When we were in the US, I commented on how inexpensive things seemed. Then I got to wondering if maybe it was only on a few select items, or if it was the different sizing of the packages that was throwing me, or maybe the exchange rate.
So I sat down and did the math. To account for things like the exchange rate and different standards of living, I divided the average hourly wage for each country ($25.71 in NZ, $20.90 in the USA) by the cost of the item in that country. That tells you the amount of time you have to work to afford the item.
To buy a McDonald's cheeseburger, New Zealanders have to work for five and a half minutes. Americans have to work for three minutes.
A dozen eggs costs 14 minutes here. Five minutes in the States.
Gallon of gas is 17 minutes in NZ (yes I converted liters to gallons). It's 9 minutes in the USA.
A pair of jeans: 3.5 hours NZ. 2.0 hours USA.
Month's rent: 66 hours NZ. 44 hours USA.
Of course these estimates would vary based on where you live (probably moreso in the US than in NZ, where there isn't such a dramatic disparity between Rich and Poor.) And this is based on gross income-- doesn't factor in the different tax rates.
But still. It seems that I wasn't imagining things; NZ really is more expensive. There's less room for luxury in a NZer's paycheck. Probably explains the frugal, no-frills attitudes around here.
Then I played around with my spreadsheet a little. Turns out that if the average US income dropped to $13/hr, then the relative costs of things would be a pretty good match to NZ.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
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2 comments:
Well $13/hr is closer to the average income in the U.P., so there you have it! Another similarity between the U.P. and N.Z. Love your nerdery!
This is really fascinating. Perhaps policy makers should perform similar mathematical gymnastics.
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