"Ophelia" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "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

Ah, okay. The squatter I knew did it in the 80's.