[extropy-chat] Being alive timing [was: Stardust at Home]

[Dirk Bruere]

On 1/25/06, Jack Parkinson <isthatyoujack at icqmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dirk Bruere
>
> $18 a day is a meaningless figure.
> It needs to be corrected for Purchasing Power Parity.
> $18 goes a *lot* further in Chad than in Japan.
>
> Dirk
>
> The observation above is correct. $18 daily is meaningless in itself. It
> is
> (for instance) around double the rate an average university graduate in
> China might expect to earn if employed (in China) by a US multi-national
> operation. It is also more than an average doctor or lawyer in  China
> would
> get in their first few years of practice. In addition, $18 would be a
> reasonable weeks income for many Chinese farming families (excellent for
> some) and a good weeks income for building workers and other unskilled
> labor.
>
> But then again, living standards are also significantly lower. The
> graduates
> working for the US multinationals are typically housed in small apartments
> in high-rise blocks - or live offsite with their parents until married.


Compared to  living in Tokyo, that sounds like luxury...

Minimal facilities are offered, 1 hot tap, two gas rings, shared kitchens
> and toilets. Clothes are hand-washed and dried on the balcony, and there
> are
> no lifts in buildings under 8 floors. Often there is no heating or cooling


I've lived like that in Britain.

Dirk
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