Why are European Wages So Low?

[@vDaniik]

when I told an american friend that spanish average wage is 19k he asked me wether that was on a monthly basis. I wanted to cry.

[@TheBooban]

Nobody tells us that Americans are paid at least double what europeans are paid for low end jobs like waitressing and warehousing. For skilled jobs, the sky is the limit. European wages are completed suppressed. But we don't have to worry about retirement or medical, at least not as much. Conclusion, the welfare system is actually corporate welfare. It helps companies alot.

[@jamessloven2204]

Waitresses make that much because of tips, not because of wages. And tips are one of those things that Europeans not only hate, but look down on American for using. As far as I can tell European workers are much less productive than Americans and actively sabotage any attempts to change this.

[@AJ-zy9jf]

@@TheBoobanI would rather make my own money and prepare for the future then having to depend on the government.

[@feamatar]

@@AJ-zy9jf Then you should think about starting your own company.

[@JiggleBiggle-g6n]

@@AJ-zy9jf I can agree on education but not healthcare, you don't know what will happen tomorrow so cheap healthcare is the best thing humanity ever come up with

[@JesusLeee-i9r]

Inflation is far more harmful to individuals than a collapsing stock or property market because it directly affects people's cost of living, which they immediately feel. It is not surprising that the current market sentiment is extremely pessimistic. In today's economy, assistance is critical if we are to survive.

[@LUCIASMITH-d1z]

It has never been simpler to grasp how to expand your wealth than it is right now, thanks to the availability of competent portfolio advisors that can help you experience and learn about a market with a wide range of assets. I think it's impossible to predict how changing dollar values will affect assets.

[@MattsMkia]

It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.

[@winifred-k9e]

Glad to have stumbled on this comment, Please who is the consultant that assist you?.

[@MattsMkia]

Melissa Terri Swayne is the licensed advisor I use. Just search the name. You’d find necessary details to work with to set up an appointment.

[@LUCIASMITH-d1z]

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed right now. I wrote her an email and am waiting for her reply. Hopefully, she responds soon. I plan to start the year on a strong financial note.

[@konstantinosramiotis1444]

Greek here. What's a 'wage'?

[@inbb510]

@@konstantinosramiotis1444 will probably be an r/woosh moment for me but the equivalent word in Greek according to Google Translate is μισθός.

[@justinchase6666]

​@inbb510 that's a weird way of saying "nap"

[@colinsmith1288]

Sorry my friend. The eu treated Greece terribly during the financial crisis.

[@tommyjohnson9176]

@@colinsmith1288Deserved, they lied about their numbers

[@colinsmith1288]

@@tommyjohnson9176 The Greeks did not deserve to be treated so badly. It was one of the reasons l voted brexit.

[@Xamarin491]

"Average wages" is an inferior metric compared to median wages since ultra-high wage earners skew the data higher than most people actually earn. Always use the median wage when comparing wages, not the average wage.

[@ttt5205]

Exactly, the average wage in the US is about 77.000, whilst median is about 56.000. Countries with higher income inequality will always overperform with the average wage metric. The vast majority of people don't actually make that much.

[@Sion-No1]

​@@ttt5205Median Wage in Europe is like 30k

[@ttt5205]

@@Sion-No1 That includes developing countries, western europe is a better comparison. The cost of living is significantly lower in European countries, 78% of people in the US live paycheck to paycheck. 56% cant even afford a 1000 dollar emergency. Sure your numbers are higher, but in reality europeans are significantly better off actually living a normal life.

[@lolo_o4309]

@@ttt5205 But that is also because people in the USA spend a lot more (on stuff they don't need) which in turn boosts the economy

[@ttt5205]

@@lolo_o4309 The US literally has a 2 trillion defecit...

[@cedricdellafaille1361]

Europeans don't consume enough.. yeah no sht. If your wage is 2300 after tax and an iPhone cost around 1600euros with VAT you think twice before buying that iPhone or TV,pc , car etc...

[@MarketsDriveTheWorld]

What? 2300 after tax? I'm an engineer and I make much much less in Italy 😂😂 2300 would be a good wage actually. Then guy buy a cheaper phone 🤦‍♂️ I got mine a few years ago for 150 euros.

[@andrecruz1965]

Now consider that in half the Eurozone the average wage is half that... (Portugal, Spain, Greece, etc)

[@Astke]

What iphone is 1600 lol

[@Hyp_qbrz]

@@Astke latest iphone 16 pro max or pro

[@IDKpengu]

@@MarketsDriveTheWorld U studied and make still less than 2300 is kinda crazy. Thought italy is a rich country but guess only for the already wealthy.

[@silis22]

Please tell me if I'm wrong, but the great decoupling is for me just a sign that we are getting scammed. Productivity increases, inflation increases, and the top 1% is also richer. But our wages and spending capability is in an all time low. I guess the complete answer is way more complex, but I can't help the feeling that the money is just funeling up, to some big fortunes, while's we are getting scammed

[@Mateosaona]

Yes I agree with you, look up austerity measures. The only way out is with unions so we can bargain together, something this channel is almost afraid to mention

[@Shadowtiger2564]

And as always people living this topic never talk about thr fact the companies paying low wages for higher productivity are raking in large profits. Which is essentially just taking money from everyone else

[@HumbleHuman-k7g]

Well, in my understanding the main issue is taxation to a point where regular people just can’t put one penny aside, the second I believe it is excess of bureaucracy, to sum up shortly there is no way you could get successful when the system makes sure to bend you at every turn you make daily in your life. If you have doubts take a look closer at national priorities in each country across the EU.

[@HumbleHuman-k7g]

Well, in my understanding the main issue is taxation to a point where regular people just can’t put one penny aside, the second I believe it is excess of bureaucracy, to sum up shortly there is no way you could get successful when the system makes sure to bend you at every turn you make daily in your life. If you have doubts take a look closer at national priorities in each country across the EU.

[@jantube358]

Every time I see that US-Americans with the same job get 3 to 5 times more money per hour than me I feel scammed.

[@thor9294]

1. our population can't afford the stuff we produce because the wages are too low 2. increase exports to sell the stuff our population can't afford 3. lower wages to make our exports more competitive 4. back to 1. Great economic model!

[@Pete_YT]

No innovation = no growth.

[@dzonikg]

Import migrants who will work for even less

[@krystofon]

@@dzonikg we tried that it doesnt work very well..

[@MichealVt]

well who cares, its all mass produced by cheap labour in China anyway. The kicker is they want to re-sell it to their own countries for a big mark up. Does not work when there is inflation.

[@aurelije]

@@dzonikg hey Serbian compatriot, those who will work for low wages are not very educated and productive either and in most cases they will not want to stay or will not want to work or their kids would still not be incorporated into society (which is not only to blame them but bad and discriminatory pre-school and school system in most of western countries that ensures class reproduction meaning kids from poor parent will stay poor, from low educated will stay low educated)

[@Hasanaljadid]

European and chinese economy is export based.American economy is consumption based

[@javierperalta7648]

US economy is based on forcing oil producing countries to use your currency so that you can print as much as you want without devaluing

[@anthonyferris8912]

@Hasanaljadid And if every country practised export based economics (Mercantilism), the world economy would implode

[@Pete_YT]

When five Europeans do the work of one American, you can’t complain that you earn a fifth of the salary.

[@dengist8172]

In China's tech industry wages are MUCH higher than Europe while cost of living is only a fraction

[@imfromisrael489]

@@dengist8172 i doubt that

[@mauricio533]

I cant CONSOOM more because alll my facking income is going to my landlord who uses it to buy even more property. DO WE SEE THE PROBLEM HERE?

[@bamaramify]

You wish it was that easy of a problem

[@Kapanol97]

Virgin tenant vs Chad landlord

[@Rasaevire]

as the americans would say: PREACH BROTHER

[@TheGingerjames123]

Your landlord makes 10% on his investment at best. Stock market returns with a bunch of work tacked on

[@kevinflummi2822]

@@bamaramify I mean, there are many problems, but landlords are one of them. At least as they are right now. Landlords do not contribute to a region's prosperity, yet are the biggest profiteers. When a company releases a new product that is better than the product of competitors, they can increase the prices because the demand for their superior product rises, but in housing it is different. Politics, industry or social changes make a region better than a "competing" region, so intuitively these should be able to increase their "prices". Instead, landlords do. They don't even have to increase quality of their product, because they know that the supply is rare. And because developments in regions take a long time, investors can foresee these changes and buy all houses while they are cheap(er). And I didn't even mention induced scarcity for housing... Or as a more general critique to the social group of investors: The way they earn money is by owning something. They do not contribute to society in a productive way. And to make matters worse, they do not contribute to the market the way the working class does, because they hoard their wealth instead of spending it. Essentially, they take money out of circulation. I know, these are very simplified approaches, nonetheless they show the general problems that are caused by housing investors and wealth hoarders.

