Join the new world

There are many ways to rank a nation: by its population, by its military might, by the number of regions under its control, by its perceived reputation in the New World.



One more way to look at what individual countries are achieving is by taking measure of how easy or difficult it is for new citizens to integrate and thrive. In this case we are talking about standard of living and purchasing power. Two catch phrases that look pretty good on paper but here simply are meant to measure the possibility for a new citizen to first survive, then maintain himself and finally prosper.

We use market job offers to establish what citizens could reasonably be expected to earn. All three specializations and all seven skill levels were taken into consideration to calculate an average. Then we looked at entry skill levels in isolation, meaning 0-2. Finally we looked at the brand new skill 0 worker and what challenges he faces economically.

All numbers are pre-tax income and assume employment at a Q1 company.

We established three scenarios:
1. Minimal survival, where the citizen purchases only Q1 food (a typical behavior of new citizens until they learn better).
2. Wellness line, where the citizen purchases a Q2 food and Q1 gifts to maintain their health daily.
3. Middle class, where the citizen maintains his wellness but also attempts to purchase one Q1 gun daily.

This study was originally done for Canada. When the numbers were crunched, the picture that emerged was that of a nation whose purchasing power is amongst the best in the world. That although the cost of goods appeared high, the wages more than made up for it.

A good looking middle class.

The USA has the fifth biggest economy in the New World and is the most diversified.

The average American worker is in the 4 skill range and makes about $8.82 a day (a little more in construction, a little less in manufacturing). When he was younger and still learning his trade (0-2) he was making about $1.85 and when he was brand new the average is $0.84 a day.

To exist at a subsistence level, the average US worker spends 7.66% of his daily wages on Q1 food. If he wanted to maintain himself above the wellness line, he would need to increase his spending to 23.35% of his salary. Finally, if he was to invest in weapons (the most desirable scenario for both the economy and the projecting of American power internationally) he would be spending 56.42%.

Translated into dollar terms, that means this particular worker could be saving between $3.84 and $8.14. Obviously he would not remain productive very long if he saved the greater amount but there is a good enough margin to expect this citizen to do well in the short term.

As comparable, Canada had percentages of 8.72%, 25.85% and 57.72% based on day 875 data.

The younger you are, the more difficult it is.

The category we have coined youth citizens have more of a challenge. These are the skill 0-2 workers who are still figuring things out. They are much more vulnerable to price fluctuations and may not always have the flexibility needed to boost their wellness. They will spend on average 38.03% of their earnings for minimal survival, that is a big difference with what most citizens have to deal with. If they wanted to try and maintain their wellness, the burden becomes unmanageable with 115.90% of their salaries needed. Buying guns is understandably not part of the equation.

Canada comparatively scored 26.47% and 78.5% (the only country surveyed to be below 100% at this skill level).

New workers, a category nobody stays in for more than a few days, must spend 80.46% of the wages on survival. The pennies saved does not allow them to do much else.



The future is now.

Like most big economies in the New World, the best wages were in the construction sector. The land sector was also well represented with competitive wages at each skill level. Manufacturing lagged behind slightly until skill 7 at which point there is a sharp rise in wages. This may indicate a shortage of workers or healthy competition for skilled workers in profitable companies.

The most important resource in the New World is human capital. The countries that do best at educating and retaining their young citizens are the countries that will thrive in the future. As such the USA has some work to do. It is always tricky to raise salaries to compensate and close the gap between low skill earners and the general population. It would also be a challenging task to lower prices without hurting the health of many American businesses.

The answer, if one is sought, may lie in the currency. The exchange rate for the USD places it as a good but not strong currency. That means that its international buying power is not as strong as others. If the gap is allowed to be closed, the health of the most vulnerable citizen stands to be improved. Any adjustment however may come at the expense of exports. This may be an acceptable risk seeing as how the American economy is so diverse and how the home economy is dynamic.

Once more, the power of tomorrow rests on the shoulders of the newborns of today.