International comparison of hours you have to work to escape poverty

[jmbar2]

The US is at the bottom of the pile.



https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/1iwskc3/a_cool_guide_on_how_to_escape_poverty_based_on/

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Goethe understood how things and people stood in the USA.

"The best slave is the one who thinks he's free."

Seems we have a nation where 99-percent is made up of fools and 1-percent are mad enough to think they merit lording or are entitled to lord over the rest.

[BobTheSubgenius]

2. I disagree with the calculus of at least one entry on that list - Canada.

At minimum, in its major cities. rent and ownership cost is virtually out of sight. The average rent for a 1BR apt. was $2540 as of the latest survey, the average price of a IBR condo was $748,000 and the purchase price of a single-family home came in at a little north of $2,000,000.

How many hours would it take to save a down payment on a $2M house? And, how much would one still owe? If you SOMEHOW managed to come up with 50% down, you still owe A MILLION DOLLARS!

[jmbar2]

3. Wow! Astonishing figures

Who is even left in those cities at such prices?

[BobTheSubgenius]

4. Early entries into the market who have hung on,

heirs, and rich immigrants. No, that is not an anti-immigration comment. Some wealthy foreigners don't care if they lose some money on a real estate transaction here. They have, at the very least, a foothold in a place that might be far more palatable for habitation in the long term, and they have got at least a substantial amount of money out of where they are and into a market they want to be in.

I can't really buy into the idea that Eastern Canada is anywhere near as good a place to live as SW BC, and partly justify the prices there, but this corner of the world has, at the very least, some aspects that really recommend it, and can be an absolutely awesome place to live. So there's that.

[jmbar2]

5. It is an amazing place

I lived in Seattle in the '70s and used to visit friends up there a lot. I loved the city, especially China town. I lost touch with most of those people, but glad to know they are all millionaires now. Fond memories.