Here's How America's Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Gre

[JQPublic1]

Business Insider/ By Matthew Boesler

Three weeks ago, fast-food workers across the United States went on strike to protest the country's minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
The protesters called for a more-than-doubled minimum wage of $15 an hour.
In a note to clients today, ConvergEx Group strategists look at minimum wages around the world.

"Out of the 20 or so countries listed on The Economist's Big Mac Index (countries that also have minimum wages – Italy and Germany do not, for example) from 2012, the U.S. has the 7th highest minimum wage on an absolute basis, about the median number," say the strategists. "The absolute lowest federal minimum wage is in Sierra Leone, where workers can expect just $0.03/hour. India is the lowest among larger economies with a $0.28/hour rate. Australia is at the opposite end of the spectrum, with a whopping $16.88 hourly mandated wage."
More....

Here's How America's Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Greece, And France - Yahoo! Finance

 

[Noomi]

This is why Australian workers are happy workers.

 

[AmazonTania]

The ones who are actually working are very happy, anyway. US has the highest disposable income per capita of any country. There really is nothing to compare when it comes to other nations.

 

[Politico]

That.

 

[Skull Pilot]

This is why Australian workers are happy workers.

Australia Ranks High in Cost of Living Survey

This is what happens when burger flippers make $20 an hour.

 

[JQPublic1]

The ones who are actually working are very happy, anyway. US has the highest disposable income per capita of any country. There really is nothing to compare when it comes to other nations.

America has the highest disposable income per capita of any country but how is that income distributed among the citizenry? That "per capita" tag can be misleading for some.

 

[AmazonTania]

The ones who are actually working are very happy, anyway. US has the highest disposable income per capita of any country. There really is nothing to compare when it comes to other nations.

America has the highest disposable income per capita of any country but how is that income distributed among the citizenry? That "per capita" tag can be misleading for some.

It's not misleading at all. Out of all the employees who receive a paycheck, only 5 % of those people earn the minimum wage, and half of that 5 % consist workers from age 16 - 24. These are young and inexperienced workers, as this is what the minimum wage is aimed at.

In places like Australia, the minimum waged is tiered by age being the age 20 and over is the age where people can actually start earning that wage. There you have 7.2 % of all full-time workers earning low wages and 17.7 % of part-time workers, contrast that to 2.1 % Full-Time in American and 12.6 % Part-time. A good portion of the individuals who earn minimum wage in Australia are older than the age of 29.

 

[Mr. H.]

In 1971, I made $1.10/hour at Burger Chef. I was a sophomore in high school.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's inflation calculator, that equates to $6.34/hour today.

Much less than the minimum wage.

 

[oldfart]

I'm surprised that all of the advocates of the Big Mac Index didn't read a little further to where they calculated how many minutes a worker receiving minimum wage would have to work to buy a Big Mac locally (the Big Mac version of PPP).

Unveiling The Big Mac Minimum Wage Index - Business Insider

In summary:

U.S. 35 minutes
Japan 31 minutes
U.K. 23 minutes
France 22 minutes
Australia 18 minutes

Greece 53 minutes
Brazil 172 minutes
China 183 minutes
India 347 minutes

 

[AmazonTania]

I can't speak for everyone else but I didn't look because it's really not relevant, and I already thought that this was a no brainer... Also, the Big Mac is 0.88% undervalued in Japan while it's 8.81% overvalued in France and 17.61% overvalued in Australia.

Little interesting tidbit to know.

 

[JQPublic1]

The ones who are actually working are very happy, anyway. US has the highest disposable income per capita of any country. There really is nothing to compare when it comes to other nations.

America has the highest disposable income per capita of any country but how is that income distributed among the citizenry? That "per capita" tag can be misleading for some.

It's not misleading at all. Out of all the employees who receive a paycheck, only 5 % of those people earn the minimum wage, and half of that 5 % consist workers from age 16 - 24. These are young and inexperienced workers, as this is what the minimum wage is aimed at.

In places like Australia, the minimum waged is tiered by age being the age 20 and over is the age where people can actually start earning that wage. There you have 7.2 % of all full-time workers earning low wages and 17.7 % of part-time workers, contrast that to 2.1 % Full-Time in American and 12.6 % Part-time. A good portion of the individuals who earn minimum wage in Australia are older than the age of 29.

