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[AJUMP23]

Britons thought they were very well paid compared to Americans, but it turns out they are not paid as well as the poorest states in the US. Demand the higher wages you earned.

Attitudes to Economic Growth

A major poll of 3,001 British voters examines why Britain's economy has underperformed, what the public believes is holding it back, and what it will take to build a mandate for reform.

iea.org.uk

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The UK can take solace in the fact they are not alone



Almost all of Europe, plus Canada, are poorer than most of the US

This is what happens when the US doesn't give a shit about "managed decline" but instead chooses growth and prosperity and will continue to do so. Europe and Canada can choose to fade away into history as they see fit, we here in Murrica don't give a shit

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Everyone knows salaries in the US are inflated because of all the shit y'all have to pay for yourselves

R

Post in thread 'How to deal with high salary jumps?'

Feb 24, 2026

Wow 6 figures is middle class nowadays ?

Maybe in the US, €180k a year would be firmly upper class/wealthy, top 1-5%.

• Reizo Ryuu

• 

 

[Bojji]

Average income is worth shit as it includes all those rich fuckers that get 200x more than their workers.

UK is also probably cheaper than USA and you don't have to pay for health insurance and stuff like that. Not saying that economy of UK is doing good...

Edit: Skynet take on this

 

[AJUMP23]

Average income is worth shit as it includes all those rich fuckers that get 200x more than their workers.

UK is also probably cheaper than USA and you don't have to pay for health insurance and stuff like that. Not saying that economy of UK is doing good...

You don't pay directly for the Health insurance, but what ways are you taxed more heavily to cover the NHS? Is it VAT or income or all of the above. And does the NHS run at a Deficit?

 

[Baemono]

The UK can take solace in the fact they are not alone



Almost all of Europe, plus Canada, are poorer than most of the US

This is what happens when the US doesn't give a shit about "managed decline" but instead chooses growth and prosperity and will continue to do so. Europe and Canada can choose to fade away into history as they see fit, we here in Murrica don't give a shit

The date is a bit old, Germany's 2026 GDP is 65k for eg

 

[Kenpachii]

Average means shit when u have to pay 200k for your cancer treatment

 

[Tomorrow]

You don't pay directly for the Health insurance, but what ways are you taxed more heavily to cover the NHS? Is it VAT or income or all of the above. And does the NHS run at a Deficit?

NHS is funded mostly through income tax and then national insurance (so you pay in and your employer pays towards it too). it's free at point of use for most cases. england still need to pay for prescriptions but scotland/wales/NI don't

 

[Bojji]

You don't pay directly for the Health insurance, but what ways are you taxed more heavily to cover the NHS? Is it VAT or income or all of the above. And does the NHS run at a Deficit?

I don't live in UK but it seems that it's funded by taxes

And those institutions are not designed to make any money, they have purpose. In private hands it will always lead to fucking patients in the ass and filling their own pockets.

The UK can take solace in the fact they are not alone



Almost all of Europe, plus Canada, are poorer than most of the US

This is what happens when the US doesn't give a shit about "managed decline" but instead chooses growth and prosperity and will continue to do so. Europe and Canada can choose to fade away into history as they see fit, we here in Murrica don't give a shit

US has higher wages than UK since ~1900, so it's hardly a new phenomenon.

 

[Tomorrow]

people might use it to shit on the UK but the NHS is amazing.

i'll take being "poorer" any day over worrying if i can afford an ambulance or running out of a hospital because i'm worried about going into debt.

 

[Baemono]

You don't pay directly for the Health insurance, but what ways are you taxed more heavily to cover the NHS?

Value for Money: UK vs. The World

Is the NHS expensive? Compared to our peers, the UK actually spends less than many other developed nations while achieving universal coverage.

Feature	United Kingdom (NHS)	United States (Private/Public)
Annual Spending per Person	~$4,300 (£3,400)	~$12,500
Out-of-pocket Cost	Very Low (Prescriptions/Dental)	High (Deductibles/Co-pays)
Access to Care	Based on Need	Based on Insurance/Ability to Pay
Administrative Costs	~2–5%	~15–25%

In the US, private health insurance for a family can cost upwards of £10,000 to £20,000 per year.
In contrast, only about 10-12% of the UK population chooses to pay for private medical insurance, mainly to bypass elective waiting lists.

