> If the workers in a factory are paid 5x as much as 15 years ago, the lorry driver taking the goods to the shop is paid 5x as much, the shop assistants are paid 5x as much, etc, etc then the goods sold in the shop are pretty much going to have to cost 5x more than they used to.
I think that is not necessarily true in all cases: Not every cost scales the same way. If the operation depends on human labor, such as in the food industry, then that would be true. The human cost in many operations going up up 5x, yet the iPhone and the xray machine cost the same pretty much everywhere in this world. It is cheaper to obtain and use an iPhone in the US than it is in, say China.
How much does the machine is factored in as part of the bill in the US?
I don’t know, but even then the machine has to be transported, installed and maintained in the US by US labour all of which cost more. Then there’s regulatory compliance and inspections.
So sure you can’t just do a streghtforward multiple and you’re done, that’s why I said ‘pretty much’. Some of the costs might be similar, others might be 20x or more. China probably doesn’t have medical practitioner insurance or regulatory compliance inspections at all, so those costs won’t even exist.
As a person from a third world country living in the US, the subtle difference between "absolutely" and "pretty much" is exactly why I (and I'm sure, many other immigrants) like my life in the US much better. I enjoy ${k}x the pay, yet not everything costs ${k}x more. I'd have way more breathing room with that extra money here and there every day, every minute, every hour. Pretty much everything I buy, every service I use, every problem I touch costs "a little bit" less than ${k}x.
That is, other than the medical bill and the education bill, if I have my own family later on.
Absolutely. Many basic goods are priced internationally now. Aside from deliberate manipulations like import duties, things like cars, TVs, kitchen appliances, etc are similar prices everywhere especially if you minimise labour costs such as through online retailers.
Even in China salaries might be 5x higher now but also the exchange rate has halved, so foreign goods are effective 10x more affordable now. Hence cars are everywhere, compared to when I started going there when owning a private car was an impossible dream for most families and the streets only carried busses and taxis.
I think that is not necessarily true in all cases: Not every cost scales the same way. If the operation depends on human labor, such as in the food industry, then that would be true. The human cost in many operations going up up 5x, yet the iPhone and the xray machine cost the same pretty much everywhere in this world. It is cheaper to obtain and use an iPhone in the US than it is in, say China.
How much does the machine is factored in as part of the bill in the US?