One in four private sector workers earn less than $10 per hour. For those workers a 40 hr week translates to less than $19200 per year. That is $3800 short of the per capita figure for those earning the full $10 per hour.

For those poor souls earning the minimum wage, that $10 per hour looks awfully good; considering their financial gap from the "per capita" figure is even larger. In terms of purchasing power that $ 7.25 is valued 30% lower today than it was in 1968.

 

[AmazonTania]

America has the highest disposable income per capita of any country but how is that income distributed among the citizenry? That "per capita" tag can be misleading for some.

It's not misleading at all. Out of all the employees who receive a paycheck, only 5 % of those people earn the minimum wage, and half of that 5 % consist workers from age 16 - 24. These are young and inexperienced workers, as this is what the minimum wage is aimed at.

In places like Australia, the minimum waged is tiered by age being the age 20 and over is the age where people can actually start earning that wage. There you have 7.2 % of all full-time workers earning low wages and 17.7 % of part-time workers, contrast that to 2.1 % Full-Time in American and 12.6 % Part-time. A good portion of the individuals who earn minimum wage in Australia are older than the age of 29.

One in four private sector workers earn less than $10 per hour. For those workers a 40 hr week translates to less than $19200 per year. That is $3800 short of the per capita figure for those earning the full $10 per hour.

You do realise that per capita is an average accumulation, correct? A vast majority of the population earns much more than $10 dollars an hour, otherwise, the average disposable income per capita would not be at the level it is now. Basic math tells us this.

And I really don't know where you got that one in four statistic from. About 13% of households earn up to or below $20,800 a year. That translates to $10 dollars an hour. That's not one in four. Again, a vast majority of the population earns more than this amount, which is why the per capita disposable income is so high. Again, nothing misleading about this particular figure.

For those poor souls earning the minimum wage, that $10 per hour looks awfully good; considering their financial gap from the "per capita" figure is even larger. In terms of purchasing power that $ 7.25 is valued 30% lower today than it was in 1968.

If you can't understand that per capita is merely an average accumulation, then I really can't help you. You also seem to ignore that half of these minimum wage workers are virtually unskilled, inexperienced workers.

Why you would expect employers to take a chance on these employees by paying these people more than their skills are worth is beyond me.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

If you're making minimum wage and are not a teenager or a bored house wife you have a whole slew of other issues you need to fix with your life.

 

[Rozman]

If you are just starting out in the work force the minimum wage is fair.
If you are married and paying off a mortgage and car payments and raising a family....
Well....you have bigger problems them what minimum wage is.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Measuring by a single product is cute to look at but pretty pointless to judge purchasing power. One could have arbitrarily choosen a gallon of gasoline, an ipad, or a pair of jeans and gotten a completely different list.

 

[JQPublic1]

You do realise that per capita is an average accumulation, correct?

I thought you knew how deceptive statistics can be to give substance to illusions that don’t mean a damn thing. That “average accumulation” you allude to is such an illusion..

A vast majority of the population earns much more than $10 dollars an hour, otherwise, the average disposable income per capita would not be at the level it is now. Basic math tells us this.

Indeed, your illusion is edging closer to reality here. But I do think that in making that leap from $10 to “much more than $10 hour” you are ignoring all the millions of people earning from $11 to $15 per hour

And I really don't know where you got that one in four statistic from. About 13% of households earn up to or below $20,800 a year. That translates to $10 dollars an hour. That's not one in four.

You do know that income earned by individual workers and income earned by households are two different things, don’t you? Just ask if you aren’t sure! Some households might have two or more workers bringing home a paycheck. My stat was based on the individual worker and thus would be different from yours based on households! Basic logic would tell you that!

Again, a vast majority of the population earns more than this amount, which is why the per capita disposable income is so high. Again, nothing misleading about this particular figure.

Yes, yes, yes, any one who has ears has heard how the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. We know that a few at the top have most of the wealth while the rest of us are left with relatively very little to squabble over. And I know that statistics are used to gloss over that fact with the “per capita” BS. Your patronizing me is not going to change that.

