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UK living standards outstrip
US
David Smith
London
Times
Sunday January 6, 2007
LIVING standards in Britain are set to rise above those in America
for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report
by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy.
The calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product
per capita, Britain can now hold its head up high in the economic
stakes after more than a century of playing second fiddle to the
Americans.
It says that GDP per head in Britain will be £23,500 this
year, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting not only
the strength of the pound against the dollar but also the UK economy’s
record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early
1990s.
In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britain’s
GDP per capita was 34% below that in America, 33% less than in
Germany and 26% lower than in France. Now, not only have average
incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8%
above France (£21,700) and Germany (£21,665).
(Article continues below)
“The past 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK’s
economic performance and its position in the world economy,”
said Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economics. “No
longer are we the ‘sick man of Europe’. Indeed, our
calculations suggest that UK living standards are now a match
for those of the US.”
Although many people will be surprised by the figures, Americans
have long complained that average incomes have been stagnant in
their country. One often-quoted statistical comparison suggests
that in real terms the median male full-time salary in America
is no higher now than it was in the 1970s.
Oxford Economics says that while the comparisons are affected
by sterling’s high value against the dollar, they also reflect
longer-term factors. “The UK has been catching up steadily
with living standards in the US since 2001 ? so, it is a well
established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations,”
its report says.
It concedes, however, that a significant fall in the pound against
other currencies would push Britain back down the ladder. It has
assumed an exchange rate of just over $2 for the purpose of the
calculation but in recent days the pound has slipped below that
level.
Full
article here.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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