And lo, it came about, that on Tue, 25 Nov 2003 01:11:20 -0500 in
rec.crafts.metalworking , Gary Coffman was inspired to
utter:


A US dollar is a US dollar. It has the same buying power no matter
who holds it. That's why such things as wages and prices in different
places are converted to dollars before comparisons are made.

Ah..no. If a 7 course meal in China costs $2, and it costs $100 in San
Francisco.. and rent in China costs $5 a month and $1500 in the Gay
Bay..purchasing power is not the same.

Sure it is. The gay machinist will only pay $2 for his meal if he orders
Chinese take out (plus delivery charge, of course). And the Chinaman
will certainly be smarter than to pay $100 for a San Francisco treat
(plus shipping). Their dollars are both dollars, worth exactly the same,
but one of the machinists is likely to show better sense than the other
in where he spends them.

Gary

Blink blink..you lost me somewhere along the way.....

Ok, look, John Chinaman wants dinner. He has two choices. He can
buy his dinner at the Peking Duck in Bejing for $2. Or he can order it
from the Gay Peacock in San Francisco for $100 plus $12.95 air freight.
Meanwhile Boy George machinist in San Francisco can buy his dinner
from the Gay Peacock for $100, or buy it from the Peking Duck for $2
plus $12.95 air freight.

The real question is "How long does it take the machinist in China, versus
the machinist in San Francisco, to earn enough to buy lunch?" Also known as
the "City Bus Driver / Big Mac Index". If it takes me 30 minutes to earn
enough for lunch, is that better or worse than the guy who works for a half
hour?

When you look at things from that perspective, the numbers attached to the
paycheck are "irrelevant", and a better perspective on relative life styles are
obtainable. (This also leads into the "marginal value" of something. There is
a joke about the guy who, after taking note that to god, a thousand years is
but a minute, and thus a million dollars is as a penny, asks god for "a penny".
(and is told "in a minute.")
And I will never quite forget the day I got a pay raise and a pay cut all
at once. The numbers on my check went up, but instead of getting 5% over minim
wage, I was now getting minimum wage. Big whoop.
Hey, if you pay me in Turkish Lira, I'm a multi-millionare. Oops,
billionai two weeks pay is about 1,169,600,000.00 Turkish Lira. "I'm rich,
I'mm rich, I've a trillion Lira!" Of course, it cost me a million to buy an
ice cream, and a Big Mac is eight and a half million, but who cares, it's the
numbers which matter.

right.

tschus
pyotr


--
pyotr filipivich
"We don't support "guns" ... the term "gun" gets in the way of
what is really being talked about here - we want choice in
personal security devices." Ann Coulter