According to a new report, if you have over US$2,200; you are rich!

I would not call it being in the top 10% of the richest people in the world having $60K.....I would call it NOT BEING IN the top 90% of the worlds poorest people....

so many people in the jungles of asia, the amazon, africa, the austrailian outback...who have a big fat goose egg...-0-.....that weighs the averages to such a distorted scale.....just the poverty of india and china could weigh the average hugely


bob

Yeah, I'm rich. I have always wanted to know what it feels like.

I dont feel anything

lulu said:

Yeah, I'm rich. I have always wanted to know what it feels like.

I dont feel anything

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HAHAHAHA............now that's the funniest damn post I've read on this site for months

The jokes come easy, but there's a serious side to the report. Omitting all of our other possessions, don't forget that simply owning a pc & being able to pay for an internet connection each month puts us economically far ahead of many Dominicans.

In the spirit of the holiday season, let's remember to be thankful for what we have and generous toward those of lesser means.

Well said CFA123. Make sure ya'll give generously........check out Beyond the Beach Childrens Foundation and please donate..

Very interesting and isn't it amazing how there are so many ways of looking at this one thing! Bob, I agree with you - doesn't make us rich - makes us NOT POOR.

We all need to remember here to share graciously of what we have.

I know this is all subjective but to be comfortable in the DR how much would you say you'd have to have in the bank? -- Let's start with a Dominican. To be comfortable. Nothing extravagent.

Question is probably not specific enough, 2left.

Are you talking single? Married? Kids?
Is having a car, computer, maid, inverter, cable tv, and/or air conditioning in bedrooms extravagant?

I'd say a Dominican earning equivalent of US$20-25k annually begins to give them what we'd consider a lower middle class existence where they can begin to afford most of the above as well as have a little disposable income to enjoy life.

Problem is there aren't a lot of those jobs to go around. And your question about 'money in the bank', at that income there wouldn't be much... it would all be going to rent on a decent apartment, car payments, gasoline, cell phone, food, internet connection, electricity, etc, etc.

NALs said:

We are all very much aware of the disparity of income that is obviously present everywhere in the DR.

In fact, if one was to analyze most discussions on this website, perhaps 90% of them concern with what is essentially the disparity of wealth and the various social implications that has on Dominican society (ie. Higher consumption on one hand / increase in crime on the other / glarring differences in standards of living, etc)

Well, I've just read an interesting news article which makes it clear just how wide the global disparity of wealth actually is!

The following is a quote from the report. The report is accessible at the link below:

"The richest 2% of the world's population owns more than half of the world's household wealth.

...The research indicates that assets of just $2,200 per adult place a household in the top half of the world's wealthiest. To be among the richest 10% of adults in the world, just $61,000 in assets is needed. If you have more than $500,000, you're part of the richest 1%, the United Nations study says. Indeed, 37 million people now belong in that category."

Got $2,200? In this world, you're rich

-NALs

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Damn I just missed that by $5.

Bs

That is the price for a couple of tickets!!!!!!!

How can I be rich when I have a credit card statement due on the 20th and I am still thinking about it hoping my other half doesn't come down my neck?


CB

Wow-- I would figure $25,000 US would be consider higher than lower middle class. I would figure at least middle class. I wonder what people have in the bank? How many people have bank accounts?

CFA123 said:

I'd say a Dominican earning equivalent of US$20-25k annually begins to give them what we'd consider a lower middle class existence where they can begin to afford most of the above as well as have a little disposable income to enjoy life.

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All of what you said was true, CFA, but I would bring the figure down a bit. Most people here who are lucky enough to earn about 24,000 to 30,000 RD a month are in the lower middle class. They might or might not have a car, but they will certainly have electronic gadgets of various sorts, including a PC -- may not be a very up to date PC but a PC nonetheless. Also dont underestimate the Dominican skill for managing to get by, find a great deal, rig some thing to his benefit. One of my best friends here is an editor at Listin and he earns about 26,000 RD monthly. He has more gadgets than I do, and his PC is super duper alante alante. How does he do it? Well, he got credentials as a tecnico, went to the wholesalers, got the parts cheap and put together a custom machine.

That is not to say that they dont struggle in this salary range. They do indeed. In fact all my friends in this range are struggling mightily, complaining loudly, and constantly looking for other opportunities to add to their cash flow. The editor has now taken up building computers for others and selling little gadgets, while another friend of mine has an internet cafe he runs in addition to his day job. I just mentioned the example above to add to your original list of contingencies.

For a person to earn about 20,000 dollars annually here he would have to be earning a monthy salary of around 55,000pesos -- that is considered pretty big money around here and as CFA points out such jobs are rare indeed. Most income is usually supplemented in some way by a sideline and that might boost the official income by another 20,000 to 30,000 pesos monthly, so you are right, they begin to start earning around what amounts to 20,000 US annually. But someone who earns 30,000 pesos a month here is really not doing too badly. Remember too that their rents are typically low -- 4000 to 6000 -- not the 24,000 they are currently charging people in Gascue.