So I was looking at America's currency compared to others and I realized it's low, I pay $47.62 for s2 and I googled all the other currency comparing it to USD and WoW.. even though it's a few dollars cheaper I'm not going to complain. So how exactly does our currency go up in value or even drop in value? Is it determined by how much $ we have in the states or what? Please fill me in, I must've been sleeping in School when we were discussing this subject.

As I understand it: The US dollar has traditionally been stockpiled by a lot of countries' central banks, and used as the currency for trading in most large markets (oil, for example, is traded in US dollars). But recently with changing interest rates, the Euro has started to look like a better investment and so a lot of dollar holdings have been released as banks and other large institutions sell their dollars and buy into Euros. This floods the market with dollars - more than anyone wants to buy - and so the value of the dollar drops.

This sounds bad for the USA - and it arguably is, because it will mean a rise in inflation - but it's bad for anyone who trades with the USA too, because americans don't want to buy our exports because the prices are too high (Exhibit A: Live for Speed). Meanwhile American exports should see a big boost from the decline in the dollar, as American products present better value to overseas buyers.

Bleh. I really don't get half of this myself - the consequences of big shifts in the money markets are too huge for ignorant people like myself to understand. But that's the basics of it.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

(Exhibit A: Live for Speed). Meanwhile American exports should see a big boost from the decline in the dollar, as American products present better value to overseas buyers.

Or Exhibit B: Rolls Royce, who are moving to the US because the strength of the GBP means they are losing trade.

If you want to see how currency is doing (and from memory they have a FAQ on what dictates strength and weakness) go here: http://www.xe.com/

Quote from TypeRCivic :

I googled all the other currency comparing it to USD and WoW.

Due to that capitalisation and because of all the hype I thought you were referring to World Of Warcraft currency and I almost panicked thinking that "this is it - the end has come - they've let that ****ing game get too big".

Anyway - specifically for one of the the internal problems of the American economy you might find this article I recently stumbled upon of interest:
http://www.safehaven.com/article-8919.htm

Quote from xaotik :

Due to that capitalisation and because of all the hype I thought you were referring to World Of Warcraft currency and I almost panicked thinking that "this is it - the end has come - they've let that ****ing game get too big".

ROFL, i thought the same thing. People should know by now that the word "wow" used to express wonder, amazement, or great pleasure is totally different to "WoW" which everyone now knows it as World of Warcraft.

Interesting article there xaotik.

I like it, getting carparts for cheap from the US

I'm waiting for the day the Americans have to pay the same as everyone else for fuel. I can see the look on the guys face as he goes to pay after filling up his 100litre V2million pickup/monster truck with premium 20 star minced endangered Tiger ball gasoline. I imagine it would look something like this... :tired:

Quote from ATC Quicksilver :

I'm waiting for the day the Americans have to pay the same as everyone else for fuel. I can see the look on the guys face as he goes to pay after filling up his 100litre V2million pickup/monster truck with premium 20 star minced endangered Tiger ball gasoline. I imagine it would look something like this... :tired:

We only pay a lot on fuel because our government feels they should take 65p from our pockets for every litre (as an incentive to not drive as much), so if it wasn't for the tax happy government, we'd be paying the same as the Americans. With all of our taxing it makes you wonder how our government could be in debt.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

We only pay a lot on fuel because our government feels they should take 65p from our pockets for every litre (as an incentive to not drive as much), so if it wasn't for the tax happy government, we'd be paying the same as the Americans. With all of our taxing it makes you wonder how our government could be in debt.

Considering the economical prospects of UK compared to your comrades over seas, I'd be happy for the amount of taxes you pay.

If 2007 was thought as a bad year in US, just wait for 08. The US dollar has been rubbish for years, and people have been spending money that doesn't exist. The dollar doesn't have the credibility it used to have. I think some OPEC members recently demanded get rid of using dollar, and that says enough for me.

The sad thing is that downfall in the US will affect rest of the world, so screw you and thanks!

Quote from ATC Quicksilver :

I'm waiting for the day the Americans have to pay the same as everyone else for fuel. I can see the look on the guys face as he goes to pay after filling up his 100litre V2million pickup/monster truck with premium 20 star minced endangered Tiger ball gasoline. I imagine it would look something like this... :tired:

Well right now gas prices are about $2.96/gal and we've seen prices exceed over $3/gal. I've heard rumors about it reaching over $4/gal after the begging of the year, and considering our minimum wage is $6.85/per hour it's going to hurt alot of people.

