O.T. Disposable income for arrangers.

If I’m reading correctly, it appears that arranger sales are usually stronger in Europe than in the U.S.

I sometimes wonder if that isn’t partially due to the fact that other parts of the world have more disposable income than we do in the U.S.

Over the past several years, here in the U.S., taxes and cost of living have been on the rise and salaries don’t appear to be keeping up..??

Close to 20 years ago, in industry, I was working on a project for luxury cars that were headed for Europe. When I asked the head of marketing for our group why these cars weren’t sold in the US, I was told that Europeans had better incomes and more disposable incomes to support buying luxury items.

True or not, that perception stuck in my head.

Thoughts?

It's no different here in the UK to U.S. The cost of living keeps rising and salaries remain stagnant. l was recently on vacation in Florida and was happy to pay $2.60 for a gallon of petrol. At the moment it's averaging around $7 a gallon here.

But in all fairness to the UK, as I recall the gallon there is 1/5 larger and expensive because the vehicles there get much higher MPG. Still......gas anywhere is expensive no matter how you slice the pie.

"disposable income"..........I'm going to guess at this. I notice that Americans are credit card crazy. If they have nothing to do, they go out shopping.....spend money rather than sit home and read a book.

I could be wrong again, but I think Europeans are a lot more careful in how they spend their money. I watch people in supermarkets around here stuff their mega-baskets with junk food, soda, meals in a box (tv dinners). I also watch them take an item off the shelf without even blinking an eye to look at the price. And.....I've stood behind shoppers with all that junk food in their baskets whip out their credit cards to pay the $200-$300 the mini-shopping spree just cost.

How much disposable income can you have when you spend money like that? I believe Europeans are more cultured and spend more time enjoying the Arts instead of going mad at the shopping malls. I'm sure that's part of the reason why the good keyboards go to Europe and the junk boards that just make noise are destined to remain here in the US. Music and quality keyboards are appreciated much more there. Europeans spend their money on quality and get bang for the buck. We have no disposable incomes because we don't manage money as well as Europeans do.

I'm beginning to come around to the point of view of late best friend HankB. He said that the more he owned when he died, the further ahead he was! Trust me, he was WAY ahead when he died!
Someone said you can't take it with you, but someone else said "I want enough to get there on".
Seriously, I'll bet their are both frugal people and "less cautious" people on every continent. I like to think I'm somewhere in the middle.

Overhere in Europe,
people still save up money to pay for things
The only thing many loan money for is their mortgage

Overhere, in Europe many people still think, that people in the US make more money

l've just converted the cost allowing for the difference of both units, and it still works out at approximately $5.80 per gallon. So more than twice the cost for the same amount, nothing fair in that from my point of view

I guess I've been pretty fortunate in my life. I've managed to make enough money as an entertainer/musician (notice musician is last) that all my disposable income has been pissed away on retirement accounts, boats, booze, keyboards, hot woman (note I said woman), deadly foods, and other frivolous things. In the interim, I managed to build a home out in the sticks, (yes, I actually built most of it with my own two hands), open a retail sporting goods store, then go back to music, the job I loved best. I even found enough disposable income to raise a couple children, both of whom have been very successful, and did so on less money than anyone that I know made during the same time period.

Tonight, I was talking with an old friend, one that I met while working in the medical field at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. We have kept in touch since 1962, when I first went to work there, doing surgical research replacing heart valves and later becoming technical director of the Cardio-Pulmonary Division. He left the field of medicine and went on to become a very successful insurance agent in Maryland, and at 78 years of age, is still working 4 days a week.

We talked about all the things we had in common, people we met, and how we had so much fun living on very little income, but still enjoying life to it's fullest. So, I guess it's not how much you make, or how much disposable income you have, but how you manage your lifestyle and still be able to enjoy your friends and family. I've had a long ride over the past 77 years, but it has been a fantastic ride to say the very least.

Enjoy what little time you have on planet Earth,

Gary

But you didn't take note of the second half of my remark. When I lived there, as I recall, vehicles were getting 40+ MPG. You have to add that into the equation and then figure out basic stuff like "how much is it costing to go ONE mile" regardless of the price of the gallon. It doesn't really matter the cost of a gallon as part of "everyday living costs" if your vehicle gets 300 MPG. The same as it doesn't matter if gas in Florida is $2.60 per but you only get 5MPG. And then who cares anyway if you're driving a Tesla (electric vehicle).

Mark, I always looked at the Cost Per Mile (CPM) to drive every vehicle I have ever owned. Electric cars are not very efficient in the long run, especially when you have to replace the batteries and do the other nasty maintenance. The last car I owned that only got 5 MPG was a 1947 Oldsmobile Dynamic 78 that was about the size of a building, weighed a couple tons, and blasted up US Route 40 as if it were a rocket sled. My dad drove it for several years, never seemed to care what the speed limits were back then, and gas was just .19 cents a gallon here in Maryland. He got real upset when the price went up and it cost him more than $5 to fill the tank.

I don't know what the Tesla CPM is, but the basic cost of $101,500 is insane and could probably never be recouped in your lifetime.

All the best,

Gary

If I want something... I will buy it... with my eyes open, and not get ripped off.. I have no problem with someone making a profit, but not abused..

I also sell fairly.... I even let my friends make an edge on me... in fact if they needed it I would give it to them..

I also keep stuff a long time .... if I like the stuff..

I still have gear I bought new more then 50 years ago..

Most likely never sell....

I always believe you never lose a dime until you sell..

Same with vehicles.... I get the most out of them.... then I give them away to someone in need ...

Why is that?