And by the big mac index, the cost of living in India is 50% less (at a minimum) than in the US. Direct price comparisons between countries are useless
The kind of living in India that he is comparing with, nobody defecates in your drinking water either. You are talking about the bottom end of the spectrum where the cost of living is 20-50x cheaper than that of the US.
It's not useless. If something is too expensive in one place (5x-10x in Massachusetts compared to India) then it's evidence of some serious problems. My own theory is that the immigration policies of the US prevent enough unskilled workers from filling the roads with lots of Uber drivers.
It would only be unlivable because rent is so high in Massachusetts as well. This is due to over-zealous zoning policies and enforcement, which prevents new real estate from being built.
