Tuesday 20 February 2007

Pic of the day: America as seen from Norway. (OK, actually it is an alternate time stream depicted in the game City of Heroes.)

Not so poor anymore?

Six years ago I wrote an entry called "Poor me!?" based on the surprising find that I earned less than $30 000 a year, and as such was "poor" by American standards (or at least by the standards applied by Pew Internet research). According to my calculations, I earned around $27 000 the last completed year.

Out of curiousity I did the same calculation again now. Last year I earned $40 600. Now in all fairness that's 6 years, and it is natural for people to earn more over time. Perhaps the poverty line is 40 000 now? I don't quite think so, though. I am told that Americans generally don't earn much more than they did 10 years ago, not the workers. The CEOs of course earn unimaginably large sums. Why people respect those types is beyond me, but that's not a topic for today.

Anyway, I haven't asked for a salary rise, it is just adjusted centrally and no more than they think they can get away without their workers leaving. But of course even I am a little richer than 6 years ago, just not as much as most other Norwegians.

***

The real change, of course, is that the dollar is gently sliding. It has held up amazingly well, but not in the long run. It is sliding, sliding. Which means that I earn more and more dollars for each passing month, even without a pay rise. This is nice if I decide to buy something from America. It is not nice for Americans trying to buy something from outside America. Including factories trying to buy raw materials. As this starts to gain momentum, things will become gradually more expensive, and there is not a thing you can do about it.

Perhaps I should do like some Christian fantasies: Standing safely in Heaven, looking down on Hell, tittering and giggling at the sight of the neighbors writhing in unspeakable agony down there. It's not like I did not warn you...

OK, it's not really that bad. And neither am I. I just found the thought amusing. Actually I doubt the saved will spend much time looking at Hell, probably less than Norwegians do looking at America. And the parallel is pretty vague yet. How much closer it will become depends largely on the Americans, though, not on me. In any case, if you're an American and think I know you as a friend, feel free to send me a link to your Amazon wishlist, and I may dip my finger in water and send you a drop of my riches. Unless you earn more than $40 000, I guess, in which case I may wait till next year when I earn $50 000 without working more. And so on. It's all downhill from here, you know, for the poor Americans. Our own judgment is a bit further off, by all signs, though I am sure it will come in its own good time.