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Which has no relevance without understanding the cost of living in that nation. If it took 3000 bucks a month to live, yeah, that's bad. But if you can survive on 50 bucks, dayum... that's good.And El Salvadore's minimum wage is US $192 per month. which probably has more relevance in the USA than does Switzerlands.
I didn't say it was 'remarkably high'. Read, comprehend, comment.
I said it was remarkably high considering they 'live better'. If they live better, one would expect them to have a lower suicide rate than us.
Logic. They don't. They have a higher rate.
We love the Big Mac Index.Trade unions in Switzerland claim they have collected enough signatures to force a referendum on a proposal to introduce a minimum wage of 22 Swiss francs ($25) an hour.
That is about twice the minimum wage of 9 euros ($12.40) in neighboring France.
A spokesman for the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, or SGB, says more than 121,000 people have so far signed the request for a vote.
Link: finance.yahoo.com/news/Swiss-unions-push-referendum-apf-2709741278.html?x=0&.v=1
Cost of Living
The cost of living in Switzerland is among the highest in the world, with the cities of Zurich and Geneva ranked second and third most expensive, respectively.
Swiss bank UBS releases a Prices and Earnings study every three years with some updates in between. Oslo, Norway, currently tops the list of the most expensive place to live.
The 2009 report found that a worker in Zurich would have to log nine hours on the job to afford an iPod Nano, the same as a worker in New York. The study also found that residents in Geneva and Zurich pay around 20 per cent more on average for products, services and accommodations than people in other Western European cities. Food is particularly expensive, with prices in Switzerland around 45 per cent more than the western European average.
The Economist uses a “gratifyingly simple” way of calculating purchasing-power parity by using the price of a Big Mac. According to the 2010 Big Mac Index, the Swiss must pay $6.78 for the same burger that would cost $3.71 in the United States.
The Federal Statistics Office produces a “Panorama” report that tracks the consumer price index. It shows that food, housing and utilities are all well above the European Union average. Telecommunications, personal transport and alcohol cost less than the EU average.
The cost of living in Switzerland is among the highest in the world, with Geneva and Zurich near the top of the list. - swissinfo
Mark Faber is an investment guru who once said the only way to keep money in the US is to spend money on prostitutes and beer. (Wikipedia)A fucking Big Mac in Zurich is like $19.00
I dunno, cheap booze and internetAme®icano;4374662 said:It won't effect Americans at all.
Sweden has high pay and 50% income taxes. They live better and are more secure than Americans.
True. But unlike Americans, Swedes mindset is towards work, not handouts.
Actually, their social programs surpass the US. Vacation time, medical coverage, new mothers and fathers take time off for infant care, etc.Ame®icano;4374662 said:It won't effect Americans at all.
Sweden has high pay and 50% income taxes. They live better and are more secure than Americans.
True. But unlike Americans, Swedes mindset is towards work, not handouts.
Soooo the cost of living there is 6 times that of Minneapolis/St. Paul.A fucking Big Mac in Zurich is like $19.00
Soooooo... The same culture as West Virginia, but with yodelling, alpenhorns and better chocolate?I dunno, cheap booze and internetAme®icano;4374662 said:It won't effect Americans at all.
Sweden has high pay and 50% income taxes. They live better and are more secure than Americans.
True. But unlike Americans, Swedes mindset is towards work, not handouts.
I'm sure it will be vastly amusing.Really?Horse patoot! Pub crappe!! LOL
Listen up, everybody. Franco is going to explain how a rise in the cost of labor does not cause a corresponding rise in the cost of goods and services.
This should be good.
Hey! No fair using facts! It hurts the lefties' feelings!Trade unions in Switzerland claim they have collected enough signatures to force a referendum on a proposal to introduce a minimum wage of 22 Swiss francs ($25) an hour.
That is about twice the minimum wage of 9 euros ($12.40) in neighboring France.
A spokesman for the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, or SGB, says more than 121,000 people have so far signed the request for a vote.
Link: finance.yahoo.com/news/Swiss-unions-push-referendum-apf-2709741278.html?x=0&.v=1
Cost of Living
The cost of living in Switzerland is among the highest in the world, with the cities of Zurich and Geneva ranked second and third most expensive, respectively.
Swiss bank UBS releases a Prices and Earnings study every three years with some updates in between. Oslo, Norway, currently tops the list of the most expensive place to live.
The 2009 report found that a worker in Zurich would have to log nine hours on the job to afford an iPod Nano, the same as a worker in New York. The study also found that residents in Geneva and Zurich pay around 20 per cent more on average for products, services and accommodations than people in other Western European cities. Food is particularly expensive, with prices in Switzerland around 45 per cent more than the western European average.
The Economist uses a gratifyingly simple way of calculating purchasing-power parity by using the price of a Big Mac. According to the 2010 Big Mac Index, the Swiss must pay $6.78 for the same burger that would cost $3.71 in the United States.
