Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
They are likely looking at the lowest income bracket (if any) and comparing them.
Example a poor person in Norway "earns" 40x more than a poor person in Niger.
|
I think it would be much more likely that they are comparing the average income bracket than the lowest. The article didn't say anything about poor people in Norway vs. Niger. It said "According to the study, Norwegians earn 40 times more than the study's lowest-ranked country". I would assume that to mean average. I'm not sure where "poor" came from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
Look at Norways income tax and then tell me if anyone who can afford high speed internet in Canada would want to pay that.
|
Well, a Saudi would probably look at Canada's income tax and say "who would want to pay that?". That doesn't make Saudi Arabia, which has no personal income tax, a better place to live that Canada. Or a Norwegian may look at Canada and say "only 2 weeks of vacation a year, who would want that?".
You're only considering the cost side of the equation and not the benefits. People in Norway pay much higher taxes, true, but also have a much bigger range of benefits available to them, such as a much higher number of vacation days, higher compensation while on unemployment insurance, longer materiny/paternity leave (at full pay), etc.
The ratio of benefits to costs is whats important to consider here -- not just costs or benefits.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
If they were to look at the 35-50K income crowd, Norway wouldnt be to high on the list.
|
Why not? Do you mean the 30-50K crowd in Canada or the 30-50K crowd in Norway. Either way, its not really comparable beause the average middle-class Norwegian earns considerably more than the average Canadian (according to the study). Either way, if you mean middle class, I wager Norway would still top that list, since the study is comparing averages.
If you looked at the highest income earners in the country, then I think Norway would not be high on the list since they are paying high taxes and have relativley few advantages over the middle and lower classes. In this situation, I think the US would trounce everyone.