[@vkdrk]

Title: Why are EU wages so low Video: So, why is this? Well, this will require a whole other video 😂😅 So, this video was a waste of time. I thought this was THE video about it as the title suggests 🤷‍♂️ Your videos really are getting worse...

[@ArgumentumAdHominem]

@@vkdrk still a nice platform for comments and discussions though

[@AMDFan-s1y]

It's much more complex.

[@yofedstyhrega4594]

Ah yes why not expect a small news org to explain a problem that multiple nations are facing where even top end economists argue about cause and solution without a real answer.

[@vkdrk]

@@yofedstyhrega4594 Then don't make videos with a title that says they have an explanation when they don't. Simple 🤣

[@SasuKrow]

A whole bunch of "here's some stats showing how low wages are, but we won't give any sort of explanation what might be causing this".

[@sirherbert6953]

Europe at some point in the last 20 years thought the recipe for economic growth ist to compete with the world in low poductivity low wage Jobs. Even now this seems to still be the tactic. Why anybody thinks, especially in light of the demographic issues, this was ever a good idea, is beyond me. Europe needs to strengthen internal demand, even if that means reducing their Exports (oh no, Shareholder at VW won't make as much money)

[@harrisonbergeron9746]

no, it's more like forty years...

[@adamo1242]

Why does Europe need to create an overconsumption problem. Europeans consume enough, infact maybe too much. If Europe has excess productive capacity, it should export. More demand in a developed country is not a good thing for the world, and ultimately even for the country itself, as bubbles will pop eventually and hurt everyone but the big business owners. The problem with European wages is due to weakened unions and workers rights, disguised in the language of "Labour Market Flexibility"

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Bingo!

[@ivani3237]

@@adamo1242 weakened unions? in Europe ????? Where on the planet they are stronger???

[@sirherbert6953]

@@adamo1242 european wages are to low compared to Productivity. This is inefficient. Germany has for a long time exported meat. There is no economicaly sound reason for why germany, one of the most productive countries on the planet would export something like meat. This is only because of artifically low wages. Now it is a recipe for disaster, beacuse europe due to high enery prices and bad Business decisions (to low private and Public investment) can no longer compete. Europe needs to start fiscal acceleration.

[@romanglebov7610]

The graphs at 2:15 say that _wages_ increased by 175%, while _productivity_ only increased by 54% (you state the opposite). Maybe the labeling is wrong?

[@SelfProclaimedEmperor]

Labeling is incorrect. All other sources say productivity increased more than pay in the US.

[@bishton]

Bro this channels data is always wrong.

[@vulpo]

You are correct. But in addition to this, his charts are very inconsistent with each other. What a mess!

[@richardclegg8027]

Yeah they have the blue red label wrong way round. The graph is pretty well known.

[@jasongarfitt1147]

The quality control on this channel is getting worse and worse

[@SilvesterMiles-y4j]

So, I’ve managed to save up a solid $56k in my emergency fund, and now I’m ready to jump into the investment game. Honestly, with wages being so low in Europe, I’m just sitting here wondering why it’s been so hard to grow my money here. Time to make it work for me, right? Anyone got a good starting point or should I just throw it all into stocks and pray?

[@MollyShorters]

I get where you’re coming from, but I'd be careful jumping in headfirst. I had a similar mindset, but after talking to a financial advisor, I realized how much more strategy matters. They helped me navigate different options like real estate and ETFs. It’s all about understanding your risk tolerance. Definitely think about getting expert advice to kick things off-makes a huge difference!

[@VeronicaOlivers]

I feel you both. I'm at a crossroads on how to move forward with my investments. I’m leaning toward getting a financial advisor, but the whole "who to trust?" thing is overwhelming. How do I even know where to start looking for one? 🤷‍♂

[@MollyShorters]

There are a handful of CFAs. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘Linda Aretha Reeves’ for some years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s known in her field, look her up.

[@blissds-gi3mb]

Looked her up after you mentioned her, and Linda Aretha Reeves really seems like exactly what I need to succeed. Watching her at the Bloomberg Finance Summit years ago, her presentation was phenomenal! Definitely got me excited about taking my finances to the next level!

[@RandomGuy-nm6bm]

Smp 500 always outperform expectations

[@Endermage1244]

I hate the brilliant ads.

[@Zeus-xy8ft]

this!!!!!!!!!

[@dzonikg]

I hate any youtube ads.They are stupid ,boring

[@SeverusFelix]

This is youtube. Be thankful they're advertising something that isn't fraud. If they start in with Masterworks or BetterHelp, then I'll complain.

[@davidkirinic9463]

​@@dzonikgso is your mum

[@MilkywayWarrior1618]

You guys watch ads?

[@MrsUnderwriter]

There is no such thing as "Europeans wages". European Luxembourg or Germany will be very different from Romania or Latvia

[@wanderingTrader8232]

The minimum wage in Hungary is 400 euros after taxes. The median is not much higher either. We are happy if we can consume enough oxygen lol

[@jimbomacers]

Is that a week?

[@wanderingTrader8232]

@jimbomacers Per month

[@_o..o_1871]

@@jimbomacersMonth

[@ewppkl]

whats the per hr rate?

[@varsoo1]

Why is the minimum wage in Hungary so low? In Poland our minimum wage is 1100 EUR a month (905 EUR after tax) and we basically had ideologically identical governments for 10 years.

[@AndrewRedford]

All these issues stem from an economy grappling with uncertainties, including housing problems, foreclosures, global fluctuations, and the aftermath of the pandemic, leading to instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions demand urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.

[@WEi45635]

With $420,000 in retirement savings, diversifying into assets that historically perform well during inflationary periods, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), commodities, or foreign currency assets, might help protect against potential dollar depreciation. Exploring options like global real estate, diversified foreign bonds, or high-quality international equities may also offer a hedge against a declining dollar and inflationary risks .

[@leonardives1991]

With my demanding job, I lack time for investment analysis. For seven years, a fiduciary has managed my portfolio, adapting to market conditions, enabling successful navigation and informed decisions. Consider a similar approach.

[@danialwiren2403]

this is definitely considerable! think you could suggest any professional/advisors i can get on the phone with? i'm in dire need of proper portfolio allocation

[@leonardives1991]

Jennafer Beaver Turner is the licensed advisor I use. Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with to set up an appointment

[@danialwiren2403]

Thanks, I looked her up on Google and was very impressed by her credentials. I reached out because I need all the help I can get. I've scheduled a phone call with her.

[@Trotsky1981]

Europe also sucks at job creation. Here in Finland it is extremely difficult to integrate into the labour market even as a skilled worker. In sectors like IT and engineering (historically the best industries to work in) you have to be the best of the best to even be considered.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

Except Finland's unemployment is generally fine, issue at the moment is the construction sector pushing it up, so more unskilled labor, not skilled.

[@elgregorpl]

If you look at money spent on research and development, EU lags behind US, China, etc. This is one of the biggest reasons behind insufficient job creation. Even in countries with low unemployment (like Poland), a lot of jobs are created by investment from foreign companies who do their own R&D.

[@CharlotteJacobsons]

"Man, this video hits hard. Makes me wonder if I’m overthinking saving up my $56k emergency fund instead of getting it to work for me. Like, why are wages stagnant, but rent and groceries are skyrocketing? Anyway, I’m ready to dip my toes into investing. Stocks, ETFs, crypto? Someone point me in the right direction before I YOLO it all!"

[@blissds-gi3mb]

Alright, $56k is a solid start, but YOLO isn’t the move, my friend. Been there. Think long-term. Get a financial advisor if you can. Mine helped me flip confusion into steady growth, and it’s worth every penny. Trust me, the right guidance beats KZbin strategies.

[@VeronicaOlivers]

Honestly, I’ve been sitting on savings too, and I’m lost when it comes to picking an advisor. Everyone’s got a different pitch, and I don’t want to get scammed. Any tips on finding someone legit without needing a degree in finance myself?

[@blissds-gi3mb]

There are a handful of CFAs. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with Linda Aretha Reeves for some years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s known in her field-look her up.

[@CharlotteJacobsons]

Looked her up, and wow-she’s exactly what I’ve been searching for! Thanks for the heads-up. Time to make my money work smarter, not harder

[@MollyShorters]

Saw Linda Aretha Reeves at a Bloomberg finance summit four years ago. Her insights were on another level! Totally inspired my current portfolio moves. She’s the real deal."

[@mzo.7333]

All of this is noise on the simple fact that companies are making record profits and none of this is beings passed down to workers. The myth of trickle down.

[@theodoresmith5272]

@@mzo.7333 tricke down includes way more then that. Lower taxes? Low interest rates? A good business environment? A healthy economy? To quote JFK, "A country can't tax its way into prosperity. " Regulations are killing the European economy. As they play the green net zero bullshit making the middle class hurt with high cost of living because of the green energy scam while the rest of the world like China are polluting on a grand scale is garbage. Why won't they stop China? $$. California working class have to pay $8 for fuel while the impact of that is nothing on a world scale.

