Posted by: Riten April 7, 2011
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I have to agree with the Korean dude above. Food is pretty darn cheap in the USA.
You can get chicken for less than a dollar per pound, which is equal to $2 or Nepali Rs. 140 per Kilogram. I think that is about the same or even less than price of chicken in Kathmandu.
The other day I bought 25 pound sack of Jasmine rice for $15 at Costco. So that would come to about $1.30 per Kilo or in Nepali 92 rupees. That is probably not much higher than in Nepal, I think, no?
I don't buy much corn, but if you look at the vast corn fields in midwest, I bet it is cheaper in the US than in Nepal.
Now veggies are much more expensive in the US for sure. At a local grocery store, I paid $2 for one small bunch of watercress. Imagine paying 142 rupees for teeny weeny bittaa of sim-rayo saag in Nepal.
I believe the key factor to determine any nation's poverty, or prosperity for that matter, is the ratio of food expense vs total income.
I believe, in Nepal, people spend more than 50%, even 75%, of their income on food just because food is so expensive in relative terms. Compare that to the US where Americans spend only 5% to 15% of their income on groceries. I am intentionally not accounting for "going-to-restaurants" expenditure because that can be closely associated with entertainment and can askew the study vastly.
What do you think?
You can get chicken for less than a dollar per pound, which is equal to $2 or Nepali Rs. 140 per Kilogram. I think that is about the same or even less than price of chicken in Kathmandu.
The other day I bought 25 pound sack of Jasmine rice for $15 at Costco. So that would come to about $1.30 per Kilo or in Nepali 92 rupees. That is probably not much higher than in Nepal, I think, no?
I don't buy much corn, but if you look at the vast corn fields in midwest, I bet it is cheaper in the US than in Nepal.
Now veggies are much more expensive in the US for sure. At a local grocery store, I paid $2 for one small bunch of watercress. Imagine paying 142 rupees for teeny weeny bittaa of sim-rayo saag in Nepal.
I believe the key factor to determine any nation's poverty, or prosperity for that matter, is the ratio of food expense vs total income.
I believe, in Nepal, people spend more than 50%, even 75%, of their income on food just because food is so expensive in relative terms. Compare that to the US where Americans spend only 5% to 15% of their income on groceries. I am intentionally not accounting for "going-to-restaurants" expenditure because that can be closely associated with entertainment and can askew the study vastly.
What do you think?