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by giantg2 1562 days ago
It's always hard to compare value internationally, but...

The median income in Switzerland is about $125k USD. That's more than twice the median in the US. It sounds like the affordability of $9/gal gas is greatly different. US politicians are actually suggesting things like a stipend or stimulus payment to help people pay for gas. Ridiculous, but that's how it is.
4 comments
rolisz 1562 days ago
In Romania the gas prices are about 6.38$/gallon. I'm pretty sure average income in Romania is much lower than in the US.
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missedthecue 1562 days ago
"The median income in Switzerland is about $125k USD."

I don't believe this for a second and sure enough the first few sources produced by a google search show a far different situations. The Swiss office of Federal Statistics says the median income is 50,120 CHF per year which is $53,880 USD at current exchange rates. Even the top 10% of the country's earners are only in the mid $90k, nowhere near $125k.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/economic-soc...

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giantg2 1562 days ago
From your link: "equivalised disposable income"

So it sounds like this isn't gross income.

Here is the explaination.

"It is measured by the median equivalised disposable income, after adjustment for differences in price levels between countries. This means that despite the high price levels in Switzerland, the population's financial situation, after deduction of obligatory expenditure, was in 2020 more comfortable than that of its neighbouring countries and countries in the European Union."

So the disposable median in Switzerland is about the same as the gross median in the US. It looks like the equivalised disposable income for the US is not calculated, so we can't compare that. Having a median disposable income that is about the same as the gross median of another country still seems to support my implication that the Swiss are more wealthy and can better afford the cost of gas as compared to the US.

It seems it's hard to get "good" sources for Swiss median income. They do list the median monthly wage as being around 6500. This doesn't include other income sources, and is still about double the US median income.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/work-income/...

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anthony_r 1562 days ago
FWIW: the gas price is about the same in Germany, which has a median yearly income of about $45k.
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potta_coffee 1562 days ago
Distances driven in the US are often much higher as well. People I know regularly commute 30 to 60 minutes one way to get to work. Some tradesmen I know are driving 2 hours to get to the jobsite.
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giantg2 1562 days ago
Yep. When I go back, it'll be about 45 miles per day for my commute.
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