UK versus USA

[iggy01]

The average U.S. wage in 2003 was $34,000(£18,500). The average uk wage was around £24,000. Maybe this has something to do with prices being cheaper in the U.S.

 

[cometcattle]

Cometcattle, are the fish from the Asian import generally more expensive than the ones that come from Florida?

From what I've seen, the prices are about the same.

Here's an article from The Florida Tropical Fish Farms Association telling (in their opinion) American dealers why it is better to buy from them over breeders in Southeast Asia:

http/www.ftffa.com/why_buy.html

 

[andywg]

Basically, Britain has a higher cost of living, almost everything costs more, but as pointed out, Britain has a higher average wage. I believe the minimum wage in America is about $5ish per hour. In the UK it will soon pass £5 per hour which at recent exchange rates puts it not far off $9 per hour. Therefore prices will always be higher.

Also, if Britain weren't so heavily into the EU and still played well with the Commonwealth then we could probably get a lot of things cheaper (fruit from the WIndies, fish and stuff from thailand or Australia etc.)

 

[annka5]

abstract: Britain and England are not the same place. Britain refers to the mainland bit of the UK, which is made up of Wales, England, and Scotland. Great Britain includes various islands. The UK is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thats why strictly you would say the UK, or "Great Britain and Northern Ireland" to refer to the same place.
Hence, refering to Britain as England means that anyone in Wales or Scotland will be peeved (and possibly also N Ireland), but is basically just inaccurate.
To be fair, plenty of English (and sorry, but yes, I mean English as opposed to including the Welsh or Scottish or Northern Irish) people refer to Britain as England, so how anyone in the rest of the world is supposed to get it right is completely beyond me!!!
It really wasn't meant as a furiously stroppy comment, so apologies for the offence!!

 

[andywg]

The reason the English refer to England as Britain and Britain as England is cos the English conquered Britan (and then Ireland, and then over a third of the world's landmass, and the seas...Oh the great sea of pink on the Victorian maps...)

[Andywg now commences frothing at the mouth and drowns in historic pride of the achievements of his ancestors]














j/k

 

[annka5]

Nah, it's becuase the English don't know any better MUST be to think colonialism should be a source of great national pride....
Maybe something to do with inbreeding (no-one else would have 'em!)

 

[abstract]

thanks for clarifying annka5, i appreciate it...believe it or not (i'm sure you believe it, our damn country is arrogant), it's things like that they overlook teaching in schools....britain is england is great britain is UK to a lot of people unfortunately - it's a shame, but i'll be sure not to offend anyone in the future - it was totally unintentional

 

[andywg]

The main reason for English people refering to England as Britain and vice verse is because we make up the largest portion of the national population and we produce a greater amount of taxation per head (that is, England subsidises Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).

 

[john5748]

The main reason for English people refering to England as Britain and vice verse is because we make up the largest portion of the national population and we produce a greater amount of taxation per head (that is, England subsidises Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).

I really did not intend this thread to go off on this tangent but while we have I will just say one thing as I do not get into politics (too much anyway).

I hope you did not intend to alienate Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in your last comment, but just in case you did, I find it incredibly obnoxious of anyone from England to imply that they "carry the burden of taxes" for the remaining "poor relations in the suburbs"!!

 

[annka5]

andywg, your comments are ermm...amazing... I assumed you were joking re: conquests etc, hence the (lame) "inbred" joke.
Yep, England has a bigger population. So?
And actually, the statistic on taxation usually quoted is that central London subsidises the rest of the UK (unarguably the case, IMO!) - I think if you get recent 5 year average figures of the UK as a whole, and look at tax spend /tax paid (income tax, corporation tax, mineral royalties, MOD land taxes, etc) then it pretty much balances out. And so what anyway?
The vast overwhelming majority of people who refer to England as Britain do so out of habit or ignorance, not out of the beleif that other nations which make up Britain are some kind of wierd, archaic feudal relation of England. And I would be amazed if that was how people outside of England view it.

 

[jimboliana]

I bought some of my Dennerle goods from Germany and i saved a packet

 

[john5748]

I bought some of my Dennerle goods from Germany and i saved a packet

I have just looked up Denerle on the web, you must have a pretty big set up to have to use Co2 cannisters to feed your plants.

 

[guppygirl]

Fishkeeping is still expensive though!!!




Not as expensive as horses though...

 

[Nospherith]

 

[Iron Man]

I can get fancy guppies here 3 for $6.

Don't feel bad...we've been hit a little with our gas prices. We haven't been happy about it.....though I was smart enough to drive a car that's actually efficient....so it hasn't effected me much directly.