It seems /antiwork sub is very focused on USA labour market, may I assure you, it´s crap everywhere.
I´ll leave my situation and a snapshot of labor market in Portugal.
I work on the aerospace manufacturing industry on a technical position (non-graduate) for more than 10 years and I earn 5.10eur/hour after taxes and a monthly lunch stipend, my wife is on minimum wage (3.7 eur/hour) working on an international insurance company call center and I have two children on school age.
This is considered good, normal is the minimum wage.
I´m on the fringe of poverty one mishap from disaster.
Here the minimum wage is 705 eur/month before taxes 627 eur after taxes 3.7 eur/hour (~719 USD/~640 USD month)
Its customary (not mandatory) to have a lunch stipend/allowance up to ~7.5 Eur (usually 4-5 eur)
The workweek is 40 hours (public servants have 35h and some more benefits)
The payed work year is 14 months, 1 month payed vacation and 1 month as Christmas allowance.
We have a Health system tending to free, but with very long waiting times (after Covid it´s breaking apart from poor long term politics over the last 30 years even so it´s light years better that the USA model)
We have unemployment allowance if by involuntary unemployment
We have payed maternity leave for the mother and father – it varies between father and mother and it can go from 120 to 180 days
Payed sick leave between 55% – 75% of reference wage depending on length.
We have some circumstances were justified 'absences' are also payed.
Lets break down taxes for the minimum wage of 705 eur for 1 person without children:
Taxable income €705.00
IRS retention rate (income) 0.00%
IRS retention (income) – €0.00
Social Security Contribution -€77.55
Net wage €627.45 (3.73 eur/hour)
Total cost for the employer €872.44
And now for what is considered the average wage in Portugal 1310 eur for 1 person without children(beware that average wage is a fallacy)
Taxable income €1,310.00
IRS retention rate (income) 15.20%
IRS retention (income) – €199.00 (can be refunded depending on specific expenses)
Social Security Contribution -€144.10
Net wage €966.90 (5.75 eur/hour))
Total cost for the employer €1,621.13
Here is are the average expenses for a couple with no children:
Rent – T1 (1 bedroom) in the center – 600.00 (mortgage can go anywhere from 500 and up. Add municipal taxes over the value of the house)
Energy and gas – 80.00 (winter ~150)
Water – 30.00
TV, telephone and internet + 2 cell phone chips – 60.00
Supermarket – ~320.00 (double it with children)
Transport monthly pass – 80.00 (if you have car a full tank costs around 90-100 eur + insurance +- 100 eur/year and mandatory inspections +50 eur/year)
Health – insurance for 2 people (minimum coverage) – 60.00 eur (yes, NHS tending to free but you can have long waiting lists for an appointment and dentists are non existent on public health system)
Total – 1,230.00 eur
No leisure expenses accounted nor expenses with kids
Please ask any questions if you want to move here and I´ll look it up 😀