Quote from TypeRCivic :

Well right now gas prices are about $2.96/gal and we've seen prices exceed over $3/gal. I've heard rumors about it reaching over $4/gal after the begging of the year, and considering our minimum wage is $6.85/per hour it's going to hurt alot of people.

According to google, $4 per us gallon is about €0.72 per liter. That's half the price we pay here, and your minimum wage isn't twice as low as the Dutch minimum wage is.

I hate our petrol prices

Quote from hrtburnout :

According to google, $4 per us gallon is about €0.72 per liter. That's half the price we pay here, and your minimum wage isn't twice as low as the Dutch minimum wage is.

I hate our petrol prices

Well I know cost of living in the states is high. Whats the cost of living there? and what's minimum wage at? is it hourly?

Well from my understanding it takes 3.78 liters to make one US Gallon correct? so there for your still pay $3.15/USD so it all equals out right?

Houses are expensive. Cars cost 2.5 times the price you'd have to pay for it. Our minimum wage is about $11 per hour

Quote from hrtburnout :

Houses are expensive. Cars cost 2.5 times the price you'd have to pay for it. Our minimum wage is about $11 per hour

Damn... I'd like to move out there. Well in the states housing is a bit expensive, pending on location, and if your living in a multi million dollar house then of course you can afford to pay for cost of living.

Quote from Blackout :

I think some OPEC members recently demanded get rid of using dollar, and that says enough for me.

The link between dollar and petrol has weakened over time. This is, for some analysts, one of the main reason of the decline of the dollar. The problem (for the dollar) is that it's no longer the universal currency it used to be. Like it or not, Euro has become an increasingly interesting currency for global exchanges.


Houses in Europe are expensive almost everywhere. That must be because Europeans love using bricks to build their houses...
To have an idea the house I live in, which is nothing special, is worth about 30 years of my wage . Luckily I already own most of it (two floors out of three, the other one is owned by my family).

Luckily good food is cheap and abundant, here.

It takes about 250% of the leftover after bills chunk of my paycheck just to put gas in my car to get to work.

And, no, I'm not driving a giant gas guzzling SUV to get to work.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

As I understand it: The US dollar has traditionally been stockpiled by a lot of countries' central banks, and used as the currency for trading in most large markets (oil, for example, is traded in US dollars). But recently with changing interest rates, the Euro has started to look like a better investment and so a lot of dollar holdings have been released as banks and other large institutions sell their dollars and buy into Euros. This floods the market with dollars - more than anyone wants to buy - and so the value of the dollar drops.

This sounds bad for the USA - and it arguably is, because it will mean a rise in inflation - but it's bad for anyone who trades with the USA too, because americans don't want to buy our exports because the prices are too high (Exhibit A: Live for Speed). Meanwhile American exports should see a big boost from the decline in the dollar, as American products present better value to overseas buyers.

Bleh. I really don't get half of this myself - the consequences of big shifts in the money markets are too huge for ignorant people like myself to understand. But that's the basics of it.

Someone gets big points for understanding economics. And for Blackout saying it will be a rough year for the US, you are mistaken. With the exception of the 1930's, the US has never been in a recession cycle during a campaign year.

If anything, people who's countries belong to the EU should be worried, because high inflation is just around the corner....

Hah, so you think the President circus actually effects the economy? And it's not just a fluke in the statistics? Or, the current President and his party making things look better in their last year?

And it is looking like a bad your for business in the US for the next year, investors are not that confident. But you are right, we are having some inflation problems over here. ECB kept it's interest at 4,0% against what people thought today. But some inflation is always normal when you are experiencing economical growth, because the amount of money on the move will increase.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before here but I can't find it, from memory the average wage in the US is $20,000, average house price is $200,000, in the UK it is £20,000 and £200,000. Fuel wise we are paying a little less for better petrol if you don't convert the currency. It is all relative, and although the Americans look to be getting a better deal, in light of the weak dollar and the fact Britain is one of the most expensive countries to live in, we get paid to make up for the costs.

Quote from Blackout :

ECB kept it's interest at 4,0% against what people thought today.

BoE dropped inflation here by .25%

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

I'm sure I've mentioned this before here but I can't find it, from memory the average wage in the US is $20,000, average house price is $200,000, in the UK it is £20,000 and £200,000.

The daily cost of living in the USA is much lower. When I lived there I was constantly confused about what I was supposed to do with all the money I had lying around at the end of each month.

