And remember the ministers spouse will also have a wage to add to the household income. But even if the spouse is unemployed it equals two working parents earning €4000 each, two great wages in their own right.
I don't know what rents are in NYC, but if you earn more than about €3000 your income tax is about 50 % in Sweden. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
If I am not mistaken, Sweden's top/bottom quintile ratio is around 4, one of the lowest in the developed world. Ministers getting four times average wage will earn shrugs elsewhere. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Sweden has the worst educated government in the world. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
In the UK I'd consider middle class starts at around £30k/year, upper middle at around £80-£100k/year, and rich at £1M/year. MPs here get paid £50k (it may have gone up since the last time I looked) plus some expenses.
Very rich would be anyone worth over a billion, because that's the level at which you can buy absolutely anything for your own personal use.
But - these people amuse themselves by buying and selling companies, not everyday things. The difference between one billion and ten billion is the difference between a small and a medium sized corporation.
At that level it probably still rankles that no matter how rich someone is, they still can't afford to buy Microsoft, Exxon or Google in their entirety.
