Well I'm in Australia and the average salary is around 65K USD + compulsory 13% retirement employer contributions, so everyone gets 13% of their salary per annum stored away until they're 55 years old- which employers must pay on top of that 65k USD.
You also get at least 4 weeks of holidays a year (or more) so you get time to recover and live life.
Taxes are about 35-40 percent but college costs about 6K a year for an undergrad degree and about 10-12K for something like Law or Medicine. Health cover is basically free with small fees ($20) if you visit certain doctors. To see a doctor is 100% free if you're willing to wait an hour.
We do pay for prescriptions but they're very cheap if they're required for your daily being.
Food is expensive and wages are high, so small business usually don't make as much unless they're excellent location wise.
But the equality here is pretty amazing.
My wife and I are both in management/exec positions in sales (myself) and she's a psychologist, we also own a small business as franchisees so we are very fortunate. One thing I notice in the US (she's from NY and we have family in Hopkinton MA and CT) is the disparity between the rich and the poor.
I also can't believe how cheap houses are compared to Australia. Just amazing.
Seems like it's much harder to 'make it' in the USA if you're from a lower income segment because there isn't much support for lower socio economic groups on the whole. The college fees just astound me... I just can't understand how the stereotypical poor black or hispanic kids can make it out through the system via education and hard work- even with those attributes the odds are still stacked against you.
I'd say if you're middle class or above in the USA it's the best place on earth, but it seems like a lot of the lower groups just work for the upper class and put up with it, and perhaps the great lifestyles the middle and upper class have come at a cost to others?
Every country has it's pros and cons but I do love the USA. We are kind of lucky in Australia to be a young country and basically learn from other countries mistakes- but it's not like we're perfect at all. We are riding an economic boom because of the natural resources here so i do worry what will happen when everything runs dry in 100 years or so.
If I would some up something that describes my 'wealth' and how blessed we are?
Going back to the USA once or twice a year to see our family and getting to go to Celtics games with nice seats, coming home to some great American home cooked food from farmers market
America, -*%# yeah!