for £30-£40 anyway so as i have already said ... whats all the fuss about?
Caris Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 People who complain about the price shouldnt be allowed a Wii.
BlueStar Posted September 19, 2006 Posted September 19, 2006 Our free health care isnt worth having if truth be told... you can end up being more ill just visiting our hospitals. Yeah, much better to get hit by a car and wake up to someone asking for your credit card, or live in one of the most developed countries in the world where millions and millions of people don't have access to healthcare. Our health service gets an unfair rap, partially because people buy the kind of tabloid scaremongering you refer to above. Just because only those who can afford it get healthcare, doesn't mean that the healthcare service is going to be any better or free of scandal. Look at the scandals in the US which largely stem from the capitalistic approach to the production opf medicines leading to huge and ultra-powerful multi-billion dollar companies being able to cover up side effects and falsify effectiveness of treaments.
Dilli Gee Posted September 27, 2006 Posted September 27, 2006 I'll continue my new rant here then: Nintendo need to change bank or exchange agencies, because Microsoft have managed to accurately convert €199 into £129 (well actually it's £5 less) for their new HD-DVD player. Not only that, it comes with King Kong on HD-DVD and a Universal Media Remote (so all in all, £85 for the add-on).
Aimless Posted September 27, 2006 Posted September 27, 2006 I'll continue my new rant here then: Nintendo need to change bank or exchange agencies, because Microsoft have managed to accurately convert €199 into £129 (well actually it's £5 less) for their new HD-DVD player. Not only that, it comes with King Kong on HD-DVD and a Universal Media Remote (so all in all, £85 for the add-on). Here's a phrase for you: loss leader. Enjoy.
Nintendork Posted September 27, 2006 Posted September 27, 2006 We're going the way the Japanese are.. house prices so expensive that everyone rents. Thus a generation of youths with lots of money and little to no financial investment for later in life. It'll be fun until we need a pension and haven't been able to save. To those who question the NHS can suck the balls of the people who 3 generations ago made it. You have no idea what it means to offend the sense of social justice until you are upon the recieving end. You were born in a NHS hospital, you are healthy, again I will emphasis the shut up noob factor.
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