Interesting things

[juliet]

• Sign the Indymedia petition (more details on the FBI seizure of their machines at that link)


• Found this on Strange Machine (marnameow should like this)


• Alien Loves Predator (made kitty_goth & I laugh immoderately)


• MY MONITARY SISTEM IS f1dud14ry & 133t!!!!!! (especially this one)

Comments

[the23.livejournal.com]

well i don't live in a cheap area by us standards, but houses in the less entertaining midlands seem to be around twice the price and rent is much lower here even though i'm in something of a cultural hub, taxes are lower (we pay 13.7% of our declared income in income taxes but most of that is for social security (=national insurance) and there is no sales tax), running a vehicle is much cheaper (i'm not sure about insurance though), there is no tv licence to pay (of course there isn't a whole lot of beeb), no equivalent of council tax (unless you are a property owner). we live comfortably (large apartment, two vehicles, cell phone, cable internet and tv, plenty of alcohol and frequent social outings including many to seattle) on around $25k a year. anything over that is saved for retirement. i reckon to live this way in england would require more like 25 thousand quid and that would be feasible but it would mean much more work. there is no way i could do so in such beautiful surroundings sinc eall the nice bits of the uk are too remote or hideously expensive. now if only they would legalise betting on the internet here.....

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Dunno, I earn 22k, I have a large flat (which I do own), it's opposite a park and close to both the motorway and the railway station, I go to London at least twice a month, run a car... granted there's only one of me, I don't think two of us could live like this on that amount of money. On the other hand, I need regular medical treatment, and it costs me nothing.

Any public service ultimately comes from somewhere, and the overall difference isn't that great - taxes as a percentage of GDP in the US are just under 30%, in the UK they're around 38%. You could always move to Mexico (under 20%). Cost of living calculator says Seattle is 25% cheaper than London, dunno how quickly it tails off in each case as you move out of the city.

[the23.livejournal.com]

if you earned the equivalent of 22k here you would most likely have free (or very cheap) health insurance through work too. seattle is one of the more expensive cities in the us. i live in portland (which at 160 or so miles away is nearby by us standards) and it is apparently 15% cheaper to live here than in seattle.

(selfish as it may be) tax as a percentage of gdp isn't really my concern here. since the top rates of income tax aren't that dissimilar (although the brackets are), but sales tax/VAT (which i believe is compounded unlike sales tax which is only applied once in the states where it exists - not this one) rates are vastly different (17.5% for you and 0% for me and around 5% for many americans), i think the tax system may well be more progressive here (actually not something i support at the ballot box, but it does benefit me).