"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Cindy Hamilton" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> In article >,
>> Ophelia > wrote:
>>>
>>>Oh dear We have a National Minimum wage law set in law
>>>
>>>https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
>>
>> We have one too; it's $7.25/hour. However, companies like WalMart
>> will hire twice as many people at 20 hours per week, so that they
>> don't have to pay benefits (for example, paid time off, health insurance,
>> retirement fund) to these part-time employees.
>>
>> We can account for the differences in cost of living and exchange rate
>> by using the Big Mac index:
>> http://www.economist.com/blogs/graph.../daily-chart-3
>>
>> It costs $2.50 to $2.99 in the U.S., so it takes about 24 minutes
>> to earn a Big Mac at the federal minimum wage. The average in
>> England (only data I could find) is 2.89 (sorry, no pound symbol
>> here). Minimum wage appears to be 6.31 for adults. It appears to
>> take 27 minutes to earn a Big Mac in England.
>>
>> At first glance, the U.S. minimum wage worker appears better off.
>> House is very difficult here, though, since we have nothing
>> like council houses/flats. And, of course, the American workers
>> will have to pay for all of their own medical expenses.
>> So the minimum wage worker might be better off in England.
>>
>> Sorry I couldn't find anything for Scotland with a quick google.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>
> I think taxes are higher in the UK but I don't know. They also seem to
> tolerate squatters. Or they used to.

It has been illegal to squat in Scotland for a long time, and recently it
also became illegal in England


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