The Federal Statistics Office produces a Panorama report that tracks the consumer price index. It shows that food, housing and utilities are all well above the European Union average. Telecommunications, personal transport and alcohol cost less than the EU average.
The cost of living in Switzerland is among the highest in the world, with Geneva and Zurich near the top of the list. - swissinfo
It's because...uhhh...because...errr...because they want to see for themselves how TRULY AWFUL America is! Yeah, that's it!They have a remarkably high suicide rate considering they 'live better' than us.
I love the argument that surrendering 50%of your pay is a good thing... especially when the 47 per centers make that argument.
I think it's sad that Americans constantly compare us to other countries. We were not founded to be like other countries. The glory of American is its uniqueness. I am always saddened when some Americans look enviously at other countries. Interestingly, those countries look enviously at us. Why? Because we are free and they are not. They appreciate our freedom and we, apparently, would like to give it up in order to be 'taken care of.
Clue for ya, my lefty friends.... more people apply to come into American than any other nation on earth. Why is that? Not for the free ride.
Yup. That was amusing. Franco would have used more incoherent obscenity, but that's okay.Listen up, everybody. Franco is going to explain how a rise in the cost of labor does not cause a corresponding rise in the cost of goods and services.
Wouldn't trust Franco to do it coherently, so I will.
The idea that a rise in the cost of labor causes a "corresponding" (i.e., equal in value) rise in the cost of goods and services is based on the fallacy that businesses charge customers what they MUST. This is the flip side of the idea that businesses pay workers what they CAN.
In fact, it's the other way around; businesses pay workers (and suppliers) what they must, and charge customers what they can, i.e. what customers will pay. Pricing is not done on a cost-plus basis, or not in very many businesses. Generally, it's done by crossing two graph lines, one that shows rising revenue per sale with rising prices, and the other that shows declining sales volume with rising prices. Where these two lines cross is the optimum price point. Only if cost of production (including labor) is high enough that the optimum price point is actually unprofitable, i.e. results in a loss per sale, will increased labor costs force a price increase.
There is a way that increased pay can cause price increases, but it has nothing to do with the cost of production; rather, increased wages = increased consumer demand, which can, at least temporarily, result in higher prices as a simple supply-demand function. Generally, though, production is expanded to meet the increased demand, so that the price increase is only temporary.
If we look at the sharp increases in pay in the late 1940s and 1950s after World War II ended, we do not see corresponding increases in prices to match that. Nor is there any reason to expect a corresponding price hike from the Swiss minimum wage law.
They have a remarkably high suicide rate considering they 'live better' than us.
I love the argument that surrendering 50%of your pay is a good thing... especially when the 47 per centers make that argument.
I think it's sad that Americans constantly compare us to other countries. We were not founded to be like other countries. The glory of American is its uniqueness. I am always saddened when some Americans look enviously at other countries. Interestingly, those countries look enviously at us. Why? Because we are free and they are not. They appreciate our freedom and we, apparently, would like to give it up in order to be 'taken care of.
Clue for ya, my lefty friends.... more people apply to come into American than any other nation on earth. Why is that? Not for the free ride.
Clue for ya, my lefty friends.... more people apply to come into American than any other nation on earth. Why is that? Not for the free ride.
Correlation or causation is the REAL question!The Swiss have one the the highest rates of herpes in Europe...just sayin
They have a remarkably high suicide rate considering they 'live better' than us.
1) No, it's not remarkably high. The suicide rate in Switzerland is about 15 out of every 100,000 people. By contrast, the rate in the US is about 11.5 out of every 100,000 people. So the Swiss have a slightly higher rate than us. That's not remarkably high. The Swiss do have a high rate of suicide by gun in comparison to the rest of Europe. But, all of this is attributable to several additional factors. The Swiss have some of the easiest access to guns in all of Europe. So it's only natural that they'll have higher rates of suicide by gun, while other European countries have higher rates of other means. Also, Switzerland has legal assisted suicide for a variety of things. So every cancer patient who decides to end their life for medical reasons becomes a part of the official suicide rate. There is also the "suicide tourism" that has emerged from Switzerland's right-to-die-friendly laws, which artificially contribute to their suicide rate. And finally, the overall population in Switzerland is much less than the US population, which tends to artificially create an slightly higher rates. All these things taken into consideration, it's probably safe to expect a REAL reflection of suicide in Switzerland would show they are less likely to commit suicide than we are.
2) Suicide is almost always a matter of mental health. It has nothing to do with "living well." People who have "great" lives can suffer from clinical depression or other major mental illnesses, which can drive them to attempt suicide. Even if we were simply take Switzerland's suicide rate on face value, and ignore the full consideration of all the circumstances, a higher suicide rate in Switzerland would be entirely useless in determining how "well" the Swiss live. It would, at best, imply their mental health services are less effective than our own.
I didn't say it was 'remarkably high'. Read, comprehend, comment.
I said it was remarkably high considering they 'live better'. If they live better, one would expect them to have a lower suicide rate than us. Logic. They don't. They have a higher rate. Got that? Good.
