Как прожить на полмиллиона.

В своей достаточно уже старой статье от две тысячи девятого года Living Costs in Manhattan профессор экономики и финансов из Калифорнийского Университета (University of California, UCLA Anderson School of Management) Иво Велш (Ivo Welch) исследует природу высоких зарплат инвестиционных банкиров в США и те расходы, которые они несут на поддержание требуемого "обществом" уровня жизни. Небольшая выдержка из статьи

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A two-to-three bedroom coop with 1,500-2,000 sqft of space in a nice but older building (but not in a true luxury building where the rich and famous live) can easily cost $1.5 million in Manhattan. This comes to around $100,000 in mortgage payments per year. Coop fees can easily cost another $100,000. The interest and coop tax deductions reduce this to a net cost of about $150,000. Yes, these are only middle-class living quarters, not high-end quarters, except we are assuming that they are in a nice neighborhood in Manhattan. (Of course, we are not talking about a rent-controlled or state-subsidized housing. Such apartments are impossible to get for newcomers.)

This leaves $150,000 per year after taxes and housing for all other living expenses. Yes, it may sound crazy, but it is not: $500,000 pays for a middle-class white-collar lifestyle in Manhattan, not a rich one. $300,000 would simply not be enough to afford taxes, a nice two- to three-bedroom coop, and private school for two children.

The alternative, then, is to move out of Manhattan. Unfortunately, moving too far is often not an easy option for investment bankers, either. Typical working hours are 60 to 80 hours per week, and spending the few remaining hours not with family but commuting is not a great life.

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И краткий вывод

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Our tax code is obscene. It is time to make a distinction between The Wealthy and The High-Income Earners. Our U.S. tax code does absolutely not tax the wealthy. It taxes the high-income earners. In this example, 40% of the income of the hypothetical middle-class I-banker in Manhattan has gone to the government.

This is a sizeable chunk already. In contrast, most of the incredibly wealthy (the Buffetts, Gates', or those who inherited it) pay almost zero percent of their wealth or wealth increases every year to the IRS. This will get worse. Future tax revenues must rise—the high-income earners will be called "the rich" and asked to "pay their fair share."

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Пример с поддержанием "социально приемлемого уровня жизни в определенной группе" прямо перекликается с работой Торстейна Веблена "Теория праздного класса", а вот вывод заставляет задуматься о "несправедливо устроенной" жизни :) P.S. Рекомендую книгу автора Corporate Finance которую можно взять здесь в электронном виде (укороченный бесплатный вариант) и здесь (бумажный полноценный вариант) P.P.S. Цитаты из фильма Margin Call о том, как "быстро потратить два с половиной миллиона долларов":

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- Did you really make two and half million last year?

- Yeah..sure. -

How did you spend it all?

- They expire quickly. You know, You'll learn and spend what's in your pocket.

- Two and half millions goes quickly?

- The tax man takes half up front. So, you're left with one and a quarter. My mortgage takes another 300 grand. I send 150 home for my parents, you know..to keep them going.

- So, what's left?

- Eight hundred.

- I spend 150 on a car. About 75 in restaurants, Probably, 50 on clothes. And I put 400 away for a rainy day...

- You still got 125. - Yeah, I did spent 76,520 dollars on Hookers, booze and dancers. But mainly, hookers.

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"Hookers" в приведенном выше абзаце означает "проститутки".