Report: U.K. Set to Pass U.S. in Standard of Living

[CG51]

Report: U.K. Set to Pass U.S. in Standard of Living (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320508,00.html)

Living standards in Britain are set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy, the Times of London reported on Sunday.

According to the Times of London report, the calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product per capita, Britain can now hold its head up high in the economic stakes after more than a century of playing second fiddle to the Americans.

It says that GDP per head in Britain will be £23,500 this year, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting not only the strength of the pound against the dollar but also the U.K. economy’s record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s.

In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britain’s GDP per capita was 34 percent below that in America, 33 percent less than in Germany and 26 percent lower than in France. Now, not only have average incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8 percent above France (£21,700) and Germany (£21,665).

“The past 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK’s economic performance and its position in the world economy,” said Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economics. “No longer are we the ‘sick man of Europe’. Indeed, our calculations suggest that UK living standards are now a match for those of the US.”

[Lambert58]

Report: U.K. Set to Pass U.S. in Standard of Living (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320508,00.html)

Living standards in Britain are set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy, the Times of London reported on Sunday.

According to the Times of London report, the calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product per capita, Britain can now hold its head up high in the economic stakes after more than a century of playing second fiddle to the Americans.

It says that GDP per head in Britain will be £23,500 this year, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting not only the strength of the pound against the dollar but also the U.K. economy’s record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s.

In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britain’s GDP per capita was 34 percent below that in America, 33 percent less than in Germany and 26 percent lower than in France. Now, not only have average incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8 percent above France (£21,700) and Germany (£21,665).

“The past 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK’s economic performance and its position in the world economy,” said Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economics. “No longer are we the ‘sick man of Europe’. Indeed, our calculations suggest that UK living standards are now a match for those of the US.”

Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine...

[Flavius22]

everyone should have a living std

[Flamming_Python]

Meanwhile, a good 1/3rd of Europe is already way ahead...

[AmandlaEwetu]

Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine...




whats wrong with curry?

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

After all, happiness does lie in the abundance of possessions :roll:

I'd be much happier if we were less wealthy and materialistic if we were more thoughtful and independent.

[tbk107]

So if we each have one dollar and my dollar buys more in my country then your dollar buys you in yours how is your standard of living better then mine?

[shocker1]

We are the Americans, we do not powder our wigs anymore here. However the sudden appearance of cameras by the thousands handing out tickets in small town USA will have us up to speed in no time.

[Lazy Lob]

Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine...

That sounds just like what we said in the 1940's, but the other way around. Times do change don't they.

[oldsoak]

Its all figures, its not value. Fuel is cheaper, so is clothing and food is more or less the same. I can get clothed, housed and fed for less over in the States in a middle class neighbourhood than I can here. Probably pay less in taxes too so I'd end up with more disposable income that goes further.

[SOG]

everyone living should have a std

totally agree!

[Cralis]

We are the Americans, we do not powder our wigs anymore here. However the sudden appearance of cameras by the thousands handing out tickets in small town USA will have us up to speed in no time.

Yeah, thats what I was wondering too. I wonder what percentage of frivilous taxes, fines, and other bullcrap is paid out of everyone's income over there?

[daily666]

whats wrong with curry?

Since when curry was British?

[johanness]

Since when curry was British?

You're absolutly right, Daily :

1st : Curry have absolutly nothing to do with English food

2nd : it never can beat our German no. 1 : shish kebab

[I can't think of a name]

How you can quantify something so complicated and subjective is beyond me.

[Xaito]

Since when curry was British?

since they made the nasty spice powder we all know today out of a fine food.

[knowitall]

"Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine..."

it aint the 1970's we've moved on along way and off all the nations in the world the USA shouldn't be taking the piss out of anyones food

Since when curry was British?


roumor has it since a indian restraunt coustomer in newcastle complained they'd left the "Sauce" off his chicken tikka, and the resraunt owner made one up from tomato soup

you wont find much of whats served on a curry house menu anywhere in Bangladesh

"Probably pay less in taxes too so I'd end up with more disposable income that goes further."

unless you have serious ilness in which case you'll likey be bankrupt

what you gain on the swings you loose on the roundabouts

[BritSig]

Well there is nothing better than having Brit wages (with extras) whilst serving in a foreign country!! Evem more so for the Norwegians i would imagine.
I but all i can from the PX up the road with the dollar being so weak.

Cant complain here.

