I had one of those rare days that I felt a bit down, a bit uncertain, a bit doubtful. Did I do the right thing to move here? Is Zug too small for me? Does size matter? What is it all about? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. The wise lyrics of Doris suddenly gave a more upbeat tone to my day.
My best friend finished the job. Meaning that he put me back to my usual happy camper mode during our daily coffee at Starbucks. Indeed Manuel is a gift from God for me, as all our good friends are, and specifically the good people we meet during our journey. He is a textbook case of such good people. Under genuinely good people in Wikipedia, one can find his face and bio. That good. Kick *ss good, not kiss my *ss good.
We can always sense a mood swing on each other. And he sensed mine before my Starbucks points were even credited to my loyalty card.
Manuel: What’s up, bro? Why more quiet than Sunday night at Metalli?
Me: Zug.
Manuel: What’s up with Zug, bro?
Me: I’m not sure about Zug.
Manuel: Why the concern? Is Zug in danger?
Me: Zug is fine. I am fine too. I am not sure that the two of us together are fine.
Manuel: BS. You are both doing great. What pissed you off? What threatens your love for your tax haven?
Me: Nothing specific.
Manuel: Then don’t waste our time with nonsense like this. Enjoy the day and this magical place. You are living at potentially the richest place in the world. Nothing can beat that. Look around you.
Me: Around here. In Starbucks?
Manuel: Yes, even in here. These are some of the richest people on earth.
Me: That guy over there with a coffee from Migros in Starbucks?
Manuel: Yes, that one too.
Me: The girl with the fake Louis Vuitton behind us?
Manuel: Yes, that too.
Me: The stressed students on the big round table?
Manuel: Yes, those capitas too. All of them. Just read the statistics, man, and you’ll see that Ma is right again. Hint: per capita.
THE GDP PER CAPITA
The hint was very clear. GDP per capita. Gross Domestic Product per capita. Apparently Zug is the second highest in Switzerland after Basel. More than 50% higher than Zurich and Geneva! And double that of the Switzerland overall. Not bad right? I know that this is not necessarily my capita or your capita, but let’s not be selfish here.
Swiss cantons by GDP per capita in 2015 by BFS
So yes, it is almost the richest place in Switzerland. But in the world? Apparently Switzerland is the second highest in the world for GDP per capita after Luxembourg, over 700 percent of the world’s average. And Zug is double that of Switzerland overall! So indeed it might be the richest hood on the planet. The richest kid on the block. The fairest of all, according to the mirror-mirror on the wall.
For nominal rates, not PPP. Shall I bore you with the difference between nominal and PPP? You said no and I respect that. This time. However, another time I will talk about PPP (Purchase Power Parity) and cost of living and then our capitas might not be that happy with getting top rankings.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) outlook April 2018 for year 2018 and 2023
After I completed the little research that my bro motivated me to do, I texted him back. He never answered…
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