McRich Americans.

[Bones]

http://www.apesma.asn.au/students_graduates/common/big_mac_index.htm

No wonder you all drive big cars and can afford guns and all your kids go to schools in Beverly Hills.

[Goz]

http://www.apesma.asn.au/students_graduates/common/big_mac_index.htm

No wonder you all drive big cars and can afford guns and all your kids go to schools in Beverly Hills.

On your chart the graduate column is that graduate of high school or college? 45K / year inst enough to get by California.

[knuttz]

On your chart the graduate column is that graduate of high school or college? 45K / year inst enough to get by California.

APESMA has established the APESMA Big Mac Index to compare graduate engineer salaries internationally.

 

I'm guessing recent college BSEE/ME/CE graduate.  Here in North Carolina we can live like kings for 45k/year ... j/k.

[Bones]

On your chart the graduate column is that graduate of high school or college? 45K / year inst enough to get by California.

I don't know for sure but we don't really use the term "graduate" for high school. I would assume this is after a university education.

Graduation from high school here is known as Schoolies Week. This is where everybody goes to the Gold Coast for a weekend and gets totally blind and there are people having sex on the beach everywhere.

[Zakk]

That buys a lotta bacon!

[missioncontrol]

Here in North Carolina we can live like kings for 45k/year

Don't let the secret out, now everybody will want to move here...........

[shmokes]

Totally blind.  I'm so appropriating that.

[quarterback]

On your chart the graduate column is that graduate of high school or college?

I don't know for sure but we don't really use the term "graduate" for high school. I would assume this is after a university education.

University.

[Bones]

Totally blind. I'm so appropriating that.

C'mon shmokes.... You know you want to.

[Goz]

I asked because I know people who work at Home Depot with nothing more than a High School diploma who make more than 45K a year.

[danny_galaga]

wow! only 7 minutes to earn a big mac. no wonder americans all drive big cars. its so they can fit their fat arses in! hehe. i did read somewhere that using a big mac as a standard was as relevant and accurate as using gold!
australia doesnt fair very well in that list. part of that is a lot of graduates move oveerseas (including the US and UK) to earn more. still, working a full 3.1 minutes longer to earn a big mac is bad  . well never get big fat arses at this rate!

[pointdablame]

45k here in NJ won't get you very far either... you certainly won't have a ton of expendable cash for Big Macs unless you don't need creature comforts like food and a house 

[Dexter]

No wonder you all drive big cars and can afford guns and all your kids go to schools in Beverly Hills.

Theres also no obesity problem, not from what I see on american TV shows.

[TOK]

wow! only 7 minutes to earn a big mac. no wonder americans all drive big cars. its so they can fit their fat arses in! hehe. i did read somewhere that using a big mac as a standard was as relevant and accurate as using gold!
australia doesnt fair very well in that list. part of that is a lot of graduates move oveerseas (including the US and UK) to earn more. still, working a full 3.1 minutes longer to earn a big mac is bad  . well never get big fat arses at this rate!

Seems it doesn't affect your ability to BE a big ass though! 

[danny_galaga]

wow! only 7 minutes to earn a big mac. no wonder americans all drive big cars. its so they can fit their fat arses in! hehe. i did read somewhere that using a big mac as a standard was as relevant and accurate as using gold!
australia doesnt fair very well in that list. part of that is a lot of graduates move oveerseas (including the US and UK) to earn more. still, working a full 3.1 minutes longer to earn a big mac is bad

[Havok]

Mad Cow!

[cdbrown]

It would be nice if they upated that site with current exchange rates.  $1AU = $0.76US at the moment, not the $0.53 as shown on the site.

Danny - I'm planning on moving to the UK at the start of next year and work there. 360 pounds a day is very inviting.

[GameOver]

That explains why US is offshoring to India - that thar iz sum cheap labor!

Does India even have a McDonalds?  Do they eat burgers?  Or maybe it's a veggie Mc burger?

[paigeoliver]

$45,000 allows you an awesome lifestyle in MOST parts of america!!! I make like half that and do just fine.

Not sure if the Big Mac cost in India would be relevant to the study, as I am pretty sure they don't eat beef there (so it isn't the same product to begin with), and I would imagine McD's would be more of a rare novelty type higher priced place in India as opposed to food for the masses.

Of course I am not sure where those Big Mac prices are even coming from, as they vary wildly from location to location WITHIN THE SAME TOWN. My local McD's charges like $2.09 for them, not $3.xx

[Bones]

I actually have some real issues when it comes to monetary comparisons between countries.

For example. I went to the Cook Islands awhile back (very nice place BTW), this country uses NZ$ which are so close to AU$, the difference is not worth worrying about. It was like five cents difference in every dollar.

So I go and buy a giant bottle of Barcardi. Here it would have cost around $60.00, there it was $24.00. Whoohoo what a win!! (No, I am not referring to duty free)

But

[cdbrown]

Now, to make the Big Mac Index work correctly, take away the third world counties and do the calculation based on the average wage that 65% of your population earns. Then divide this figure by the length of your genitals and you will find that Australian men are very well hung.

But we didn't need to do any calcs to know this

[JCL]

I actually have some real issues when it comes to monetary comparisons between countries.

This is a very real concern and is why the Big Mac metric is better than just comparing exchange rates. Labor costs, capital costs, and material costs all figure in to the price of a product like a Big Mac.

Comparing alcohol prices probably includes mostly tariffs and taxes. Same with gasoline. Entertainment is labor dominated, and many import products are likely freight dominated in a place like an island.

So it is hard to come up with a mix that shows the real buying power of a currency. The Big Mac probably works for the Cook Islands (presuming they have McD's) as it should be close to the "fish and chips" kind of pricing that you say is more typical of products that people commonly buy. Of course, it isn't perfect. For example, if cattle isn't grown on the Cook Islands, then the "fish and chips" might be a better measure if they are all homegrown.

[btoddkelley]

The big mac comparison in based on the law of one price.
     In the absence of transportation and other transaction costs, competitive markets will equalize the price of an identical good in two countries when the prices are expressed in the same currency.
     This means that we can compare how long it takes an average citizen of a nation to earn a big mac and come up with a comparative measure of living standards. Big macs work well because they are relatively inexpensive, are not normally transported, and are not subject to any special taxes or tariffs.  these conditions allow a lot of people to buy them, and prevent  production from being outsourced.
     I had to chime in since someone deleted the political thread. I was ready to discuss the problems of placing a regression over a bar graph!


Todd

[danny_galaga]

It would be nice if they upated that site with current exchange rates.

[cdbrown]

yes very confused, annoyed that they didn't even update the online one.