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Comment by DistantCl3ric | Hacker News Reader

$15/hr * 40hr/week * 52week/year = 31200USD = 481000ZAR.

It took me at least 5 years as a software engineer with a CS degree to reach that per year in South Africa.

I understand cost of living adjustments etc etc but $15 per hour in SA would help so many people dramatically. We have a huge number of citizens living below the poverty line.

For perspective, our minimum hourly wage is 23.19ZAR per hour which is roughly 1.49USD.

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In the us you don’t multiply hours worked by 40. Minimum wage workers have few protections and are assigned less then full time hours to Avoid paying benefits. They can also end up with shifts like 2 on 2 off 2 on where employers don’t pay for gaps between peak hrs

I don't think you understand cost of living as well as you think you do.

What would be the cost of living on average in US? I don't know what's the good way to compare between countries though.

Numbeo is a site that offers comparisons between cost of living in various cities.

It tells me that rent for a 1 bedroom in Johannesburg is around $440 USD per month. In Denver, a mid level American city, you would be paying $1790 usd.

Also keep in mind that if you want health insurance in the US, you might end up spending $5k-$10k for just the insurance, getting care for anything beyond a yearly checkup is going to cost more.

In SA we also have to use private health insurance as the state run facilities are really bad. We have no safe public transport and those who can afford their own car usually have one. Our policing is sub par and many have to pay for private security.

We also have a very high income tax rate. Up to something like 45% depending on your level of income.

If I for instance saved 10% of my salary vs someone earning comparatively the same in the US, I would have far less buying power in the world in general.

Overseas holidays are something very few can afford. Spending ZAR overseas is rough.

No doubt there’s a reason that so many SA choose to work overseas. My point was more that $15usd an hour just doesn’t go that far in the states, even though it sounds like a very livable wage outside of the US.

Even within the states there are massive discrepancies. $15/hr in San Francisco probably means you are on the edge of homelessness. Meanwhile that same pay in the southeast might be enough for a modest life.

The US has a ton of regional variance in cost of living, not sure it makes sense to talk about average in this case.

Look at incomes across the world normalized with PPP (Purchasing Power Parity):

https://income-inequality.info/

Earning $30k in the US puts one in the top 5% of the world's population with respect to income (adjusted for PPP).

https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i

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