[@daddynoah6210]

They aren’t making record profits, especially European companies

[@bamaramify]

That's US companies not the EU. Americans don't get paid 4 to 5 weeks vacation. You're lucky to get 1 week and it's a good job if you get 2

[@hopfferomero]

I never understood arguments like yours... I'd blame the bureaucracy, high taxes and quantitative easing and low interest rates instead. You'll always get record profits because of inflation. Companies were and are always greedy

[@Hasanaljadid]

​@@bamaramifyGetting 2 weeks of more vacation Doesn't justify 50% less wages

[@kevefeny]

How the fuck are we supposed to consume without money?

[@mazedmarky]

just open another consumer credit card 4Head

[@millerrepin4452]

Have tried bartering. If you have any sheep they might do well in this market. If not your daughters could be a good alternative.

[@AM2K2]

@@mazedmarky Cringe using twitch emotes outside of twitch 🤓

[@-haclong2366]

It's a vicious cycle.

[@F-aber]

Take out loans and make credit debt like all the Americans

[@kiwiman9754]

There is a surplus of labour due to globalisation. They have exported as many jobs as they can, and then for everything else they imported people to do it. And then on top of that the huge bureaucracy regulated everything, and gave you so much job security, that it is extremely difficult, and unnecessary to innovate.

[@kevinmanan1304]

American here. A joke with management was if you don’t want to get it done, you’ll send the job to London. 😂 Their reputation is getting the minimum done weeks late.

[@Fantastika]

Wow a city with good public transport and good food, how scary

[@skippy9273]

​@@Fantastikaand yet at the end of the day, no money either.

[@Fantastika]

@@skippy9273 you are pretending like the life in LA or New york is better lol, standard of living is lower, housing is much higher

[@skippy9273]

@@Fantastika LA? Probably not. New York? Yes. But I live in Orlando.

[@aar0n709]

LA is a great city. Great weather and more women than men so it’s great for dating

[@theli3x]

Life of Czech person, well everything is now 30% more expensive here in Czechia, can we get 30% increased wages? Companies: "Sorry dude I don't speak bigger wages"

[@ernst91]

But I thought you were better than America.

[@jayc342009]

​@ernst91 you just came here to start an argument, didn't you?

[@Ioulimontium]

And our right wing goverment is making this worse by removing guaranteed wages in the private sector

[@appleratpipe]

Sanctions work 🤣

[@theli3x]

@@appleratpipe This have no connection to Russia, you prokremel bot. Czechia have basically zero economics connection to Russia to begin with. Inflation stuff also happens in U.S.A. just in lower cases (btw this was of the reason why Trump won by so big margin).

[@connecticutaggie]

I have lived in the US my entire life but I have traveled to Europe several times and I work for a company based in Europe. Regarding to this topic, I noticed three things. 1) Like you said, Americans spend a lot more than Europeans and one BIG place we spend is on Housing - often new housing. As I have gotten older, I have more income and I have spent a lot of that one having a nicer house. Another factor is medical which we pay for ourselves and that keeps increasing requiring higher wages. 2) Americans are a LOT more mobile. For my last job change, I moved 3.000 miles (4,800 Km). Super easy for me but crazy difficult for a European. That means several things 1) There are A LOT of job opportunities 2) When I change, the company usually has to offer me more money 3) I get a newer more expensive house This mobility also means that if I have a life change (like a family) I could easily move from the city to the country so I could get more space. Also, all this space means more room to build new and more expensive houses. 3) From what I have seen, Americans work way more hours than Europeans do and get way less days off. That is OK and at times I am jealous but it is still a factor.

[@mrgalaxy396]

As we say: In Europe you work to live, in America you live to work. Being wealthy isn't the be all end all as long as you can afford a decent standard of living.

[@account-369]

@@mrgalaxy396 yappin

[@Julia3455-r5l]

That's literally the point. We Americans work MUCH MORE. Europeans have more holidays.

[@Julia3455-r5l]

@@mrgalaxy396 That's literally the point. We Americans work MUCH MORE. Europeans have more holidays. I have European friends, so I know their work-life-balance pretty well.

[@BlackHoleSpain]

@@Julia3455-r5l Furthermore, there are European countries like Spain, where you're fined if you work too much: more than 80 overtime hours *per year* is simply ILLEGAL!

[@djlorenz11]

It's Italy destroying these averages with salaries stuck in 1995...

[@JaegerDreadful]

That's funny, our wages haven't reflected the inflation since the 1960's!

[@medstudent10101]

Mi scusi, ma qui in Germania è lo stesso. Anche se probabilmente in Italia è ancora peggio.

[@varsoo1]

My parents emigrated from Poland to Italy in 1997. My mum worked for 100000 Lira a day, or around 55 euros. In 1997 the Polish minimum salary when she left was 400PLN a month, or around 92 euros a month today (around 130 a month back then) We went on holiday to Ostia this summer where my parents used to live, and a McDonald's in Ostia was advertising a 1190 Euro/month position. So basically same salary as 1997. In Poland the minimum salary today is 1100 a month....

[@Yanousecq]

If I got more than 32k€ yearly in Poland, the surplus is taxed 41% (32 tax + 9 health insurance with no damn cap). It is not worth the effort and I prefer to go to park or play a game instead of going above and beyond in my job.

[@jimbomacers]

There’s no point breaking your back for a job that will replace you tomorrow and for shit money.

[@MichealVt]

@@jimbomacers most companies will replace you with a cheap foreigner or with an AI or robot if they get the chance, loyalty is not rewarded anymore.

[@aaron4848]

thats crazy. glad that i am a foreign digital nomad in poland who work for a foreign company.

[@Erveon]

The reason Belgium does well on these charts is because there's a government mandated indexation on wages based on inflation (and other factors). In January 2023 because of the high inflation the year prior, every salaried employee in Belgium got an 11.08% wage increase because of this indexation. Worth a mention.

[@BogFiets]

Not sure how it's tied to low union membership when the US and UK have better wage growth and low union membership.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

If you check where about US wage growth started stagnating, the shifts started happening badly in the mid 80's with effect felt in the 90's. This coincides that US wages stopped being tied as directly to productivity compared to before with lower union memberships. For Europe, countries with higher union membership generally saw higher wages for the average income earner. This video is a bit misleading comparing average when median is what the average person experiences.

[@christinemurray1444]

Union strongholds correlate strongly to lack of competitiveness.

[@mungermid]

I run a UK LTD company and do business in the EU and it sucks. I have to pay 1300 eur to a 3rd party company to manage my ECOtax obligations under WEEE. I have to arrange waste collection on behalf of the customer for any packaging I sell. They are bureaucratics idiots hell-bent on policies which stall their economies and make it harder to do business. You need separate VAT reports per country. They need to become Federally involved for this work.

[@Jonra1]

It's crazy how many people fail to take into account the cost of living when comparing wages. Average wages in my home country are quite a bit higher than in the country where I live right now, but I am able to have a far higher standard of living with a lower wage due to also having lower cost of living. If you just chase the high pay check, you might often just end up spending all of it for necessities and not being left with much more extra, than you would if you accepted a lower paying position in a country with lower cost of living.

[@avada0]

Well, here the both the wages are crap and everything is f-ing expensive. Hungary is a fun place.

[@wenterinfaer1656]

How are Europeans supposed to consume when they're smothered with taxes.

[@tieember9596]

The fact that they went from blaming us for spending too much on coffee to blaming us for saving up too much means I require zero permission to stop listening to economists and politicians, and every right to call them empty mouthpieces. They're not just destructive, but rather, its clear that they aren't even listening to the shit that falls out of there own mouths, so why the ACTUAL FUCK SHOULD WE!?

[@SianaGearz]

Nobody has been blaming you for any of this, but maybe caffeine is making you jittery and paranoid.

[@santostv.]

They say :Poor people shouldn’t have kids Same people: birth rates are declining make babies peasants Nobody wants to work in the same vein people are getting layoff Ai Will save us from low birth rates but we still need workers We need to decouple from the USA, take not measure to do it Europe has a immigration problem but employers still want cheap immigrant labor 🤦‍♂️ They don’t know what they want anymore.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

@@SianaGearz ya've never heard of avocodo toast?

[@davidjennings2179]

It isn't the same people saying these two things. Economists aren't saying coffee/avocado is affecting rates of house ownership rates. It's the daily mail and similar. They might both be older and wealthier than us, but we don't need to stick them both in the same bucket.

[@Pete_YT]

Who are “they”. Victim mentality.

[@jonathan2847]

Because the continent values wealth more than work and the old more than the young. Just look at the tax system.

