DAKSTER
Beam me up Scotty!
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2011
- Messages
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- Woodford QLD
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- VS Berlina
The current major iron ore producers in Africa are South Africa, Mauritania, and Algeria. Of course other countries have iron ore deposits, but these are as yet unmined or not mined on a large scale, so its not possible to say how much their miners are getting paid.
I'll point out that just as our miners earn a great deal more than the median income, its also possible that so do theirs. Equally, its possible that they earn less than the median, I dont know.
South Africa as a populace has a median annual income of $11,100, $213 weekly or $42.90 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
Algeria has a median annual income of $7400, $142 weekly or $28.46 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
Mauritania has a median annual income of $2,200, $42 weekly or $8.46 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
So lets look at the worst of that group, Mauritania. Mauritania was taken over in a coup in 2008, and the effects of that are ongoing. It has recently been estimated that 10% to 20% (340,000 to 680,000 people) of the population of Mauritania lives in slavery.
Monthly rent on an average 3-4 bedroom city apartment is about $500. Obviously, only people in higher income brackets can afford to live in a city!
So where is the $2 daily that Gina speaks of, and is she advocating Australia needs to be more like Mauritania?
Perhaps the $2 figure is the amount she PLANS to pay by opening up mines in some of the even poorer countries that currently have undeveloped resources. In the Congo, the median wage is currently about $1.82 daily. Thats because almost no-one has any kind of income at all, its a barter economy in the large part simply because there is no cash. Does she honestly think that average (mean) wages wont rise when more people are actually employed?
Simple mathematics. Lets take a group of 1000 people. We will assume that the mean wage is $2 daily, which means as a group, they earn $2000. However, only (for the purposes of this exercise) 10% of those people actually have any monetary income at all. The remainder use a barter economy, which is what happens in poor economies with the lack of any other alternative.
Therefore, the 10% of people who are actually earning anything are in reality earning $20 daily, not $2.
Now lets build a mine, and employ people at the going rate, which turns out not to be $2 daily at all.. its $20 daily as stated above. We'll build a really big mine, and employ 10%, of the nation instead of the 1000 example group, at the going rate... which is $20 daily. We will disregard differences in pay between professions too for the purpose of simplicity. Now, 20% of the population will have jobs, instead of the original 10%, all earning $20 daily. But the mean wage of the nation will have doubled to $4 daily...
Numbers are great things, you can make them say anything you want if you use them in the right context. Ginas $2/day statement is like that. A mean wage of $2 daily does not mean people actually work for $2 daily.
I'll point out that just as our miners earn a great deal more than the median income, its also possible that so do theirs. Equally, its possible that they earn less than the median, I dont know.
South Africa as a populace has a median annual income of $11,100, $213 weekly or $42.90 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
Algeria has a median annual income of $7400, $142 weekly or $28.46 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
Mauritania has a median annual income of $2,200, $42 weekly or $8.46 daily on a 5 day a week basis.
So lets look at the worst of that group, Mauritania. Mauritania was taken over in a coup in 2008, and the effects of that are ongoing. It has recently been estimated that 10% to 20% (340,000 to 680,000 people) of the population of Mauritania lives in slavery.
Monthly rent on an average 3-4 bedroom city apartment is about $500. Obviously, only people in higher income brackets can afford to live in a city!
So where is the $2 daily that Gina speaks of, and is she advocating Australia needs to be more like Mauritania?
Perhaps the $2 figure is the amount she PLANS to pay by opening up mines in some of the even poorer countries that currently have undeveloped resources. In the Congo, the median wage is currently about $1.82 daily. Thats because almost no-one has any kind of income at all, its a barter economy in the large part simply because there is no cash. Does she honestly think that average (mean) wages wont rise when more people are actually employed?
Simple mathematics. Lets take a group of 1000 people. We will assume that the mean wage is $2 daily, which means as a group, they earn $2000. However, only (for the purposes of this exercise) 10% of those people actually have any monetary income at all. The remainder use a barter economy, which is what happens in poor economies with the lack of any other alternative.
Therefore, the 10% of people who are actually earning anything are in reality earning $20 daily, not $2.
Now lets build a mine, and employ people at the going rate, which turns out not to be $2 daily at all.. its $20 daily as stated above. We'll build a really big mine, and employ 10%, of the nation instead of the 1000 example group, at the going rate... which is $20 daily. We will disregard differences in pay between professions too for the purpose of simplicity. Now, 20% of the population will have jobs, instead of the original 10%, all earning $20 daily. But the mean wage of the nation will have doubled to $4 daily...
Numbers are great things, you can make them say anything you want if you use them in the right context. Ginas $2/day statement is like that. A mean wage of $2 daily does not mean people actually work for $2 daily.
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