Who pays for the NHS - and how much does it cost? - Health Service Navigator

Who pays for the NHS – and how much does it cost? When we talk about “who pays for the NHS,” the simple answer is you. Whether you are buying a coffee, earning a salary, or paying a dental bill, a portion of that money fuels one of the world’s largest healthcare systems. In 2026, […]

www.myhsn.co.uk

 

[Sybrix]

Does this take into account not having to pay for health insurance? holiday pay? sick pay?

For example, I work in London and get 34 days holiday per year at full pay, i also get sick pay (full pay) for 6 months, as well as a final salary company pension.

I assume in the US there are companies that offer the above in certain contracts?

 

[Tomorrow]

i'd probably be dead/homeless if i lived in america with all the shit up with me lol

 

[RCX]

As a europoor I would prefer we didnt fade into history thanks to a policy of "managed decline" but finding public reps who want the same things as me is borderline impossible.

Any chance you USA folks could send your big-ass military in here for a few weeks to clean house?

 

[Bojji]

As a europoor I would prefer we didnt fade into history thanks to a policy of "managed decline" but finding public reps who want the same things as me is borderline impossible.

Any chance you USA folks could send your big-ass military in here for a few weeks to clean house?

What's stopping you from doing Revolution yourself? Do you want to be a vassal to another country?

Get rid of people that want unlimited migrants (and your taxes pay for them) and voila.

Of course voting is still possible, but it seems that in Western Europe ALL parties want this shit.

 

[ResilientBanana]

We make more wages but we also pay more in healthcare and the Euro is worth more. Healthcare makes up for 20% of our take home pay.

So if I make $60,000, I can pay $12,000 in healthcare and end up with only $48,000 before taxes, this is especially true with a family. I pay around $1200 / month for my family's healthcare and that is discounted through work and it still has 80/20 copays. That falls in line with the average UK income and they don't have copays in most cases.

 

[Wildebeest]

In terms of GPD (PPP) per capita the US is ranked 10 and UK is ranked 30. The UK is surrounded by countries that are doing better than it in terms of standard of living. It has just been badly run a lot of the time since the last oil crisis in my opinion, which was over 50 years ago. Lots of people who pretend the nation is still an imperial power or policies where the population is bribed for votes or lied to about who is to blame.

 

[winjer]

I have to point out that the IEA - institute for economic affairs, is not a scientific study organization.
It's a right wing, economic liberal, political think tank.
So it's not a proper scientific study that shows reality.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Last I checked on average people in the US die like 4-7 years earlier vs many European countries such as the UK. I think the gap is like 4-6 years something?

Then compared to other countries such as Japan it is like 7-10 years behind or something crazy like that.

 

[Bojji]

Last I checked on average people in the US die like 4-7 years earlier vs many European countries such as the UK. I think the gap is like 4-6 years something?

Then compared to other countries such as Japan it is like 7-10 years behind or something crazy like that.

Many people can't afford calling ambulance and going to the doctors in general.

 

[Atrus]

When I was in junior high here in Canada, I shattered a metacarpal and that same day I had the best child plastic surgeon in the city spend 6hrs piecing it back together. Total cost including hospital stay? $0. It also costs nothing to have children, which I'm reading can amount to a sizeable bill in the US.

Another unspoken difference is the amount of mandatory paid holidays and paid vacations between the countries.

In all, it's a nonsensical comparison that ignores the differences in total benefits.

 

[dave_d]

Last I checked on average people in the US die like 4-7 years earlier vs many European countries such as the UK. I think the gap is like 4-6 years something?

Then compared to other countries such as Japan it is like 7-10 years behind or something crazy like that.

I figure it's probably because Americans (I am one) are fatter than anybody else.

 

[Wildebeest]

Last I checked on average people in the US die like 4-7 years earlier vs many European countries such as the UK. I think the gap is like 4-6 years something?

Then compared to other countries such as Japan it is like 7-10 years behind or something crazy like that.

