m8 owners: are you a dentist?

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

None of the few Norwegian Leica M8 users I know are 'rich'. More typical is that they have an university degree - or more. Or is about to get one. Typical is that they are enthusiasts that give priority to spending this much on their photo gear.

Nor is dentists regarded as rich either. Nor medical doctors. There is plenty of them around since they get their education heavily subsidized by the government. It is an American phenomena that these proffessions are so well payed.

It is the business people that is really rich over here.

Doctors here are extremely well paid. Few make an income like a rich businessman (that is, millions a year), but an average doctor or dentist makes $150,000 a year where I live, and specialists can make $400,000 or more. Most doctors I have known invest a lot of money and many end up truly wealthy by the time they retire.

The dentist thing is a stereotype here for photographers. A lot of dentists are amateur photographers. Of the 5 dentists I have used over the years, 4 were photographers. Because they make a lot of money, most of them buy the best equipment even though they're not professionals and often admit to not being the best photographers in the world....it is a hobby they do for fun. Most of them I have known owned Hasselblads or Leicas in the old days of film, and many now have EOS 1Ds series cameras or Nikon D2x/D3x cameras now that digital is the thing.

 

[Olsen]

I looked up the on-line tax information on my dentist here in Oslo. - All Norwegian's income, tax payed and fortune is available on the Net. (I thought that this law was the work of the social democrats. I might have mentioned this here earlier. It is not. This law, making everybody's income and contribution to society a 'public' info, here in Norway is more than 120 years old. Long before any socialist popped up in the parliament).

He earned NOK 1.012.247,00 (ca 145,000 $), payed NOK 429.148,00 (62,000 $ - 42%!) in taxes and had a 'taxable fortune' of NOK 1.147.243 (164,000 $). Still the figures are not comparable to the US. Generally, prices and sales tax etc. are far higher here in Norway than in USA. Sure, he is comfortable, but not 'rich'. - And he is an above average contributor to the governments coffers. Far above.

Further, there is most certainly hidden far greater values in the figure 'taxable fortune' than the figure specified on Norwegian's tax returns. The 'tax value' could be only 1/10 of the 'real sales value' of a home/property, share values would be 30% lower than the sales value - and so on. - A very much critisized system that many want to see changed, over here.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I looked up the on-line tax information on my dentist here in Oslo. - All Norwegian's income, tax payed and fortune is available on the Net. (I thought that this law was the work of the social democrats. I might have mentioned this here earlier. It is not. This law, making everybody's income and contribution to society a 'public' info, here in Norway is more than 120 years old. Long before any socialist popped up in the parliament).

He earned NOK 1.012.247,00 (ca 145,000 $), payed NOK 429.148,00 (62,000 $ - 42%!) in taxes and had a 'taxable fortune' of NOK 1.147.243 (164,000 $). Still the figures are not comparable to the US. Generally, prices and sales tax etc. are far higher here in Norway than in USA. Sure, he is comfortable, but not 'rich'. - And he is an above average contributor to the governments coffers. Far above.

Further, there is most certainly hidden far greater values in the figure 'taxable fortune' than the figure specified on Norwegian's tax returns. The 'tax value' could be only 1/10 of the 'real sales value' of a home/property, share values would be 30% lower than the sales value - and so on. - A very much critisized system that many want to see changed, over here.

I suspect that people as a whole in Norway earn far more than Americans do, but that the purchasing power is similar to the lower salaries here because the costs here are lower. But, we have an extremely large class of people making less than $8 an hour because that's simply what most jobs here pay, and that is a lot less than the cost of living even in the lowest cost areas of the USA. Our cost of living varies greatly in different areas. Where I live, one bedroom apartment costs $350 - $450 a month, while out in Santa Fe, New Mexico (where I lived for a while) the same apartment costs $800 - $1200 a month. The costs between apts. in the same city is because there are older apts. in poor parts of town and fancier places in wealthy parts of town to choose from. Note that in Indiana the most expensive places costs half what the cheapest ones in Santa Fe do. Even here in inexpensive Indiana a single person with no family to support needs to earn $11 an hour to survive, and less than 30% of jobs pay at least that much here 🙁

 

[Olsen]

I suspect that people as a whole in Norway earn far more than Americans do, but that the purchasing power is similar to the lower salaries here because the costs here are lower.

This is my impression too. But one thing; when this Norwegian dentist has paid his taxes he don't have to worry any about health care, education through university for his kids - and so on. He pays a lot. 62k in tax is hefty, but he is obliged to the same health care service as - a drug addict earning 'nothing'.

But, we have an extremely large class of people making less than $8 an hour because that's simply what most jobs here pay, and that is a lot less than the cost of living even in the lowest cost areas of the USA. Our cost of living varies greatly in different areas. Where I live, one bedroom apartment costs $350 - $450 a month, while out in Santa Fe, New Mexico (where I lived for a while) the same apartment costs $800 - $1200 a month. The costs between apts. in the same city is because there are older apts. in poor parts of town and fancier places in wealthy parts of town to choose from. Note that in Indiana the most expensive places costs half what the cheapest ones in Santa Fe do. Even here in inexpensive Indiana a single person with no family to support needs to earn $11 an hour to survive, and less than 30% of jobs pay at least that much here 🙁

The most typical in Oslo is to buy your own apartment. So, quite a few of us are 'soaked in dept'. I let my old bachelor apartment here in the senter of Oslo for 12.000 NOK (1,750 $) per month, but it is - I think, quite attractive and close to the attractive club life down town. It should be possible to rent an apartment in the suburbs for less than half.

We don't have a 'minimum wage system'. Employers stick to the 'negotiated wage level' indicated between employers and the unions, to avoid trouble. - The unions, they are the social democrats - the people in government, right now. Still, quite a few are poor here in Norway. Don't underestimate that.