[SOG]

okay, this is a question i have since i am a little confused over the currency thingy.

okay, the pound is worth 2 bucks right?
BUT, what does that mean for the UK consumer?
for instance:
how much is minimum wage in the UK?
how much is considered decent pay?
how much is considered well to do pay?
i am asking just to try and figure out how money is seen by "joe average" in the UK and what working class makes what equivalent.


i know when someone from the UK came here, there money would go further, but HOW much further. IE one pound is worth two bucks, but how hard did you have to work to make that pound? which of course is determined by different levels of pay which in turn is determined by vocation.

from what the article says, average pay is now on par or higher with that of americans. to be honest, i always thought you guys made more money, but due to where you live (smaller continent) your living accomodations were more humble.

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

This news hightlights per capita GDP
I'm assuming there is more to the report.

What about home ownership, debt levels, etc?

[timetraveller]

Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine...


You wouldn't know the difference between Sockeye and Scottish Salmon .. if it were severd in front of you ..



And it has to be said .. American touristst lap up British Food because I've cooked for many a tourists .

[timetraveller]

since they made the nasty spice powder we all know today out of a fine food.


If there is one thing i hate if ruby Murrays for the simple fact ...

Most of the dishes were only created for the british Pallet ..

marsala, madras ,tindaloo, vindaloo

A proper curry is made from a variation of spices not out of all in one mix ...

[BritSig]

okay, this is a question i have since i am a little confused over the currency thingy.

okay, the pound is worth 2 bucks right?
Correct
BUT, what does that mean for the UK consumer?
Stuff in the states tends to be cheaper even without the favourable exchange rate, so with a 2 to 1 exchange rate our money goes further when buying online or at (as in my case) the Px.
for instance:
how much is minimum wage in the UK?
Depends on your age, however, an over 25 gets aroung £6/$12 an hour.
how much is considered decent pay?
As an OR-6/Brit Sgt/US SSGT i earn £32,000 basic as well as location based allowances etc
how much is considered well to do pay?
My wage is above most people i went to school with, they are on about £22,000. In the UK wage is very much affixed to location. From Cornwalls perspective £22,000 is a good wage yet average house price is well above £200,000/$400,000.
i am asking just to try and figure out how money is seen by "joe average" in the UK and what working class makes what equivalent.


i know when someone from the UK came here, there money would go further, but HOW much further. IE one pound is worth two bucks, but how hard did you have to work to make that pound? which of course is determined by different levels of pay which in turn is determined by vocation.
I was in the states for a 3 week course (washington DC/Dulles) and my money went along way. In the states, to me it seemed that stuff was either vastly cheaper or you got more of something for the same equivalent price.
You guys really dont walk anywhere!! No pavements/sidewalks in the area i was in.

from what the article says, average pay is now on par or higher with that of americans. to be honest, i always thought you guys made more money, but due to where you live (smaller continent) your living accomodations were more humble.
I wouldnt say "more humble", our houses are bricks and mortar not wood and pubes!! Also the UK has 60 million people in about half the size of texas. Land is more of a comodity here.

[CMNot]

okay, this is a question i have since i am a little confused over the currency thingy.

okay, the pound is worth 2 bucks right?
BUT, what does that mean for the UK consumer?
for instance:
how much is minimum wage in the UK?

Approx $11.


how much is considered decent pay?

Hard to say, everything in Britain defers to class, which gets more and more blurred. You could get a family of 2 adults, 2 children along happily on $60k per year, outside of London and the area to the south of London.


how much is considered well to do pay?

$60k plus is good; most families in their thirties with two partners contributing can bring in anywhere around $80k plus.


i know when someone from the UK came here, there money would go further, but HOW much further.

It feels like a lot further, mainly because percieved cost of living seems so little in the States. For instance your clothing costs less, fuel etc. Tax is a lot less.

The expensive bracket in Britain is lower middle class. Paying out all your taxes plus putting money away voluntarily into, for example, private medical insurance and a pensions scheme.

The most interesting thing with Britain and America as a comparison is the comparable social problems.

It is worth bearing in mind through all this that a $20k car in the US would probably be $40k in the UK; and also keep in mind average house price, currently somewhere around the $400k mark. My house I bought for $220k, it has two bedrooms, two living rooms, a small back yard and no parking - I was absolutely appalled traveling through a small town in Arkansas a couple of years back when I saw what I could have bought in the States with that money.

