Speaking about income inequality a friend just got back from a month in Australia where they have a “living wage.” She reports a McDonald’s small burger, fry and soda is $10. She said the food was grossly overpriced. She survived on sandwich meat and bread. A steak such as we’d get here for $12-15 is $50. She said, “the irony is, so they’re making a living wage, but they have to live in a world where everything cost several times what it costs here. So how much did the gain from this living wage?”
A proper 'living wage' would ratchet up each month to keep step with increased living costs.
LOL! Didn't an African country have something like that? Zimbabwe?
My daughter , who works as a schoolteacher in Melbourne came home for Christmas, and her lugage was purposely loaded down with gifts for everyone stateside.
On the return trip, her luggage was loaded down with clothes , cosmetics, toothpaste, and female necessities
all of which was available stateside at less than 1/3 the Aussie "living wage" prices.
I can't even imagine what a challenge it would be to be on a "fixed income" there !!
Incidently , they put 'sliced beets' on all their hamburgers there in Oz ; what's with that ??
My daughter has "zero expierience" at gardening, and she shares a three-person apartment with two other teachers.
The roomates are talking about putting in a garden for vegetables and herbs to cut their food costs ,
and supplement their diets with more veggies.
The expense of meat there , other than sheep , is almost cost prohibitive , so most of their diet is veggies and grains .