[@hagnat]

i think the issue is not _"why are European wages so low?",_ the issue should be _"why are North American wages so inflated ?"_ my salary in the Netherlands was AWESOME, but still half the salary an average American would receive. Sure, the main issue is that the "wage" alone is just one number, you have to factor other working beneficts, such as vacation and sick days, healtcare, public transport, job stability, work-life-balance, etc... which the European market clearly excel at. Edit: I am Brazilian, but lived in the Netherlands for ~7 years between 2016 and 2022. So this is a 3rd party view between the US and Europe

[@ArakishiTokugawa]

the companies are pushed to that as they get tax credits for doing that ( prizes, food stamps, etc. ) too

[@reiudfgq3vrh34ur]

Doesn't solve the brain drain that is occuring in Europe to the US or Switzerland

[@alexpotts6520]

I feel like "less dysfunctional than America" is really not the goal you want to be aiming at. European wages gave fallen in real terms, and this is bad for Europeans regardless of what is happening across the Atlantic.

[@inbb510]

But your welfare state is a Ponzi scheme that is unsustainable and I don't think in 20 years time, you will bragging about how you have all those "free" stuff when the population ages even more and young people have to pay more and more taxes just to accommodate an aging population.

[@lurkingsoldi2107]

North American wages are not so "inflated" they're just straight up higher. Europe has higher prices and higher inflation every year. For example fuel is way more expensive and it's used everywhere

[@josepheridu3322]

Everything in Europe is carefully designed to keep everyone in the social class they were born. Middle class, rich, etc. there is no mobility. If you are rich it is almost impossible to lose wealth in Europe, and if you are Middle class the state would rather manage your money for you and treat you as a baby.

[@peglor]

Social mobility is much lower in the US thanks to everything being run for profit - the only people that say different are the ones selling US exceptionalism to those who have been failed by the education system (By design in the US, as local taxes fund schools, so poor areas have poor schools, so from the very beginning poor people get shafted on education in the US). In the EU thanks to affordable access to education and healthcare, which is completely free for children across most EU countries for example, it's far easier to be born poor and still live a comfortable middle class life. Most of the US population, even the ones on high salaries, is one medical bill away from bankruptcy, and I've seen the comment repeated regularly that most of the US population are living so completely from paycheck to paycheck that an unexpected $400 bill would be a big problem.

[@mabeSc]

The thing is that richer people and companies are getting better and better at retaining money and using loopholes. So there is even less money going around to even less people.

[@Historia.Magistra.Vitae.]

*That's not how the economy works.*

[@mabeSc]

@@Historia.Magistra.Vitae. Huh? So is it wrong to say that money and power is being accumulated in even fewer, greedier hands? I wasn't even describing the economy as a whole, just something I've noticed. Massive piles of money that, in terms of the wider economy, might as well not exist.

[@takecourage92]

Productivity decoupling has a simple cause - inequality. A small number are getting extremely rich off the backs of productivity improvements, and are also less likely to invest in productivity because they can get rich by doing nothing, and workers arent pushing for productivity growth because they know it doesnt help them.

[@Argenswiss]

Another socialist staying poor because of their pathetic victim mentality

[@fvw94]

Dude nothing is simple here. A "small number" is getting richer is not accurate, the government is

[@millerrepin4452]

That depends on inflation and corporate tax rate. Low inflation or worse deinflation means it's better to invest less or not at all. CTR if higher means it's better to reinvest in your own company meanwhile a lower CTR means it's better to invest into the creation of new businesses or even industries.

[@Pete_YT]

There has never been a better time to be alive. Just build something.

[@flashsentry1791]

As a American. The only way you got a good raise was to find another job. My boss would never give me the raise I wanted, so i left. I switched jobs 2 times.

[@santostv.]

For a lot of people in Europe that doesn’t usually work only by emigrating to another European country with a bigger economy, I guess similar to someone from ohio going to California or nyc I guess , you get higher salary worse qol but you save then you move back home if you don’t mind the pay cut. This is a generalization so doesn’t apply to every jobs or European country

[@Pete_YT]

Europeans fear moving jobs because they know they are not productive. They find a company and job they can hide in and feel like a victim.

[@flashsentry1791]

@@santostv. Can you live in 1 county but work in other? 🤔

[@ernst91]

Why would Europeans care? Europe is better than America in every metric. So they say.

[@samd6720]

@@flashsentry1791 Well if you live close to the border yes. For instance as a French I know some people work in Switzerland, have their wages which are amongst the highest in the world and live in France paying French prices. This is one of the best situation possible

[@adpop750]

Wages say nothing. Spendable income is what counts. You can easily subtract $50.000 from American incomes in comparison to European ones, because the immensely higher fixed costs they have. For instance: -Making $60.000 in California you are on the brink of being a homeless bum, whereas in Europe you would be living the good life with a nice house, car and going on vacation twice a year. -Watch some vlogs from Americans that moved to Europe and compared what their fixed costs where in the States to where they live now, it's always $4.000 - $5.000 less a month that they save on rent, utilities, heath insurance, groceries, Internet, phone plans, transportation etc.

[@answerman9933]

You may be surprise to know that not only America is not just California, but not all of California is San Fransisco and Los Angeles. I live Tennessee and easily get by on $36.000 a year while making well over $100.000 a year.

[@alexbojanic7363]

Well that is like comparing some body living in dt Paris or Lake Como or whatever.

[@Pete_YT]

No innovation in Europe = no growth.

[@chandlerblachut3878]

It’s hilarious that you used California as your example. 99% of Americans have lower housing costs than there. Americans have less taxes, lower cost of living, and cheaper goods and services than Europeans. We also have higher wages on average. That means we have vastly more money at the end of the day than European people. I guess that’s why our country has a GDP like your whole continent

[@imfromisrael489]

Texas is the sweetspot of high tech cities and cheaper cost of living

[@Cheeseburger121]

Czechia: Eastern Europe salaries and Western Europe prices.

[@Hasanaljadid]

Is czechia or Poland better country to live?

[@dzonikg]

Serbia: Apartments that were given for free to everyone during Yugoslavia now renting for awerage wage

[@amunak_]

@@Hasanaljadid Purchase parity wise it's actually Poland nowadays. Somehow their economy has been doing really good, whereas ours has been ... stagnating at best. Prague is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live compared to the wages here. I mean it doesn't help that we already had a housing crisis and then a few hundred thousand of Ukrainian escapees came, exasperating the issue. And that's during a government that's completely incapable of speeding up any development but one that's happy to give out rent money towards people who "need" it, which - as it turns out - can be *anyone* who asks if your rent is high enough.... Which you can even ask your landlord out and can "help each other" towards some government money, which in turn just raises rent for everyone. Oh what a great place to live in...

[@olorusrex584]

That's all of Eastern Europe. We pay the exact same for goods but with sometimes 25% of the wages that westerners make. Czechia is actually a high-income country.

[@leventelajos5078]

@@Hasanaljadid Poland is one of the best countries to live in currently in Europe.

[@ianthomas7439]

There is no paradox. Wages decoupled from productivity when Boomers entered the workforce in the 1970s. Much more workers for not so much more workplaces. Growth of amount of workplaces lagged constantly behind demand by growing number workers.

[@RobertoEsteban3]

The wisest thought that is in everyone's minds today is to invest in different income flows that do not depend on the government especially with the current economic crisis around the world. This is still a good time to invest in gold, silver and digital currencies (BTC, ETH.... Stock)

[@ÍkerParra90]

Please how can I be successful in crypto trading even when there are fluctuations in the crypto market? I have lost many times. Can anyone help me?

[@NicolásFlores4]

👏 Today I hit 100,000. I am so grateful for all the knowledge and nuggets of information you have given me over the past few months. I started with 20,000 in August 2023.

[@LorenzoFerrer6]

Yes, and that is true. And you don't have to depend on anyone or your job you can now a lot of money in the crypto market .

[@XavierHernández62]

After raising up to $50,000 trading with Ms. Stephanie Weaver, I bought a new house and a car here in the US and also paid for my son's (Sergio) surgery. Glory to God. Shalom...

[@HenryPerez94]

Same here, I met Ms. Stephanie Weaver last year for the first time at a New York Stock Exchange conference, then my family changed forever. God bless Stephanie Weaver.

[@NK-vd8xi]

People say income tax is the main issue, it's a contributing factor but not the main issue, as it's money that at least gets used on infrastructure. Europe has a problem with insane proportions of income going to rent. A Georgist system where rents are forced to be low due to market forces via a land value tax, combined with drastic cuts in income tax are the only way we will see growth.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

Ahh, a fellow Georgist! We still exist!

[@NK-vd8xi]

@@mycatistypingthis5450 we need to evangelise!

[@ChristiaanHW]

yeah, nothing wrong with taxes, as long as they get used in a good way. if you're able to see where your taxes go and enjoy safe infrastructure, good schools, good electricity (no outages) etc you should be happy about paying those taxes. the people against taxes don't understand what they would have to care for themselves if taxes where lower or even gone.

