You could not compare US/EU pays. The tax system and the benefits vary widely.
For example in France: a salary of 50k€/year like me, you should add 30% of tax paid by the compagny you would have paid from your own salary in US.
This salary is brut. You could retire 20% of direct tax on it. So it give a ~3000€ net by month.
Benefits paid by tax:
- health insurance (70% rembursment for standard care like a flu, 100% for emergency or expensive care)
- retirements (vary in function of the employment status, but count 60% of the 10years best salaries)
- job insurance (6month to 80% of the previous salary, from memory, need to check)
All of this you have to pay from your US salary. If you want to compare a US salaty with an european one, you have to factor all the social benefits you would have to pay in US.
In the US typically the employer pays for your health insurance and it's not counted towards the salary number.
As for retirement, there is social security in the US, although not many people are happy to base their retirement plans on receiving social security checks. Whether the European retirement systems will fare better, the time will show.
I believe you have a point with respect to severance packages.
Are defined benefit pensions common anywhere outside of the public sector anymore in Europe? They weren't on offer for (smaller) private companies when I was in the UK 10 years ago.
For example in France: a salary of 50k€/year like me, you should add 30% of tax paid by the compagny you would have paid from your own salary in US.
This salary is brut. You could retire 20% of direct tax on it. So it give a ~3000€ net by month.
Benefits paid by tax: - health insurance (70% rembursment for standard care like a flu, 100% for emergency or expensive care) - retirements (vary in function of the employment status, but count 60% of the 10years best salaries) - job insurance (6month to 80% of the previous salary, from memory, need to check)
All of this you have to pay from your US salary. If you want to compare a US salaty with an european one, you have to factor all the social benefits you would have to pay in US.