Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

VulcanTrekkie45 OP t1_j06y8gv wrote

Reply to comment by newestJourney in Don't hate the state, hate the game by VulcanTrekkie45

London is the only part of the UK with a higher HDI than Massachusetts

15

WinsingtonIII t1_j080tdu wrote

It always surprises me how "meh" salaries are in the UK. It's a great place to live in many ways, but I suspect the reason it doesn't do that well on HDI is because median incomes there aren't actually that high.

For reference, UK median household income is ~$47,000 annually as compared to ~$71,000 annually in the US.

5

Ns4200 t1_j0877sd wrote

i’d imagine the free healthcare and access to advanced education offset it to some degree.

2

WinsingtonIII t1_j0896xi wrote

They certainly do, but I will note that both these income figures are pre-tax. So the taxes to pay for those things would come out of the income as well.

I certainly agree that paying higher taxes for public healthcare and university education is a good and cheaper trade-off than the US approach though.

3

Ns4200 t1_j08djiw wrote

i’m not sure how you feel about Michael Moore but his documentary “sicko” has some interesting analysis of the tax/expenses analysis between the US and i believe it was the UK. i also think tax payers get an itemized statement of exactly how their tax money is allocated, which i think would be pretty eye opening for most Americans, especially those so concerned with “entitlement programs”.

1