[@MichealVt]

@@ChristiaanHW problem is the EU is more of a transfer Union. Rich countries are forced to bail out the corrupt/weaker south. Also EU bureaucracy and rule making is absurd.

[@jayc342009]

​@@ChristiaanHW over taxation is a problem, especially when you see the money being wasted on useless research projects.

[@assvp-l7z]

priorities are taxes, bureaucracy and regulation instead of wages

[@lostandfound2893]

The UK is doing rubbish so it's shocking to hear Europe is even worse lol.

[@TheGahta]

Its just one number, chill, ofc uk has to raise salaries since they cut off their unlimited supply of eastern European workers 😂 Europes fine

[@LA90598]

​​@@TheGahtaUK is doing better than most of Europe. Yes, wages have increased in part because of Brexit ... and that is a good thing

[@PhoeniX199777]

@@TheGahta cope

[@gullyweaver1714]

We are lucky to be living in the UK.

[@TheGahta]

@@PhoeniX199777 vOv If you need this to be true so badly, ill give you that illusion

[@Doping1234]

Inflation is a tax on the poor, who do most of the consuming. Makes sense, then.

[@MsFallenPrime]

Poor don't do much consuming. And if anything inflation kills savings, also: not the poor. The middle class consumes a lot more ánd does have savings.

[@Doping1234]

@MsFallenPrime ok, replace poor with middle class for whole-economy effects, correct. The middle class usually have some non-money assets though. On an individual level inflation still hits poor people most.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

Would disagree with it being called a tax, more it's a higher burden for them, since they don't get any service etc. out of inflation. It's why having unions is so important, since then lower income earners can more easily have inflation adjusted wages (also generally helps everyone that's not a board executive).

[@Doping1234]

@@Masterrunescapeer It is not a tax in the conventional way, but poor people lose purchase power while entities with debt, like governments, reap the benefits by devaluing the principal. So it is a, admittedly fuzzy, transfer of value from citizen to government.

[@pedrolopes3542]

The thing that people do not understand (or they pretend not to understand), is that real productivity follows improvements in mechanization, automation, simplification of bureaucratic tasks and digitalization. Companies that have abundant workers that receive a low salary to perform their work, have no reason to invest in more efficient machinery and improve production methods, so productivity stays low. Higher salaries and shortage of workers forces companies to mechanize and automatize further their operations, which increases productivity, not the other way around. So if you want more productivity per worker in a country, increase the salaries by law and give incentives to companies to mechanize, automatize and digitalize, plus invest in a good renewable energy plan to make sure energy is abundant and cheap. Low wages is the cause of low productivity, not the consequence.

[@UtamagUta]

but where the low skill workers are supposed to go? I work in said automations solution company and our clients usually fire at least a part of their old staff. Low birth rates are low key a blessing for them, but imagine that we do not and/or immigration would get even worse.

[@Croz89]

Unfortunately renewable energy isn't all that cheap in most parts of Europe. Sure, it doesn't cost much to generate, but the costs of compensating for intermittency and providing constant reliable power for industry add up.

[@pedrolopes3542]

@@Croz89 Renewables are the cheapest source of energy in all European countries, with no exception.

[@Croz89]

@@pedrolopes3542 If you only consider the cost of generation, sure. But if you factor in the cost of transmission, gas spinning reserve and/or storage that changes. Europe hasn't been pouring subsidies into renewables for no reason.

[@pedrolopes3542]

@@Croz89 How come you only count the transmission cost for renewable energy, but not for fossil energy? And if you consider all the transmission costs and infrastructure maintenance, renewables look even cheaper. And my point goes beyond energy in regard to efficiency.

[@tomislavnagy8715]

Inflation in Croatia and Hungary are the Highest in EU! Make a Video about that!

[@mrm7058]

As far as I remember from other US vs EU videos, prices for rent and food is also lower than in the US. And don't even start with healthcare. Just comparing wages via exchange rates don't show the whole picture.

[@panter82]

they are still lower after deducting those

[@mrm7058]

@@panter82 Ask those 60& of American who work paycheck to paycheck. Or those who are homeless and have to sleep in their car despite having a job. The "real wages" (those who take cost of living into account) are certainly higher in the US for a part of the population, but for the bottom half? I have doubts.

[@francesco3588]

I still have to pay 55% of my monthly pay for rent

[@magivkmeister6166]

Could it be because the EU is actually going through a recession and companies are finding it harder to pay their employees more?

[@somedudeAPS]

@@mrm7058 This. I have a really hard time accepting that people making around minimum wage are better of in the US than the EU. There's no way a MCDonalds cashier is better of in the US.

[@ohno8686]

Europeans mostly relies on public welfare to get by their low wages. But im interested to see how they would deal with the growing dependents and low birth rates. At some point if nothing drastic is done the goverment would definetly need to lower the welfare cost to keep up with the budget.

[@donotneedahandle]

2:03 "US productivity and wages moved in tandem until 1970s when they suddenly decoupled" - the colors of the chart are also decoupled from the actual data (it supposed to show that wages grew slower than productivity, but it does the opposite). P.S. trickle-down waiting room is full again, surely it will work this time.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

Amazing how Biden did the opposite for coming out of the pandemic, generally one of the softest landings for something like it in history, and yet lost and we're back to trickle down economics nonsense. :(

[@Mitch_Rogoff]

It’s absurd to say that loosening labor restrictions is to blame for euro wages lagging when the US has far looser labor laws across the board and is growing quite nicely

[@unstoppable5357]

High tax + mediocrity mindset + trying to keep alive old industries via lobbying + not realizing free healtcare isn't actually free but is taking from somebody else's pocket. That's why talent is leaving EU to USA and only lowlife are comming to Europe.

[@pul0y]

i see Belgium. yeah, union wage negotiations are serious here, as is membership. i was surprised when i first immigrated being offered a list of whom to sign up with right off the bat. and while there are strikes occasionally, we joke that they aren't as frequent as neighboring France 😂

[@jeffgreenwaldJLG]

I saw a chart that said that the GDP of Europe and America was about equal 15 years ago and now the GDP of America is 50% larger. So they’ve had very little growth in the past 15 years.

[@Jolbulka]

I'm a data analyst / project manager / SQL coder in my company and I'm earning the same as tram driver. I'm from Poland :D

[@iwso6585]

@@Jolbulka u nas w całym powiecie ludzie z magistem z ekonomi nie mogą znaleść

[@edouard9867]

The tram driver is more useful than you tho. Unless you work for a big tech company than yes that's bad.

[@shazzshank]

Analityk, project manager? ktos ciebie ostro dyma albo mieszkasz na jakims zadupiu gdzie nawet ptaki zawracaja

[@michalsvihla1403]

@@edouard9867 Is he tho? If self-driving cars are around the corner, I wonder how hard it is to replace the driver of a thing that runs on rails.

[@edouard9867]

@@michalsvihla1403 I think he is, but if you disagree, that's fine. It's true that, according to Nobel Prize winning scientist Geoffrey Hinton, self-driving vehicles are coming soon. However, I will say this: if AI can handle all the real-time data of cars and trains, it's not a stretch to imagine that it will also be able to handle website and apps analytics. So it's a bad example, since he has just as much chance of being replaced by AI.

[@valentins7120]

The economies of France, Germany, Spain and many other European powerhouses have a public spending ratio of 50%. In the US, it's 35%. Now you can imagine that government spending isn't growth oriented as investments in the private sectors tend to be, hence the stagnation. In comparison, the last time government spending in Germany matched that of the US was in the 1960ies - Germany's period of economic boom. Europeans traded economic prospects for financial stability for government employees and low income households.

[@piergiorgioscollo7163]

That's not how it works man.

[@valentins7120]

@@piergiorgioscollo7163 If sizable parts of the population don't work in growth oriented jobs, where should economic growth possibly derive from anyway? You can either work for Porsche and increase your productivity or work for the state and... basically don't contribute to the economy at all because that money could have as well been just spent at random.

[@hughjohns9110]

I wish TLDR would make up their minds and be consistent on this.

[@zladvevo9724]

Wym

[@Astke]

They make content to make content, and saying Europe = Bad is easy clicks

[@hughjohns9110]

@ usually there are pro EU. Besides if you’re right they could easily be consistently saying EU=bad, but they don’t.

[@NIlleyla]

Last I looked, western european countries lead the US in terms of happiness, life expectancy, low crime rate, Suicide Rate and other factors relating to public well being. Maybe the phrase "money isn't everything" remains true...