Crucially, having seen most of Britain and a hell of a lot of America, it certainly doesn't look like people are actually living a higher standard of living, particularly outside of the the South/South-East of England. To drive anywhere out hear feels like a crawl through rush hour traffic in any American city, without the release of the country all around. The big bonus is that you can emigrate from Britain with a solid grasp of the language of all the 'best' destinations, Europe is right on your back step and (if you are anything like the shop-a-holic my Mrs is) New Yoik is but a short flight away.

[Fuschimuschi]

Well, maybe the Brits have a larger income but I certainly don't think they have a higher standart of living.
Both my sister and my best friend are living in England at the moment and are less than impressed to be honest.

Of course they earn more but everything costs about 3 times more and don't get me started on healthcare, hospitals, public transport and so on.

[Mastermind]

I once participated in a study for relocating employees within the USA and how their living standards were affected and how relocation affected the general happiness of the employee and his/her family. Although pay remained the same, we found the sntandard of living was greatly reduced or expanded due to local economic conditions. for example, at the time (about 2001) an average 2000 sf house in rural New Mexico cost about 85 thousand...but relocating to Denver, that same house would cost 195 thousand. Employee salaries did not change due to location and so the family relocating to Denver were put in a postion of having to opt for a smaller home or poorer neighborhoods...thus their SOL was greatly reduced. The same is true just about anywhere you go. Some commodity traders capitialize greatly on this "local disparity". You will find, just about every commodity goes up or down baseed on local economic conditions. So, in my experience, to say the Birits have better or worse or the Americans have it....is simply rediculous. Living conditions and happiness levels are very subjective...one of our employees was a Japanese man who relocated from living in Tokyo to living in south east New Mexico...his wife almost had a nervous breakdown ... she was horrified by the wide open spaces and the lack of crowds of people..to her, the local Wal-Mart was practically vacant of people. He was ultimately able to make the conversion...living in huge house...said in Tokyo, his apartment was about 600 sq ft and cost over a million....in New Mexico, they lived in a $300,000 home of 3800 sq ft and were actually so unhappy, they eventually relocated back to Tokyo.....go figure. Happiness/unhappiness is very much a mental condition...same with "living Standards"

[oldsoak]

@mastermind

- OOI whereabouts are you stateside ? whats a "reasonable" comfortable wage there for a family of four in an four/five bedroom + garage in the average middle class neighbourhood and how much would you expect to fork out on a good health insurance policy ? Does the cost of living vary much between states ?

[LaoSexMachine]

@mastermind

- OOI whereabouts are you stateside ? whats a "reasonable" comfortable wage there for a family of four in an four/five bedroom + garage in the average middle class neighbourhood and how much would you expect to fork out on a good health insurance policy ? Does the cost of living vary much between states ?

here in houston, texas it's fairly cheap. you cant get a 5/6 bedroom house for around 500k in nice neighborhood. taxes are reasonable. as for insurance i have no clue.

[shocker1]

My house is 4br, 2ba, den, 3car detached garage, one car built in garage, and a screened in deck. I paid $75,000 in 2002. It is worth about $100,000 now. Taxes are low, crime is low with no tax on food. My health/dental insurance four 3 persons costs me $475 per month and my power bill runs an average of $100. Water is about $20 a month. The Chattanooga area is a nice place to live I would never live anywhere else.

[wotsnext]

My water is nearly £1,000 a year:-(

[shocker1]

My utilities and natural resources in the area are made possible by the TVA. A relic of when government actually worked.
http://www.tva.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority

[Mastermind]

@mastermind

- OOI whereabouts are you stateside ? whats a "reasonable" comfortable wage there for a family of four in an four/five bedroom + garage in the average middle class neighbourhood and how much would you expect to fork out on a good health insurance policy ? Does the cost of living vary much between states ?

Here in Las Vegas, Nevada..4 bedroom, 2500 sq ft, 3 car garage is about 430,000 and can go much higher...I'm talking in a nice neighborhood, tile roofs, moderate well kept lawns. My house is about 1880 sft, single story, three BR, three car garage, and was appraised at (150,000 tax) 200,000 resale and the real value (equivalent houses in area now selling at) at about 240,000.

