How can you live with only 20US$/day?

How can you live with only 20US$/day?To all of you who thinks that what you have is never enough

When I told you I would get paid (because I do get paid) 20US$ a day to work here, lots of you reacted like it was not enough. Let me explain you why I think you should rethink your statement.

1US$ = 21,3 C$ Money here is called Cordobas. And by the way, every week I get richer, because of the devaluation of the cordoba.

Financially, I live a pretty healthy life;

·         SUCO pays me 20US$/day. Every single day is paid, it does’nt matter if it’s Sunday or Monday, I get paid as a perdiem to feed me. No delays, no discussion. Thanks to Véro and Carmen, I get to money right on time, every time.

·         SUCO pays for our rented house. Our house costs 200US$/month. Here, it is a lot. I live in a palace.

·         SUCO pays for our bill; phone, electricity, internet and water.

·         SUCO reimburses 10US$ of celphone every months.

·         SUCO reimburses all my traveling cost attributed to work. (and work only) That means that every day, I take the bus to Palacaguina, the city where I work. About 1,50US$/day.

·         SUCO reimburses for installation cost such as knifes and cooking stuff

·         SUCO bought us bed clothes, shower clothes, this house is fully furnished.

What do I need more?

The worst thing of all is that, even if I go out to eat at the restaurant nearly every day for lunch and sometimes for diner, even if I drink beer as much as I want, buy Ron every weekend end, pays for a maid to clean the house and my clothes, even if I go out of town for three weekends in a row, including one to Corn Island, where everything is expensive, even if I buy CDs and Peliculas at the market, even if I spend all of this money, I finish the month with still 100US$ to spend. How can’t that be enough?

Let’s now see why I am rich here, richer than everyone else.

I Think that this table will make you realise how much I do have a lot of money and how much life is UNFAIR.

Salaires	US$/mois	C$/mois	US$/Jour
Mon salaire	600	12780	20
Salaire de mon Boss	350	7455	11,6666667
Salaire de BAC Université	250	5325	8,33333333
Salaire minimum légal	82,9577465	1767	2,76525822
Salaire moyen légal	126,478873	2694	4,21596244
Salaire min plus élevé	189,201878	4030	6,30672926
Bon salaire d'usine	225	4792,5	7,5

I earn nearly twice as much as my boss and something like 3 times something a «good salary». I earn 5 times the min salary in agriculture (and not the most little minimum salary – it depends of the industry).

So let’s see it this way, imagine that you live in your own country, let’s take Canada for this case.

Minimum salary would be 9,50US$/hour. Working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, which is great compare to here (because here it’s more like 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week). That makes about 1 520$/month.

So anyways, if we compare my salary, which is 5 times the min salary, I would earn in Canada like 47,50US$/hour, about 7 600US$/month, 91 200US$/year. Give back half of it in taxes... let’s say I still have 45 500US$ left. I am still not spending for: transportation, house, phone, electricity, water bills or internet. I live by myself and do not need to feed a family.

How do you feel? You still feel that 20US$/day is not enough? Go and tell that to 30% of the population who lives with less than 1US$ / a day.

I didn’t mean to make you feel bad for what happens here, but only to help you understand how I feel to live in such a world.

1US$/day will never be enough for anyone, but 20US$/day for only one person, who doesn’t need to feed a whole family, IS ENOUGH!