[@ricardocappuccino432]

Yapping aside, why would Europeans consume more if they are told to make conscious decisions when consuming? It is institutionalized throttling of consumption by governments and NGO's. We are surrounded by many PSA's about impact our decisions make. On top of that, we are going down the spiral of both wages and consumption. The lower the wages the lower the consumption will get. Also for this perfect storm EU declines being competitive putting more and more restrictions on economies by reduction of CO2 emissions and addidtional taxation on electricity. You do not need to observe statistics or go on a deep dive into pie charts to clearly claim this phenomenon has been present in EU for 20 years now. There seems to be no solution as legislators absolutely forgot they serve people and not the other way around. Unfortunately, even for me as a EU supporter, this institution caused this dramatic situation and status quo / decline is in their best interest.

[@HM-mw7cg]

Weird tho, wages for many in Brussels (not talking eu institutions folks) are way higher than in London, especially if you’re one of the many Londoners not working in law or finance. And then there’s the cost of living in London

[@JJ-qd9yl]

London is a nightmare if you’re poor like me lol

[@Reonsi]

Spain being more competitive after employment law? Please... We have one of the most rigid employment systems in the world. That's why Spain has the highest young unemployment rate in the EU, cause it's too expensive to fire senior workers.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

No, it has more to do with Spain's economy being mostly tourism and building sector related, so jobs that are low skills with lots of temporary (seasonal) jobs, and lots not reporting that they are employed. Having more worker protections is usually better in the long run as there are more consumers spending money, improving economic feedback loop. There was a study of one of the largest retailers in the US, forgot which one, they increased wages and directly saw an increase in revenue for it.

[@Reonsi]

@Masterrunescapeer tell that to the companies for whom is not worth firing workers even if their job is not required as much due to compensations. That's why most young people here live with their parents. Obviously there is a temporary side to tourism, but we outrank in young unemployment other touristic countries such as Italy or Greece.

[@BlackHoleSpain]

@@Masterrunescapeer I'm an IT Systems & Networks Technician in Spain. I was fired in 2007 because at €29k I was too expensive. Then 2008-2015 Global Financial Crisis arrived. Some countries only got 15-20 months of crisis, but it took 8 years here. 17 years later that position is still paid €23k/year and I haven't been able to get another job in all this time.

[@AA-ux6gg]

No tech industry No innovation No venture capital

[@harrisonbergeron9746]

mass immigration and the law of supply and demand.

[@spacetime3]

You forget the rich can easily move and hide money and investment that's also an issue, even though they make money off service consumption within Europe and UK.

[@Lavithz]

No innovation? We are top ranked in innovation. No tech industry? My 10 million population country have more video games then entire US. Where do you get these statistics.

[@Dissline]

Europe was often in a state of stagnation before the wars; it feels like this cycle is starting all over again. Be one of the richest continents, take a hit, then have people finally turn their minds to regaining that comfortable life they once had.

[@KonradSeverinHilstad]

😊​@@spacetime3

[@ConstellationOrion]

Ehm, Excuse me what's an economy? (I am from Turkey)

[@1989sarasa]

High taxes and a lack of flexibility in attracting external capital - that’s the issue. I’ve been waiting five months for a work permit in Spain, even though I already have a profitable business. Economic sustainability doesn’t seem to be a priority for the government, and I see many people choosing to leave for Asia, where starting and running a business is far easier. On top of that, if you’re working on your own, just to hold ‘autónomo’ status you need to pay 300 euros every month, plus about 80 euros for an accountant - that’s 380 euros monthly. Add roughly 20% income tax and 21% VAT, and it’s no wonder people feel frustrated. Honestly, I’m really fed up with the situation here and the government’s approach.

[@santostv.]

The Spaniard have Beckham law, immigration services in Europe are overburdened because of underfunding and mass immigration

[@JakoWako]

At least they treat big businesses well 🙃

[@alexanderd6793]

VAT is paid by the customer, no? IF the products that you buy and used are part of the final product then you don't really pay the VAT, you transfer it onto the product, is that not the case? Cause it's one of the things I've seen here in Bulgaria. Yeah, just checked it and it's called "deducting VAT" that comes off of the customer's payment when they finally get the product

[@1989sarasa]

@ yeah, I mean it makes your product more expensive, not every customer is willing to pay that, especially considering their wages. If fact most of Spaniard just avoid paying for stuff altogether, sharing things within communities

[@manuelcunharocha8889]

Energy costs are probably really hurting europe. In the US energy is so cheap that they can afford higher salaries, for instance

[@Sion-No1]

I think energy Price Isn't The big factor

[@skippy9273]

American companies pay more because they have higher revenue

[@ricardonunezsuarez9258]

Hello from Spain. If you couple workers wages with direct and indirect taxes it becomes very clear that productivity is punished. There is a point where the moré you win the moré you until you only work to pay taxes. We only feed the Machine not our families😢

[@santostv.]

I’m from Portugal people say we work almost half the year to pay taxes but I also hear similar points from the USA so idk if taxes are really the problem although it probably has some impact. In the case of my country I know our problems and is mostly because what we produce aka low margins products. most business owners don’t like to modernize,improve,change. Laws are just suggestions most of the time. Everyone wants to up each other on bs topic instead of cooperating. Employees are like a burden and hours worked is more valuable than more work done. Big companies have monopolies/oligopolies over the country,small to medium company don’t want to improve unless the eu pays for it. Since we attracted tourists,expat investors thru real estate, digital nomads paying less taxes than locals although they discount higher amounts, mass immigration where most work minimum wage for those that talk our language and gig work for those that don’t with a excuse of our people not wanting to work. So older people retired pr are waiting for it and young people emigrate to Switzerland,Benelux for example. I know Spain problems are similar to us but your market is bigger just like Italy

[@alejandroarjonapolo7939]

Yeah, real wage compensation is before taxes, our wages has not grown while our productivity has, thats the real problem

[@Pete_YT]

Have you thought about building something instead of being a drain on society?

[@avestaalamgiralam3868]

Who would have guessed, that consumption taxes and CO2 emissions tax, that are made to lower consumption, actually lower consumption

[@modarkthemauler]

It's like raising the tax on alcohol to reduce consumption and make people healthier but expecting people to drink the same amount so the government gets more money and then having a deficient budget when people drink less.

[@looseycanon]

Consumption taxes are actually a good thing. You see, only what you consume gets taxed, and the rest, things that you save or invest into some funds, bonds or stocks are not, but the money returns into economy anyway. And if you need to throttle your taxation for one reason or another, you can simply cut on spending to a point. This doesn't happen with income taxes, so I'd rather see them go and double the VAT if need be.

[@ronald3836]

​@@looseycanonthe economy needs consumption because that stimulates production and the economy == production of goods and services.

[@looseycanon]

@@ronald3836 Except you can export production, that doesn't get realized in the local market. The reason consumption taxes are better is, that you are in control of your taxation, so if you chose to save, for instance, because you're expecting a large unavoidable expense, you can actually use the financial market and use compound interest to help you earn the money you need.

[@diarmaidmoloney5611]

​@@modarkthemauler they brought in Minimum pricing of alcohol in Ireland almost 2 years ago. Sales have dropped since drastically. They used to increase duty on alcohol every 2 years but they haven't for next year because sales have dropped so much that they said doing so could lead to job losses. So the plan has backfired as the tax collection has dropped so much for alcohol.

[@mariokantor6617]

Croatia curently has a problem where the avarage yearly income is around 12 000€, the prices of food and goods are higher than in Germany, England, France and other EU nations...

[@UtamagUta]

same in the Baltics. Our restaurants cost more than in Paris 😅

[@Leugim010]

Europe is too obsessed with having an old school export led economy. It just pushes the workers to have low wages to keep our goods competitive for old dying industries. We should look at service and consumption led economies like the U.S. for lessons

[@looseycanon]

Not really, Europe is already mostly services. There are holdouts like Czechia or Germany, which still have heavily industrial economy, but those are exceptions

[@TopHatLucario]

And destroy our planet even more? Yeah, great.

[@looseycanon]

@TopHatLucario everything has a price

[@olorusrex584]

Focus more towards services? Are you serious? Please tell me you're not serious. The entire reason why Western economies are losing ground to China is because Service-based economies literally produce NOTHING, with GDP being literally an imaginary number with no basis in reality.

[@DoktorJacob]

Umm no, they are not low. We have much less terminally poor people than USA

[@blueguy5588]

@2:10 The US coming off the gold standard in 1971 was the catalyst for the decoupling of wages from productivity.

[@Nermalton77]

How so? How did one thing affect the other? For me this is much better explained by the rise of neoliberalism in 80s

[@Globe_Glider]

​@@Nermalton77 neoliberals wouldn't of survived in a world with a gold backed currency its very closely linked.

[@wedjet]

Interesting take. Maybe it's related to debasing the currency i.e. expansionary monetary policy.

[@mikicerise6250]

​@@Globe_Glider In 1971 you would have flunked grade school by writing "wouldn't of", whereas today that will see you through university, so there is also that. 🤔

[@Globe_Glider]

@@mikicerise6250 most people don't write formally on the internet and anyways what use is your perfect grammar if your unable to understand how your being robbed 😂😂, 1971 is the cause of all this but most are too dumb to understand.