Its because many Americans drink mega servings of sugar water every day. Stop doing that Americans.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Last I checked on average people in the US die like 4-7 years earlier vs many European countries such as the UK. I think the gap is like 4-6 years something?

Then compared to other countries such as Japan it is like 7-10 years behind or something crazy like that.

The reason for this is more violent crime. When that is corrected for, American life expectancies move in line with other developed nations

 

[thefool]

We're called europoors for a reason.

Do not fall over this cope of universal healthcare. It's the same as "we need to raise taxes for roads maintenance". You know what every person with money does? Have an health insurance to not have to deal with the "universal healthcare". Not only we get taxed to fund a miserable service we have to pay private insurers.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I figure it's probably because Americans (I am one) are fatter than anybody else.

Yeah that's the strange thing to me about the US.

You guys have all that money sloshing about.

You have very high salaries compared to most of the world.

You can find pretty affordable housing by moving within state or to a different state.

So my point is when you factor in the offering and potential, money, innovation etc quality of life and life expectancy should be well beyond Europe and up there with East Asia and yet Americans let sugar and fast food consumption destory all that and lags behind all of them by quite some margin.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I've known that UK wages have been dogshit for ages. As a freelancer I refused loads of jobs I was asked to do because the money wasn't good enough.

What I think is remarkable, however, is that when the government put minimum wage up (which will, presumably help not only those on minimum wage but the middle too) the news was full of how the government hated business and how it was impossible to pay people more than the slave labour wages that many seem to subsist on. I flat out cannot understand how people live on average salaries in the UK, particularly if they have children.

 

[Bojji]

Yeah that's the strange thing to me about the US.

You guys have all that money sloshing about.

You have very high salaries compared to most of the world.

You can find pretty affordable housing by moving within state or to a different state.

So my point is when you factor in the offering and potential, money, innovation etc quality of life and life expectancy should be well beyond Europe and up there with East Asia and yet Americans let sugar and fast food consumption destory all that and lags behind all of them by quite some margin.

American food is allowed to have chemicals that are banned in rest of the developed world.

Of course you can buy healthy food, but it's probably beyond reach of average people when it comes to prices.

I guess that's what happens when you let corporations to "lobby" (nice word for corruption) your government.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Yeah that's the strange thing to me about the US.

You guys have all that money sloshing about.

You have very high salaries compared to most of the world.

You can find pretty affordable housing by moving within state or to a different state.

So my point is when you factor in the offering and potential, money, innovation etc quality of life and life expectancy should be well beyond Europe and up there with East Asia and yet Americans let sugar and fast food consumption destory all that and lags behind all of them by quite some margin.

A massive, multifactorial problem.

You could probably make some sort of case for the automobile industry effectively fucking generations of Americans thanks to creating a landscape, literally, that depends on driving everywhere and reducing day to day mobility of the average person.

You could certainly point at food standards allowing higher amounts of salt, fat and sugar in food.

You could say many, many, many things along those lines.

I do think "Just move to a different state where the houses are cheaper!" Is a bit like saying "Houses are expensive in Paris/London/Berlin? Have you considered Albania?" though.

 

[Zathalus]

Salaries here in the NL is lower but some advantages I can think off the top of my head:

- My total dental/medical insurance for the year comes to roughly €400 when including tax breaks and such. Deductible capped at €385 for the entire year as well.
- 35 days annual leave.
- Unlimited paid sick leave.
- Actual maternity/paternity leave.
- Free specialized schooling for my autistic daughter. Free specialized care as well. Free privayelte transport to school for her as well.
- Free public transport for my kids.
- University fees are incredibly low.
- Overtime... what overtime?
- Incredibly strong labour law protections for basically everything.
- Further childcare subsidies.
- Mortgage subsidies. One third of my mortgage is paid for by the state.
- 4GBps Internet+Unlimited mobile (data+calls) for 60 euro a month.
- Insurance costs (car and home) cheap as dirt.
- Fantastic pension system.
- Quality of life in the cities here is extremely high. Check Not Just Bikes on YouTube for reference.
- EU protection laws. Way too many to list here. From consumer rights to not having crap in our beef.

Of course it's not all sunshine, I'll certainly earn more if I move to the USA. Bigger house as well. But I'm not sure if my actual life would be better. Especially for my daughter.