The answer of course was "Health Insurance", and other such services that we Brits pay for through taxation.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

The daily cost of living in the USA is much lower. When I lived there I was constantly confused about what I was supposed to do with all the money I had lying around at the end of each month.

The answer of course was "Health Insurance", and other such services that we Brits pay for through taxation.

I wish in America our health insurance was paid through taxation. It's expensive to get medical in the states unless you have a good job that offers medical at a low price.

Well... In the UK we pay pretty hefty taxes, and I don't think anyone here believes we're getting good value from the government - there are too many very visible cock-ups for anyone to be in any doubt that the government wastes vaste amounts of public money, either on large-scale procurement contracts that go tits-up, impossibly ambitious IT projects with ballooning budgets, or unpopular spending on frivolities like the Millenium Dome or the current Olympic bid.

Twenty years ago most of the economically-important services were publicly owned (power, mail/telecoms, rail, etc.) and affordable, whereas now they're private concerns, poorly run, and either subsidised by the treasury or bailed out of financial ruin periodically by the taxpayer while the board make fat profits. Nobody here minds paying for social security benefits or healthcare provision, but being forced to prop up private business sticks in your craw a bit.

I think in the USA there's a bit of a prevailing "I'm alright, Jack" attitude. "The poor and the needy are selfish and greedy", to quote Morrissey. That's the American dream though isn't it - to get yours. Tax hikes just can't be sold to the electorate - even promises to balance the budget are looked upon with shock and horror - because there'll always be a candidate who'll let you keep your money and brush the issue under the carpet.

I don't know. I'm not knocking the US way of doing things, but it seems a bit more mercenary than the way we live in Europe.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Well... In the UK we pay pretty hefty taxes, and I don't think anyone here believes we're getting good value from the government - there are too many very visible cock-ups for anyone to be in any doubt that the government wastes vaste amounts of public money, either on large-scale procurement contracts that go tits-up, impossibly ambitious IT projects with ballooning budgets, or unpopular spending on frivolities like the Millenium Dome or the current Olympic bid.

Twenty years ago most of the economically-important services were publicly owned (power, mail/telecoms, rail, etc.) and affordable, whereas now they're private concerns, poorly run, and either subsidised by the treasury or bailed out of financial ruin periodically by the taxpayer while the board make fat profits. Nobody here minds paying for social security benefits or healthcare provision, but being forced to prop up private business sticks in your craw a bit.

I think in the USA there's a bit of a prevailing "I'm alright, Jack" attitude. "The poor and the needy are selfish and greedy", to quote Morrissey. That's the American dream though isn't it - to get yours. Tax hikes just can't be sold to the electorate - even promises to balance the budget are looked upon with shock and horror - because there'll always be a candidate who'll let you keep your money and brush the issue under the carpet.

I don't know. I'm not knocking the US way of doing things, but it seems a bit more mercenary than the way we live in Europe.

As of right now I dont got much to say, how ever I'll be heading to work and I'll be thinking about this for the next 8 1/2 hours. So I'll post my thoughts when I get home.

Having lived in both the UK and the USA last I checked the average wage in the USA is over $37,000 with the average house price just around $200,000

In the UK the average wage is £23,000 and average house prices are just over £200,000.

Now taxes, thats a whole new story.

Sales tax
The UK has a 17% VAT(value added tax, IE sales tax)

The US has a national rate of 5%. Each state can add a % onto this and then again each county can add another %. I want to say average sales tax is around 6%


Income taxes and property taxes.
The UK has nationalized healthcare which consumes roughly 20% of your gross wage. There is also pensions coming out which is some more, then another tax that goes for general government spending. Add those up for someone making under £44,000 it's close to or over 30% of your money gone before it hits the bank. I believe it's $44,000 for the next tax bracket. There is also Council tax for home owners which is about £1200 a year depending on where you live so thats another 5% gone from your wages.

The US has a lower national tax rate and healthcare is privatized so you don't pay as much out of your wages. (IE the company you work for spends money for your wellbeing) Property taxes are around ?$4,000? now? I cannot remember off the top of my head.


There are many more things involved but if you add up all the different taxes the average worker in the UK is having 1/2 their money taken away in tax before they are handed the keys to their new car while in the states it's closer to 35-40%. This gives people in the states a better percentage of their wage for 'stuff' they also make double so the actual amount to spend on 'stuff' is double that of a UK person.

1 US gallon = 3.7854118 litre

We pay $7.57 per gallon.

How can any american complain about fuel prices?