[@aliemrebalc4575]

2:10 What kind of a major event could have caused this decoupling in 1971? Yes I am looking at you Nixon.

[@hyhhy]

So when productivity decouples from wages, the extra productivity is consumed by people (perhaps in foreign countries) who get dividends, capital gains, pensions, welfare, etc. in addition to or instead of wages, I guess.

[@Misiok89]

GDP measures spending, not productivity. For example, burning lots of fuel or buying a new phone every year increases spending without necessarily improving productivity. If a country produces items designed to last 10 years, with just a few minor repairs, their productivity is effectively higher compared to an economy where similar items are replaced every 3 years. I hope Europe moves toward durable products and lower resource consumption - aiming for a lifestyle that’s pleasant yet sustainable. Comfortable, but balanced.

[@kevinflummi2822]

NoOooO the GDP MUST rise, or you WILL be unhappy! Buy a new car and a new phone NOW because both have TWO more AI CORES than last year's models! BRUHH technology is AWESOME!

[@Misiok89]

@@kevinflummi2822 I'm a consumer - I own a PS5 and plan to get a PS6, but I don’t feel the need for a PS5 Pro. I used to have a Xiaomi Redmi 8 Pro, now I have a Xiaomi Redmi 12 Pro, and my next phone will likely be the Xiaomi Redmi 16 Pro, once the 17 is well-established on the market. My son now uses my previous phone. He had the option to buy a new one, but he chose to save his money and use my old phone (restored to factory settings and running like new).

[@ChristiaanHW]

that's the thing i hate about these kinds of video's. they always make it seem like the situation is bad, to get more clicks. but in reality it's just that one place in doing it differently than the other one. for example (a few of) the differences between the US en Europe, and why wages and GDP seem so unequal compared between the two: US: you get a big paycheck but you have to pay for everything yourself, healthcare, a car, higher food prices etc. Europe: you get a smaller paycheck but taxes have already covered everything and the infrastructure is in decent > good condition thanks to these taxes. US: massive GDP, but that is thanks to the always buying more, more, more. the massive healthcare debt, student debt, year on year government deficit etc. so that high GDP is based of spending of money the state and the people doesn't have. Europe: lower GDP, but that doesn't mean much. it's in a big part because people and governments spend their money wiser and don't keep buying the newest stuff. or build cities that need massive maintenance budgets the US is a big house of cards, and when the $ loses it's position in the world it will all come crashing down. that is if the ongoing polarization hasn't brought the US Civil War: part II along before that. the always keeping GDP growing won't and can't go on, and the sooner we start to shift to another the better, for the people and the planet. these videos are just to pamper to some viewers, make them feel better about their situation and not question their situation. and to get more clicks so they earn more money. but in the end the video is worth nothing.

[@imfromisrael489]

@@ChristiaanHW US has much more advanced technology than the EU, which leads through economic dominance of multiple multinational companies. Plus, dollar is still reserve currency and is backed by the American military. Stop this Euro cope. The US would still have a higher gdp than the EU even if consumer spending drastically reduced.

[@imfromisrael489]

@@ChristiaanHW Many countries like Denmark, Sweden also have high househld debt levels too.

[@FalconsEye58094]

I was thinking of moving from USA to Europe until I saw the cost of living situation and wage situations would be no better

[@aaron4848]

dubai and singapore

[@elgregorpl]

If you could manage remote working for a US company while living in Europe, you'd be golden.

[@Crusty-jo5pj]

Could this be related to huge taxes on salaries ranging between 40-50% in some EU countries. I live in Ireland and the salary is only good on paper here. If you get promoted, you get double the workload for some positions, a lot of overtime and you get about 10% real/net increase in salary. No one ever talks about the mounthly net salary, like it is fobidden.

[@SimonCowellmanagementCowellman]

I'm glad you made this video it reminds me of my transformation from a nobody to good home, $34k monthly and a good daughter full of love..

[@Rudenz8]

My advice to everyone is that saving is great but investment is the key to be successful imagine investing $15,000 and received $472,700.

[@bintaabdullahi2343]

Making touch with financial advisors like Theresa Walton who can assist you restructure your portfolio, would be a very creative option. Personal financial management will be crucial to navigating the next difficult times.

[@PatriciaGabrielaTorres]

Unfortunately, not all of us were financially literate early. I was 35 when I finally educated myself and started taking steps. I went from $176,000 in debt with zero savings or retirement to now, 2 years later, fully debt-free and over $1000,000 net worth. I know that doesn't SOUND like a lot, but I'm incredibly proud of it. Now I'm fast-tracking my wealth building (investing $400,000 annually) and don't owe a dime to anyone. It's a good feeling!

[@bsquarebuilding]

Lately i got interested in crypto but has no idea how to go about it. Can anyone Help with a reliable tra-der?

[@bintaabdullahi2343]

SHE'S MOSTLY ON TELEGRAMS APPS WITH THE BELOW NAME

[@ioanliviu22]

What am I going to consume when the EU keeps raising taxes on everything based on ideological BS ? Rents are high, fuel prices will never go back down and the employers keep telling us we already earn good enough. I stopped eating out during the plandemic for obvious reasons, I don’t pay anyone to do things I can do myself.

[@Its_Croaker]

Btw this is one reason why anti establishment parties are on the rise. They won't solve the problem but it looks like this is the only way the poor can express there frustration

[@RAPHAEL-di8hz]

Because in EU your wage is the money remaining once your boss paid all the social heath care / retirement / unemployement. In France your boss spends 8 K to give you a 4 k wage

[@inbb510]

@@RAPHAEL-di8hz that good old fat state pension for your greedy pensioners and their healthcare. Quite wild that your country wants to DECREASE state pension age back to 60. Do the French pensioners just hate young people?

[@RAPHAEL-di8hz]

​@@inbb510 Pensioners are former 1960/70's communists students, they spent all their life trying to get the maximum from the state hoping the system will hold until they die, it is just normal in France

[@patriayvida6850]

​@@inbb510- The owner class & their unbridled greed has nothing to with this, right? It's always the greedy poor people's fault.

[@jantube358]

That is not the reason because even for side jobs like waiter at a restaurant the hourly salary is way too low although the social stuff is already paid by the main job. I saw people in the US getting $50/hr for a job that is paid 13€/hr here.

[@inbb510]

@@patriayvida6850 , That's just copium. Aging population + low fertility rates + welfare state = high taxes for younger people + collapsing public services. To deny this (especially with France where they spend SIXTEEN PERCENT OF THEIR TOTAL GDP ON JUST PENSIONS ALONE) is just delusional. And yes, it is the greedy poor people's fault as they are stifling innovation by demanding that money goes into their bloated pensions instead of giving young people the economic environment to thrive through innovation.

[@jackali5014]

In EU we have American prices (sometimes higher) while having lower wages than American.

[@kamilantkiewicz7083]

yeah, in Poland we have European prices and Ukrainian wages

[@santostv.]

I don’t think we have us prices in most things not even close but I have Central European prices with Eastern European income 😂

[@danielmcguire7344]

Yeah, I mean we Americans are complaining about high gas prices when its like $3 a gallon or like less than a $1 a litre.

[@colinsmith1288]

​@@kamilantkiewicz7083l went to Poland recently after years away. I was shocked by how much food prices had gone up.

[@jakubpluhar4914]

@@santostv. You'd be surprised how in my Country we have US/UK prices for goods and yet don't even make 2k a month. Not to mention that something like Iphones are EVEN more expensive here and the food prices are basically the same as US. You can definitely find products that cost the same as US and maybe even higher quite often

[@philipwong9557]

Did you get your labels incorrect at 2:10? The chart indicates wage growth outpacing productivity growth while you say the opposite.

[@ahlsn7346]

Yep they did mix up the labels. I've seen the graph before and red line is productivity and blue line is wage growth.

[@fraliexb]

4:10 AND, corporations rising prices because they could blame it on inflation, despite it not being the cause since their profits grew.

[@marconeudecker6533]

When productivity increases, each worker produces more goods. The fact that wages do not rise means that the goods do not reach the worker. Instead, she goes somewhere else, to a group that doesn't work. In most Western countries, the answer may lie in aging populations. Retirees also need resources to live. More pensioners means that the goods produced are distributed among more people. So everyone has less.

[@fastcourse01]

The difference isn't an accident, Americans see the economy as the number 1 priority. For Europeans quality of life is more of a priority. I think this prosperity is well deserved for Americans, they are very diligent, hard working and take industry very seriously. In 2016, they elected Trump purely because he was a businessman and knew business. Europeans already know this and will mainly elect politicians for benefits or on social issues. The gap in wealth is very wide and will only get wider due to compounding. An American earns $200k a year and Europeans earn $28k, show me who has more options to enjoy quality of life. It is actually very diligently deserved.