Medical insurance for over age 60 is great since Nevada is one of only two states with state paid medical insurance...my wife meds only costs us about $145 a month...if we bought outside the program over $1,000 a month. I'm on 100% VA so my insurance costs nothing....However, my son just purchased a self employed health insurance policy for $800.00 a month

Reasonalbe wages are widely varying. Most guys where I work range from about 30 grand to 80 grand a year with most licensed engineers getting above 120...some project managers top out at 200. I would say a good Las Vegas dealer would make over 75 and coctail waitresses are easily making 35 to 75 and some as high as 120 (depending on the casino)...I know of car parking attendants ...22 year old kids...(at Caesars Palace) who are making well over 100. My real estate lady lives in a 3 million dollar home (well furnished...dives a Hummer for work and keeps a BMW and a Lincolin in the garage)..she purchased four years after getting her real estate license...she was a down and out widow with two kids.

The going rate for illegal labor is from $10.00 to $15.00 an hour (I don't use 'em...an accquaintance of mine does...Ahem!):).

I only wish I had moved here in my prime instead of wating for semi-retirement.

And right now, supposedly, property is in recession here! Go figure?>>!

Yes...COL is widly varrying...in Calif or NY right now, you can easily double the figures above...however, in New Mexico and SE Texas, and in many more remote areas of this state, cut them in half.

[SOG]

WOW! thanks everybody for the replies. thats pretty much gives me a good indication of wages and what your expected to live on. pretty interesting from another (your) perspective.


Here in Las Vegas, Nevada

yeah, my cousin wanted to move up there for a while citing good living costs as he was ticked he was working his ass off with two kids and a wife and couldn't afford decent sh!t in the irvine/mission viejo areas in california. in the end his wife wouldn't have it so they struggled to make ends meet eventually getting a divorce a few years later. ah, the trials of matrimony!

[wotsnext]

A friend of mine's mother lives in the US (Phoenix) for most of the year, She reckons she can live very well on very little money.......If (When) she gets ill I guess that would be the time to return.

[Hollis]

Well, I am very happy here in my little spot in Oregon, I can own just about any firearm made.

And knives, I have long ones and short ones and even bayonets.

I also have health insurance till I croke too. Then I get potted for free too.

I am sure there are those in the UK who are just as happy as I am, it all what you want with the different pros and cons a country has to offer.

Actually these threads are like pecker measuring contests.

As a madam once said, it is not the size of the tool it is the craftsman using it.

[Tokamak]

My water is nearly £1,000 a year:-(

What?!!! I have never payed that much!.

[BritSig]

Main point being home is where the heart is and all that but with this being a military orientated site its also good to go through price comparisons especially with more and more ex mil guys leaving the UK after their 22 and emigrating.
Its good for me to know how far my lump sum and money from selling my house would get me in another country.
Most favoured by the Brits is NZ and OZ as you can carry on pass your 22 in their militaries and your cash in bank goes further.

BritSig.

P.S Water is free in the army!!

[CMNot]

Christ seeing how much you guys pay is making my eyes bleed. 4 bedrooms for $200k AND a decent piece of land :|

My costs mentioned before are for a place in the country, in a very working class area (the main town is called COALville ffs). My last gas/electric bill was $800 for a quarter. It kills me. Plus there is no where I can go to just get away from folk short of a trip to Norway and up to the artic. I've been to Oregon where Hollis is, and when I left Portland it seemed like there was miles and miles of freedom everywhere.

Hollis, imagine 65m people living in your state. increase the price of everything 50% and take away the pleasant summer and voila, you just about have the UK.

$800 per month medical didn't sound like much fun, but I suppose my health insurance is just over $2000 per annum PLUS I get to pay into the NHS through National Insurance tax too.

[wotsnext]

What?!!! I have never payed that much!.
Confused it with my council tax:oops:
Water is £277 for the half year, Still quite a sum.

[Calanen]

Christ seeing how much you guys pay is making my eyes bleed. 4 bedrooms for $200k AND a decent piece of land :-|


Try where I live. 4 bedrooms would set you back $1.5 mil, or more.

[wotsnext]

A friend of mine moved to Sydney (Pitt street)? a couple of years back, I dont think he was short of a few quid:)

[marktigger]

Perhaps. But at least we don't have to eat British cuisine...

which is why we brits have a lower rate of obesiety than our American cousins.

[Calanen]

A friend of mine moved to Sydney (Pitt street)? a couple of years back, I dont think he was short of a few quid:)

My office is on Castlereagh one street over.

[wotsnext]

My office is on Castlereagh one street over.
Small World..........:)