If you can't understand that per capita is merely an average accumulation, then I really can't help you.

I really don’t need your help. You might seek some though …so that you will learn to differentiate between household income and individual income!

You also seem to ignore that half of these minimum wage workers are virtually unskilled, inexperienced workers.

Am I really ignoring that? What gives you that idea? Didn’t we also include those making $10 or slightly more in our conversation? You choose to ignore the fact that
the poverty level for 2012 was set at $23,050 (total yearly income) for a family of four. Most Americans (58.5%) will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.

Why you would expect employers to take a chance on these employees by paying these people more than their skills are worth is beyond me.

I am not saying that. I just posted this op because I thought working people might be interested. The elusive living wage is disappearing from these shores due to outsourcing of good paying jobs to foreign countries. Some people with degrees are forced to work in low wage jobs, and many can’t even find a job. Meanwhile WALMART, Mc Donald’s and other corporations are enjoying phenomenal profits. They can afford to raise the minimum wage but they won‘t! I guess the American people are just gullible because they keep buying from the corporations whose products are not made in the USA!

 

[jwoodie]

What if a job only produces $5 per hour of value? Is it preferable to have someone remain unemployed instead of learning basic job skills?

 

[rightwinger]

In 1971, I made $1.10/hour at Burger Chef. I was a sophomore in high school.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's inflation calculator, that equates to $6.34/hour today.

Much less than the minimum wage.

That was a low point in minimum wage

By 1973 when I entered the workforce it was up to $1.85

 

[Sallow]

It's not misleading at all. Out of all the employees who receive a paycheck, only 5 % of those people earn the minimum wage, and half of that 5 % consist workers from age 16 - 24. These are young and inexperienced workers, as this is what the minimum wage is aimed at.

In places like Australia, the minimum waged is tiered by age being the age 20 and over is the age where people can actually start earning that wage. There you have 7.2 % of all full-time workers earning low wages and 17.7 % of part-time workers, contrast that to 2.1 % Full-Time in American and 12.6 % Part-time. A good portion of the individuals who earn minimum wage in Australia are older than the age of 29.

One in four private sector workers earn less than $10 per hour. For those workers a 40 hr week translates to less than $19200 per year. That is $3800 short of the per capita figure for those earning the full $10 per hour.

You do realise that per capita is an average accumulation, correct? A vast majority of the population earns much more than $10 dollars an hour, otherwise, the average disposable income per capita would not be at the level it is now. Basic math tells us this.

And I really don't know where you got that one in four statistic from. About 13% of households earn up to or below $20,800 a year. That translates to $10 dollars an hour. That's not one in four. Again, a vast majority of the population earns more than this amount, which is why the per capita disposable income is so high. Again, nothing misleading about this particular figure.

For those poor souls earning the minimum wage, that $10 per hour looks awfully good; considering their financial gap from the "per capita" figure is even larger. In terms of purchasing power that $ 7.25 is valued 30% lower today than it was in 1968.

If you can't understand that per capita is merely an average accumulation, then I really can't help you. You also seem to ignore that half of these minimum wage workers are virtually unskilled, inexperienced workers.

Why you would expect employers to take a chance on these employees by paying these people more than their skills are worth is beyond me.

Where is this "vast" majority?

The United States has the biggest income disparity in the world.

 

[SteadyMercury]

We know that a few at the top have most of the wealth while the rest of us are left with relatively very little to squabble over.

This sounds like nothing more than shrill hyperbole, and as such doesn't bolster your argument.

I'm not the "few at the top" and I don't get a sense of squabbling over little left over. We have two cars, eat out occasionally, go on vacations, have a lot in savings and add to it every month. There are plenty of newer cars in the parking areas where I live, when go to the movies it is pretty full as is the mall parking lot. Sure this is anecdotal but I certainly don't believe I'm in some bizarre microcosm of middle class people with spending money.

Sure there are people not doing well, but this bleak picture you are painting of the masses barely getting by just doesn't fly.

Meanwhile WALMART, Mc Donald’s and other corporations are enjoying phenomenal profits. They can afford to raise the minimum wage but they won‘t!

Okay, what is the profit at your average McDonalds location, and what would it be if they raised their wages?