Talk:Minimum wage in United Kingdom increases to £5.35
Although it is useful to see the US minimum wage, a direct comparison is not fair. UK tax system is structured quite differently with VAT at 17.5% on most purchases and heavy duties on tobacco, alcohol, fuel etc.
A big example is the relative cost of Petrol/Gasoline (2nd October).
UK: £0.88 per litre ($1.65) or £3.34 per US gallon ($6.25) US: £0.30 per litre ($0.56) or £1.14 per US gallon ($2.13) 193.63.247.68 08:40, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
It would be neat to do the 'hours worked to earn enough to buy a gallon of gas' chart. Add in the 'hours worked to buy a big mac' and few other things, so that folks can see what the real value of the exchange rate comparison.
Another MAJOR difference is the 'three tier' system in the UK, with a single minimum in the US. The 'real minimum' is about the same as Florida's minimum, and Florida has no tax on Food or Medicines. Bo 13:56, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
Is there any reason why the US$ equivalent is given twice, once as $10.02 and once as $10.03? Could someone work out which one is correct? 81.98.47.57 11:26, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
I did the 10.03 one, (which was correct at the time), I'm guessing here, but perhaps the differences were due to changing exchange rates. Bo 16:08, 12 October 2006 (UTC)