[@looseycanon]

You might want to look at it through income brackets. Remember, Europe and the US are NOT at parity on prices! Recalculate median wages into goods and services attainable in each market, before you'll make a statement like this.

[@ronald3836]

Americans typically have 10 holidays a year, but they are made to feel guilty if they use them ("don't you care about your work?"). So they use them mostly for sick days. In Europe this is very, very different.

[@skippy9273]

​@@looseycanonThe US also has wide differences in cost of living across its states (the country is continent sized) but it has a higher ceiling and floor than the EU. Plus it's growing while the EU is stagnating/receeding

[@moomie1634]

Everything goes back to housing. Your house is too expensive, so you spend less money. That means companies have to raise prices to make up for lost demand. That means less people can buy, meaning they have to further raise prices or lay people off. Those laid off people also have expensive houses. It's also true that, when those housing and food costs rise, employees at other companies will demand more money to afford to live in the area, causing further price increases. The most expensive input in almost any company is labor, and the overwhelming reason behind this is so people can afford housing. So, BUILD MORE HOUSES ALREADY. NOT THAT HARD.

[@harveybrant3352]

It's not just the lack of housebuilding. It's also the fact that the rich are not taxed as much as they used to be. They use their extra money to buy assets like property, which inflates the price beyond what the vast majority of people can afford. They then charge those who can't afford to buy these assets as much rent as they can get away with, which sucks money out of the economy. The rich get to own more, the rest of us get to own less. Nowadays 'the rest of us' includes even quite well paid sections of the middle class who aren't fortunate enough to have inherited wealth.

[@ArgumentumAdHominem]

@@moomie1634 I disagree. Houses are expensive in Paris, London and Zürich, where you get high salary. Houses are cheap in many places in e.g. eastern Europe. But salaries are shit, so people leave and flock to high income cities. What's the point of building a megacity, if it will just become an atrocity of commute? Perhaps we should instead address the problem of lack of well paid work in places where there are ample vacant buildings?

[@moomie1634]

@@ArgumentumAdHominem What? That's not at all the argument. People move where the jobs are. You can't just pick up industries and move them. They need educational centers, government support, and a baseline of people willing to be there. Your argument on housing just ignores the fact that you can build up. You realize that you can, in fact, place a house on top of another house, right? It's called a condo, and many cities have them. You also have duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes. The problem is that cities have blocked building almost anything, and the only things that do get built are single family detached, which are the most inefficient uses of land within cities. There's also this thing called commuter rail, which, when built, is significantly faster and more efficient for getting people into cities than cars could ever be, and can easily cut commute times from far out places. This isn't that hard. Developers know how to build things, and they've been pleading with cities to let them build something, while being blocked time after time after time.

[@dzonikg]

I always wonder why people in west europe or USA rent so much or buy house.WHere does houses or appratments off your grandparents go ,why they did not left to you when they died,they for sure dont live forever

[@moomie1634]

@@dzonikg the top percent just buy up all of them. Older people are also living longer, so their houses aren't going on the market. It's mostly that a small percent of the population owns a ton of houses, so when they die, they just pass down all that wealth to another small portion of the population. In a perfect economy, developers would just outbuild this demand, which would perfectly allow for a balance of supply and demand, but cities block that development, meaning demand far outstrips supply, causing issues

[@Prometheus100110]

I'm an American living in the EU for the past 10 years. Europeans have been convinced by their governments that the respective governments will take care of you. In exchange you have to accept poverty. It's not how you can help yourself but rather how the government can help you. In fact, hard work is frowned upon in the EU. Wealth built by your forefathers will be used up soon and then you will experience real hardship. There is just no ambition here. the only ambition here is to travel, make money without working and somehow be happy without having to do anything.

[@agnezabarutanski1963]

So if everything in USA is so rosey, tell me then, why USA has infinitely more homeless people, more people that live paycheck to paycheck, far worse crime rates and half of population on antidepressives? :D

[@cfehunter]

Yeah... both times I've had a job offer from Europe (Sweden, Spain) I've had to turn it down. Either the salary was too low, or the taxes were so much higher, that I would just be so much worse off than in the UK. We seem to have an okay middleground of wages being high, taxes being middling, and public services being okayish.

[@Ushio01]

The issue is that productivity in basically GDP so you have companies like Meta (70,000 employees) and Alphabet (180,000 employees) both two of the richest companies in the world but then you have Macy's (130,000 employees) and Home Depot (460,000 employees). Thanks to technology a lot of middle class office jobs and semi skilled and skilled factory jobs have been replaced with technology and unskilled labour.

[@LocusLugos]

At least in Germany, the taxes simply are too high. And not just taxes but several payments every citizen has to make that goes into government funds. Lower income tax as step one of 100.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Boohoo. Go live in the US. Ya wouldn't make it a month there. Ya would be running back to beautiful Germany and kissing the ground after ya returned!

[@khaoscero]

@@TheAmericanAmerican are you saying the US has higher taxes than Germany?

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

@@khaoscero nope. It's just 2% lower gross. How do I know? Because I've worked on both continents. Therefore I know that me paying that extra 2% more in taxes in the EU is WELL worth it since my standard of living has increased 10x since moving to the EU almost 10 years ago. Call me crazy, but it's kind of nice when my taxes go mostly into things like healthcare, infrastructure, and education and NOT to military.

[@hadiamrane]

@@TheAmericanAmerican Not only that but you get WAAY better food with less trash in them here in EU than US ;-)

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

@@hadiamrane 100%! I lost 15 kg(33 pounds) since moving here and I LOVE to eat! 😁

[@rake483]

"Europeans don't consume enough" You can blame greedy landlords and food companies for that! When my monthly salary goes up by 60€, but rent + food by 100€, i simply have less money to spend. For example, the cost of some basic foods like potatoes have DOUBLED in the last 5 years in my country.

[@MichealVt]

you can't force Europeans to spend more lol. If times are uncertain and inflation is high you are not spending. And that is not the average citizens fault.

[@Rick020]

I nearly doubled my salary (2850 pre tax to 5450) in the past 3 years and I still barely scrape by... It's such a shame how expensive everything has gotten.

[@alicankarakaya2770]

I had job offers from UK and Germany but hell no! Wages are a joke and taxes are crazy. Keep pushing for US!

[@aaron4848]

dubai and singapore are even better than the usa.

[@thelammas8283]

We live in a world where labour is a global commodity. The EU has very high wages relative to an increasingly sophisticated Asian market, so room to grow is limited

[@ryanf6530]

US wages are so much higher than EU wages, it's ridiculous. What makes it worse is the EU's ongoing economic stagnation. EU looks like a failing institution to me.

[@xmurisfurderx]

The only reason the EU exists is to prevent Germany from going to war with France The only institutions that are failing are the ones that educated you

[@martinsingfield]

The rate of productivity growth since WW2 has largely been influenced by the two most recent industrial revolutions. The positive impact of the 2nd industrial revolution (electricity, car, planes) was felt between 1945 and 1975. The positive impact of the 3rd industrial revolution (computers, Internet) was experienced between 1990 and 2005. Productivity wouldn't increase in the mature, rich economies until the positive impacts of the 4th industrial revolution (AI) kick in.

[@Pete_YT]

Dude your talking 20+ years ago. That’s the problem, Europe is asleep.

[@MichealVt]

@@Pete_YT Europeans did not make enough babies

[@martinsingfield]

@Pete_YT Innovation is a key component of productivity growth, and the trends I summarised are real. The US is ahead of Europe when it comes to the emerging 4th industrial revolution. However, Europe will undoubtedly benefit from it, but perhaps to a lesser extent. The US has been a leader in 2 of the past industrial revolutions, with the UK leading the first. No doubt the US will continue to lead the fourth industrial revolution too.

[@Pete_YT]

@@martinsingfieldEuroPoors are asleep.

[@martinsingfield]

@Pete_YT your comment is meaningless!

[@TiGGowich]

Why is Europe falling further and further behind while the US is getting further and further ahead? Here is why: People like my dad give up over 60% of his salary each month. All this money is wasted on stuff he never wanted and has no say in. We are pathetic in Europe. We are so obsessed with socialist policies... we are killing our own continent in the process - again

[@ttt5205]

Lmao, if you think that this discrepancy is due to "socialist policies" I have a bridge to sell you.

[@DiogoSantos-ix5sl]

Include Japan next, it’s horrifying

[@ize1000009]

The thing with productivity is that it’s not about how much you work or how efficiently you work. But about what work you are actually doing, and how valuable that work is. One programmer can write one line of code a day, and they created more “value” than staff at MacDonalds. Europe doesn’t have a tech sector so they lose out on all those jobs a value that the US gets instead. So if a country doesn’t have good high paying jobs, then it doesn’t matter how earnestly or hard the people are trying to work there.