What I find funny about this, and the "europoor" comments is that salaries are even lower in places like Japan or Australia, but you won't get these same comments about them. Because most of this is wrapped up in a political slant. Obviously so. Brainrot right vs left mentality.

 

[thefool]

The real danger is that this difference can massively accelerate in the next few years if europe doesn't change leadership

 

[jason10mm]

Salaries here in the NL is lower but some advantages I can think off the top of my head:

- My total dental/medical insurance for the year comes to roughly €400 when including tax breaks and such. Deductible capped at €385 for the entire year as well.
- 35 days annual leave.
- Unlimited paid sick leave.
- Actual maternity/paternity leave.
- Free specialized schooling for my autistic daughter. Free specialized care as well. Free privayelte transport to school for her as well.
- Free public transport for my kids.
- University fees are incredibly low.
- Overtime... what overtime?
- Incredibly strong labour law protections for basically everything.
- Further childcare subsidies.
- Mortgage subsidies. One third of my mortgage is paid for by the state.
- 4GBps Internet+Unlimited mobile (data+calls) for 60 euro a month.
- Insurance costs (car and home) cheap as dirt.
- Fantastic pension system.
- Quality of life in the cities here is extremely high. Check Not Just Bikes on YouTube for reference.
- EU protection laws. Way too many to list here. From consumer rights to not having crap in our beef.

Of course it's not all sunshine, I'll certainly earn more if I move to the USA. Bigger house as well. But I'm not sure if my actual life would be better. Especially for my daughter.

What I find funny about this, and the "europoor" comments is that salaries are even lower in places like Japan or Australia, but you won't get these same comments about them. Because most of this is wrapped up in a political slant. Obviously so. Brainrot right vs left mentality.

Y'all's real problem is that all those expensive bennies are being extended to tons and tons of folks that don't pay into your system. Gonna be a real big problem in the next few years and I don't see how you guys are gonna work/grow your way out of it. The EU is gonna start looking a lot more like the US in bad ways but I'm not sure the resiliency is there to cope.

Be nice if there was a lot more ease of migration between the US and the EU, as culturally we are waaaaaaay closer than the places we are taking folks in from now. There are towns around me that are probably more german than places in Germany right now.

 

[Bojji]

The real danger is that this difference can massively accelerate in the next few years if europe doesn't change leadership

You know that most of USA wealth is in the hands of oligarchs? And it's only going up, so GDP growth may not be felt by ordinary people:

 

[Zathalus]

Y'all's real problem is that all those expensive bennies are being extended to tons and tons of folks that don't pay into your system.

Not really, unemployment rate is under 4%. Asylum intake in the Netherlands is certainly higher than it should ideally be, and luckily new EU and NL rules are changing that. Mainly the EU Migration & Asylum Pact going into effect in June. It's probably not enough, but other changes are coming.

Asylum aside, we actually need more immigration, of both the highly skilled variety and some other labour areas. The number one cause for economic issues in the Netherlands right now is the ongoing labour shortage. I'm an immigrant myself, I got a job offer from here because of shortages.

Second issue is housing, but again, although asylum seekers aren't helping, the real issue is rulings on nitrogen pollution and grid connections limiting new construction. But that's boring, so you won't read about it in the news.

 

[AJUMP23]

Maybe you Brits should feel encouraged that you thought you made as much as Americans.

 

[Bojji]

Maybe you Brits should feel encouraged that you thought you made as much as Americans.

When it comes to feelings, I guess they can feel/think like that. Quality of Life index is similar between WE and USA+Canada

While rest of the world, not so much...

What they measure:

 

[jason10mm]

When it comes to feelings, I guess they can feel/think like that. Quality of Life index is similar between WE and USA+Canada

While rest of the world, not so much...

What they measure:

Well, there are not MILLIONS fleeing North America and Europe to go live in asia, africa, south america, or the middle east, so seems pretty damn clear where the 'good living' is.

 

[thefool]

And it's only going up, so GDP growth may not be felt by ordinary people:

Incorrect. It's very much felt by ordinary people, as you can see by the median disposable income at PPP rates

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/society-at-a-glance-2024_918d8db3-en/full-report/household-income_3ee61044.html#title-b344384343

 

[bitbydeath]

I did not perceive the people of China to be that wealthy TBH.

