A Living Wage

I was listening to a news report on NPR regarding raising the minimum wage for fast food workers and other low paid occupations and some idiot being interviewed said "why should someone working for McDonalds in Denmark make $15 an hour and I can't here in the US".  I know that the ignorance of some people sometimes leaves me speechless but my first instinct was to say "because you don't live in Denmark you ". The comment did get me to thinking about "living wages" so I did some checking.

Most minimum wage people here in the US pay little or no income taxes after deductions and even if they did the lowest tax rate is 15%. However if a McDonalds employee in Denmark were to make $15 an hour their lowest tax rate is 45% so that $15 per hour turns into $8.25 take home. Also the social state in Denmark raises the cost of living: gasoline averages $8.55 a gallon, an average pair of Levis cost $145 and the average cost of a Big Mac meal in Denmark is $8.20 USD compared to about $5.75 here.

I guess ignorance is bliss, but if NPR had spent a few minutes checking facts (like I did) I doubt they would ever have broadcast the comments of that concerned "community organizer".