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LOL...growing up,we never had A/C,our brand new high school didn't have A/C,I can't remember anyone who had a car with A/C,public transport didn't have A/C...but today you would simply DIE if the temp isn't constant all year round....
And this was growing up in sub-tropical Australia.
My sisters house in Perth Western Australia only has A/C in the living room.
It should be illegal to sell A/Cs that kick in below a temp of, say, 80°F indoors And 70° should be the lowest possible temp after cooling.
And the Germans should develop a system to store the summer heat for cold winter days instead of developing one stupid car after another
Let's say that both workers work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks out of the year. (I understand that Europeans usually take more time than that for vacation but to keep it as even playing field as possible, let's say they both only take two weeks.)
Gross annual income for Germany: $134,280
Gross annual income for USA: $67,540
Wow! What a difference!
Let's do the taxes:
Germany at around 45% for the individual: He loses $60426 just in income tax.
USA at around 35% (and that's being generous since he's middle income): He loses $23,639
Germany takes home: $ 73,854
USA takes home: $43,901
Eesh, already the gap is closing rapidly.
We haven't even bought groceries yet!
They each spend $300 a month on groceries and of that $300, $150 is for actual food not already prepared, for Germany it's 7% on that type of food, 19% on everything else.
USA, depends on the state, so we'll go with a higher sales tax, maybe match it close to CA and say it's 9%, no tax on non prepared food.
Germany groceries: $10.50 tax on food and $28.50 on other groceries. So his bill for groceries is now $339 per month or $4068 per year.
USA groceries: $0 tax on non prepared food and $13.50 on other groceries. So his bill for groceries is now $313.50 per month or $3762 per year.
Taking out taxes and groceries, Germany has $69,786
Taking out taxes and grocieres, USA has $40,139
So far, we went from a difference in wages at $66,740 and by just paying income tax and buying groceries for one year, the difference has dwindled to $29,647.
We haven't even got to car tax, dog tax, church tax, t.v., internet, radio tax (that is in addition to the bills they pay)...
So as you can see, it really ISN'T that different than what our workers are making over here.
What about cost of living? Isn't that more for less in Germany? You know, rent or mortgage payment.
Let's rename this thread the "desertdetroiter European fanboy thread."
You are posting a LOT of incomplete truths and putting your liberal twists on things in Germany DD.
I'll call you on them soon enough.
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And 70° should be the lowest possible temp after cooling.
