Oecd Better Life Index

[El Cid 210]

The average UK household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 28 715 a year, lower than the OECD average. There is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn six times as much as the bottom 20%.

 

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/united-kingdom/

 

France, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 31 304 a year, lower than the OECD average of USD 33 604 a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn around four times as much as the bottom 20%.

 

United States, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 45 284 a year, much higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 a year, and the highest figure in the OECD. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn nearly nine times as much as the bottom 20%.

 

Is the OECD table a good reflection of reality? I am very surprised that the USA is deemed to have a wealthy and happy country, most news stories I see are negative.

Edited August 2, 2020 by El Cid

[andyofborg 11]

happiness is not proportional to wealth. 

[ECCOnoob 1,016]

So in a nutshell the UK is scored higher than the OECD average on all but one element of the tests.

 

Well done uk.  Glad to see a bit of positivity against the endless doom and gloom, whinging and criticism purported by certain people and media outlets.    Clearly this nation is not so bad after all.

 

So the one negative subject is income.  Where, as do many other countries recorded, the net monies fall below the OECD average amount with the exception of the USA.  In turn the USA  also has the massively higher gap between richest and poorest.  So what does that tell us?  Should there be such an obsession of having the best and highest levels of net income?  Or does having such a level of income result in some counter effect which people should be cautious of.  

Edited August 2, 2020 by ECCOnoob

[El Cid 210]

23 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

In turn the USA  also has the massively higher gap between richest and poorest.  So what does that tell us?  Should there be such an obsession of having the best and highest levels of net income?  Or does having such a level of income result in some counter effect which people should be cautious of.  

Some countries have large multinational companies, smaller countries dont have so many. Is it the many bosses of these companies that create the wealth gap?

[Baron99 772]

28 minutes ago, El Cid said:

Some countries have large multinational companies, smaller countries dont have so many. Is it the many bosses of these companies that create the wealth gap?

Yes.  As pointed out the other day when the bosses of Google, Facebook, Amazon & Twitter appeared before  US Congress committee.  Those 4 companies have a greater GDP than Germany. 

[ECCOnoob 1,016]

25 minutes ago, Baron99 said:

Yes.  As pointed out the other day when the bosses of Google, Facebook, Amazon & Twitter appeared before  US Congress committee.  Those 4 companies have a greater GDP than Germany. 

But what is the solution?   They are popular because millions of people around the globe like their product and use them.  They didn't become the market leaders and most profitable companies in the world by accident.  Us citizens have had a hand in that.  They were first to market with something we wanted then became the standard for all that followed. 

 

It's clear there are plenty of social media website options which are all basically just a pretty front-end to a boring database - but you have to ask yourself why we the public choose to only use a handful of them.   

 

There are hundreds of options available for a type of mobile telephone but you have to ask yourself why when you walk into a phone shop every single manufacturer and every single brand and all look  spitting image of the latest iPhone design.   It's just a sea of anonymous black rectangles and if you weren't  looking carefully you would bearly notice whether you were holding a Huawei, Galaxy, Motorola or a proper iPhone. 

 

Every major supermarket, department store or catalogue shop has an online offering. Millions of products in a range of prices available at the click of the mouse and we could choose to go to any of them for our wares -  but where are most people going into when they want to order? 

 

I have raised this before on other threads.   Whilst there may be controls by the government on monopolies or  limitations on global access at some point that is going to cause some real friction with free enterprise and entrepreneurship.  

 

Should these companies stop being so successful and deliberately harm themselves to allow some balance and other smaller companies in other areas of the world catch up?

 

Should there be restrictions on us consumers from choosing to use such companies and perhaps be mandatory forced to use an alternative supplier in our home nation? 

 

Should there be tighter internet restrictions, following perhaps the China model, and bar any access to these companies if outside of your home nation?

 

Even mentioning controls like that is starting to fall into that oppression that us westernised society is supposed to be against.

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by ECCOnoob

[Baron99 772]

9 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

But what is the solution?   They are popular because millions of people around the globe like their product and use them.  They didn't become the market leaders and most profitable companies in the world by accident.  Us citizens have had a hand in that.  They were first to market with something we wanted then became the standard for all that followed.  It's clear there are plenty of social media websites which are basically a pretty front-end to a database but you have to ask yourself why we the public choose to only use a handful of them.   There are hundreds of options available for a type of mobile telephone but you have to ask yourself why when you walk into a phone shop every single manufacturer and every single brand and all look  spitting image of the latest iPhone design.   It's just to see of anonymous black rectangles and if you weren't  talking carefully you would bearly notice whether you were holding a Huawei, Galaxy, Motorola or a proper iPhone.

 

I have raised this before on other threads.   Whilst there may be controls by the government on monopolies or  limitations on global access at some point that is going to cause some real friction with free enterprise and entrepreneurship.  

 

Should these companies stop being so successful and deliberately harm themselves to allow some balance and other smaller companies in other areas of the world catch up?

 

Should there be restrictions on us consumers from choosing to use such companies and perhaps be mandatory forced to use an alternative supplier in our home nation? 

 

Should there be tighter internet restrictions, following perhaps the China model, and bar any access to these companies if outside of your home nation?

 

Even mentioning controls like that is starting to fall into that oppression that us westernised society is supposed to be against.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not criticising any of the above companies, (except when I don't think they are paying their fair amount in tax in the countries they operate in but as they point out, they pay in line with local laws, so its governments that are at fault there, but that another thread), at one time, companies such as Google, Facebook, etc were just ideas on the back of a fag packet.

 

It's taken a lot of time, effort, sacrifice & personal money to get them where they are today & at the end of the day, they are responsible for employing millions, both directly & indirectly around the world, raising living standards.