[cschwarm]

I agree that paganel's comparison seems a bit exaggerated but note that there are non-wage labor costs here in Germany. Wikipedia reports 22 percent. A common rule of thumb is 30 percent, IIRC.

This means the total wage of the truck driver here would be about €511.30 for 4 days of work.

[franklindholm]

Most workers don't care about what the employer actually pays, most workers just take into account what is stated on their pay check. Most Swedes, when talking about wage, mention the statement before taxes, so for instance €2000 would equal something like €1400 after taxes. I think this is true for the german numbers as well, they are before taxation, but paganel mentioned that the €300 his brother made for 4 days of work probably wouldn't be taxed, so that is €300 in his pocket, as opposed to the German who would have to pay tax on his €420.

My personal opinion is that talking about wages and comparing them between countries is very difficult, many factors play into the equation; cost of living, food, energy, health care, taxes and so on are big components of this. My point was though, and still is, that claiming that a German truck driver makes €7500 in a 20 day period (which is five times what paganel's brother would have made if he had worked 20 days) is just ridiculous. I claimed earlier that I would quit my, in comparison to €7500, low paying IT job if that was the case, and I think I actually would.