 

[GateofD]

how is inflation on the euroside.
how much is a big mac over there?

 

[jason10mm]

how is inflation on the euroside.
how much is a big mac over there?

 

[AJUMP23]

how is inflation on the euroside.
how much is a big mac over there?

Ask them about Gasoline.

 

[The Cockatrice]

how is inflation on the euroside.
how much is a big mac over there?

It's garbage in Romania. At least in some other EU countries they have high monthly incomes to accomodate, but our prices are bigger than those said countries, but our salaries are like half. It's getting worse.

 

[Unknown?]

And those institutions are not designed to make any money, they have purpose. In private hands it will always lead to fucking patients in the ass and filling their own pockets.

Doesn't matter if it's private or public if there aren't laws protecting patients. Public entities can be just as bad. If the government deems you not worthy of treatment and they are the only provider, you're s.o.l.

You know that most of USA wealth is in the hands of oligarchs? And it's only going up, so GDP growth may not be felt by ordinary people:

GDP is a crap indicator of how the economy is doing. 1) it includes government spending which at best is a net neutral(if no waste is involved) because it just took it from the populace that could have done the same spending. 2) It includes monetary inflation. So when inflation goes up so does GDP, it doesn't mean things are growing in real terms.

For the wealth gap, that really started once we stopped backing our currency with money and went pure fiat as shown at the website: www.wtfhappenedin1971.com

 

[diffusionx]

I was once talking to a recruiter who said my job would pay a little more than half in the UK. When I went to Germany I felt positively rich. I checked the GDP number of Berlin - one of the largest and richest cities in Europe - and it has a similar economic output to 2nd or 3rd tier American cities like Orlando.

IIRC when the EU was formed, it had a similar GDP to the USA, but it's fallen very far behind, far more behind than they think.

 

[AJUMP23]

Doesn't matter if it's private or public if there aren't laws protecting patients. Public entities can be just as bad. If the government deems you not worthy of treatment and they are the only provider, you're s.o.l.

We had a whole Thread about Canada unaliving citizens for depression. "Are you sad, have you considered no longer living?"

 

[kpopSuperstar]

how is inflation on the euroside.
how much is a big mac over there?

Just the burger? $9.50.

 

[AJUMP23]

I was once talking to a recruiter who said my job would pay a little more than half in the UK. When I went to Germany I felt positively rich. I checked the GDP number of Berlin - one of the largest and richest cities in Europe - and it has a similar economic output to 2nd or 3rd tier American cities like Orlando.

IIRC when the EU was formed, it had a similar GDP to the USA, but it's fallen very far behind, far more behind than they think.

When I was a young person my company wanted me to move from the south to MASSACHUSETTS and I asked about the salary increase. They said "we will take care of you". It was about 5k more in salary to move. However the cost of living from Taxes, Rent and just in general needed to be about 30k to live the same. I turned it down, and then found a new company to work for.

 

[StabbyStabStabStabStab]

Ask them about Gasoline.

Gasoline is super pricey for sure, however we're a tiny little island really, and cars tend to be a little smaller/smaller engines than those found in sprawling countries like the US. I worked out that I've 17,000 miles in 8 years in my car, i.e. next to nothing (although to be fair, I intensley dislike driving in this country).

If you really want to know what's a rip off over here look at out trains - a return to London for me (1h 45m each way) is around £80. I've had return flights to the Balearics for half that.

 

[diffusionx]

When I was a young person my company wanted me to move from the south to MASSACHUSETTS and I asked about the salary increase. They said "we will take care of you". It was about 5k more in salary to move. However the cost of living from Taxes, Rent and just in general needed to be about 30k to live the same. I turned it down, and then found a new company to work for.

Well a lot of blue state people took advantage of this economic arbitrage during the pandemic, people in CA/NYNJ making 200k-400k moving to MT/CO/SC and caused chaos for the places they moved to. So it goes both ways. The gap really is quite large, but still probably not as large as it is between Europe and the US. I think the upper end of salary is much different than just 5k, although starting out, yes probably.