Hi,
> Have no idea what percentage of goods are imports in UK
> vs. US, and whether protective import tariffs are more
> a factor on one side of the pond than the other.
The last time I looked, the USA imports about 25% more than it
imports, the UK is pretty much even imports v. exports.
> Also don't know if the UK
> subsidises farmers like the US does, or as much. I doubt
> most people think about these subsidies when they price
> corn or milk at the grocery store.
>
The UK (and the EU in general) has quite generous agricultural
subsidies, but not nearly as high in the UK as the US. A couple
of years ago the US was selling wheat on the open market at only
54% of the cost of production, the rest was subsidy.
The EU is working toward elimiating, or at least severely curtailing,
agricultural subsidies.
> A lot of times energy costs end up being a big factor in
> the cost of finished goods too. That might be tax-related,
> or could reflect actual higher oil prices there than here.
>
> Bottom line is it's probably a whole bunch of factors.
One big one is that we pay 17.5% tax on almost everything we
buy, except foodstuffs - although you pay it if you have a meal
served to you :-(
For those that asked, I think the current TV licence is 104 pounds
per year (about $70) or slightly over the price of one pint of beer
per week.
--
Cheers,
Stan Barr stanb_at_dial.pipex.com
The future was never like this!
Received on Tue Aug 27 2002 - 08:07:50 BST