purchasing power parity

[Kereb]

It's deliberately a stupid amount of tax to try and make people stop smoking. Or to bring in revenue for the government. Of course they don't seem to realise that the two goals are diametrically opposed. *facepalm*

I swear they even *know* it's not going to stop anyone from smoking ... it just sounds really good come campaign time to say that you voted for some anti-smoking measure, whatever it is.

[happybud]

These are all guesses.
...
a dildo - start at £10 ($15.50), probably £20 ($30) for a decent one
...
Yeah, it's expensive here.

Damn $30 for a decent dildo??? Most places in the US cost around $50 or more for a quality dildo (Source: Blissful Cherry, but other similar US stores are also in this price range).

[Torco]

consider that those numbers are almost a decade old

[finlay]

yeah like i don't remember writing that at all. i'd be more coy about it now lol

[finlay]

consider that those numbers are almost a decade old

Also consider that when i wrote that i was unemployed and wrote later in the thread that it's more like i was unwilling to pay more than £30. But I've bought a few sex toys since coming to Japan and I think the most expensive I've bought was the same price range. Sure i could buy one in the $100s price range but what's the real benefit after about $50?

[jmcd]

I'm absolutely in awe of cigarette prices... the most expensive 20-box of cigs you'll find here is around 3 euro. Smoking really sounds like an incredibly expensive habit in the first world

It's deliberately a stupid amount of tax to try and make people stop smoking. Or to bring in revenue for the government. Of course they don't seem to realise that the two goals are diametrically opposed. *facepalm*

But now you know... Everyone here knows a packet of cigs costs about 20p to manufacture and that most of the cost is tax and duty, and it's only the hardcore smokers that decide not to care.

It might seem that the two goals diametrically opposed to each other, but it does kind of work. Not only the price, but also the limitations on ads and the banning of smoking in public places. At least, we don't have the smoking rate (coupled with the ads, prices and selling places across from schoools, the extent of industry lobbying) of Indonesia for example. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7taArbuni90 ) And the smoking rate in the UK continues to drop:

[Torco]

its not like i'm a big spender, but in my experience quality greatly increases with price when it comes to sextoys.

in other news, a pack of cigs here now costs three and a half lucas, which is slightly below five euros or something like that, and real estate prices are nearly five times what they were when this thread was started: truly laissez faire capitalism has brought miracles.

[vampireshark]

its not like i'm a big spender, but in my experience quality greatly increases with price when it comes to sextoys.

in other news, a pack of cigs here now costs three and a half lucas, which is slightly below five euros or something like that, and real estate prices are nearly five times what they were when this thread was started: truly laissez faire capitalism has brought miracles.

Indeed. Well, incidentally, I now live in a different country, but, the last time I was in the North Carolina, the price of a pack o' 20 cigarettes was $4-$5, depending on brand, but this largely was due to the increase in the federal tobacco tax to about $1 per pack (from ~20¢ previously!).

(Maybe another, new-ish PPP thread could be in order...)