@@mariakelly1059 ....You have the problem!! You are ruled by tyrants and can't see it !! But don't worry, the USA will save Europe once again! This time Trump is saving you right now!!
@@renecordova6349 OK... Saw your comments elsewhere and had a good laugh, but you seem serious And I'm happy for you that you love your country so much, keep spreading the love 😘
I’ve been saying we’ve been turning into a sh*thole since Raygun - since 1982 when I was TWELVE. I have facts and figures to back myself up on this. America - as a nation - SUCKS. Can’t believe it’s taken folks THIS LONG to figure it out though 🙄. And Wack Arnold’s is one of the HARDEST jobs to work excepting severe manual labor - & I’ve had ex-employees from there go into construction later - & they said construction was EASIER, ffs 🤦♀️
@@junnexgolem well North America and South America are continents, so there’s that. If we’re gonna be specific then “the United States of America” is a third world country holding its pants up with a Gucci belt. I’m not going to edit my comment because 118 people understood it just fine but you decided to be awkward.
And it's also a gross oversimplification. I work at a McDonald's. It's a meat grinder of a job with any number of moving parts that MUST be kept running smoothly. It's no longer what can be classified as a simple job. "Burger flipping" is just the tiniest part of the job.
@@kevinmencer3782 Of course, it's still a Restaurant, even if the food is really unhealthy so I imagine it is at least as difficult as working in any other restaurant (maybe even more since the customer frequence is much higher). No one ever says to someone in an italian restaurant "Everyone can flatten dough", even though that is basically the same argument.
"That parental leave must be for the mother....." Yeah. Unless we want some of it to be for the father. The whole year of paid parental leave is to be distributed as wanted between the father and the mother. Because the bond between the father and the child is important as well. Some people call us communist. I call us human.
30 years ago there was no division of parental leave in my country. Now we are grandparents and the father of our grandchild stayed at home for 4 months in his first year of life. My branch manager also stayed at home for a total of 4 months during parental leave. Long-established (smaller) companies are slowly getting used to this principle.
In the Netherlands we do not even know or use the word “Benefits” connected with a job. It does not matter if you work 3 hours a week or 40 ours a week, everybody has all those benefits accordingly. Paid days off, parental leave, the whole population has health insurance, There is a basic government pension, and with your job, you will build extra pension. The US is really weird.....
@@edharding9363 It's not a case of that they can afford it. It's a case of they have to pay it to run the firm, because of the law's that protect the workers
@@knightwish1623 what I was trying to say was that they still make huge profits in their Irish factory even though they have to comply with european labour laws, and treat us way better than our US counterparts ;-)
Ironically it's also why Aldi got backlash in the US, Because they taught employees that you don't have to please the customers, You just have to do your job.
I do what is required, but I refuse to wear makeup. Its Mickeys D's or job whatever, not your Christian church. Church is a whorehouse. Retail, food serve workers are expected to act as eye candy.. Nope, not me!! Regardless, I refuse to be that
@@BramLastname Pleasing a customer sounds a bit like sex work.That approach teaches customers to feel super entitled and rude to the staff.To me you just do your job,be helpful but people need to know their place too.
It used to be said by other people in the 19th century, when America was known as a land in which immigrants could escape conscription, get cheap land, have more voting rights than at home, etc. Unfortunately the rest of the world has got a lot better and the US has stayed pretty much the same as it was then in many ways, so it's no longer a shining beacon to the world.
To be fair "Ireland: greatest country in the world" - only said by Irish. "Japan: greatest country in the world".. Japanese. And so forth. We mostly love our homes.
people from the 3rd world still believe. and i guess it might be true to some of them as it is easier to rise in the foodchain in usa (easier to fall as well though), gotta have some luck ofc and work like a slave.
"It's not that we're stupid. We just tend to blindly accept that the U.S. is the greatest place on Earth. And therefore don't see any reason to educate ourselves about the realities of the rest of the world." Sounds stupid, to me.
It is only Americans that think the U S is the greatest Country in the world. The only Americans who don't have that mindset are the ones who have travelled abroad and see how the rest of the world lives.
Not sure if you have worked a minimum wage job in our country but even if you live in the country side you cant afford to live and if you live in a major city you cant even afford rent
@@shaynegadsden I just looked up the McDonalds wage in Australia its $21.90 an hour. That is $17USD. Now to be fair the cost of food in Australia is higher than the US but a small amount. But if I worked at McDonalds I could afford rent, food, utilities etc. I would not be very well off but I would be okay, and I would get 4 weeks paid holidays year and 16 paid weeks maternity leave too.
@@jenellienostrabo Yeah, im Australian too and thats just one job where the corporation makes it as low as possible, you can work for a cafe or a good restaurant or anything else for higher than that on the same qualification - but its way easier to get a degree here, or as in i mean its easier to enter university which would get your pay way up and on contract salary and full benefits and everything. Its for the good of the society, yet the Americans are so scared about socialism lol
@@jenellienostrabo it’s higher than that if you are employed as a casual, it would be close to $25 per hour. Not forgetting that full time while lower also gives 4 weeks paid holidays and at least 10 days sick leave every year which is not done in the US
A lot of the reason most countries hate Americans is because we think we’re better and we fail to realize we’re a slave to corporate whereas most of the other countries look out for their people. Granted every country has their struggle but in the grand scheme of things they do a much better job taking care of their people.
USA is often called the most free country on Earth. It really depends on how you measure freedom. In the US, you're free TO exploit people. In most other developed countries, you're free FROM being exploited. USA is free TO.... Most other countries are free FROM.... Which type of freedom is the best, is subjective. I personally prefer to be free from medical bankruptcy, free from capitalist exploitation etc.
The Cato institute accualy messuers levels of freedom in the world and sadly "the land of the free" are tied at place 17, not to bad, but not as free as counries like New Zeeland, Denmark, Sweden Finland, Germany and others.... Its a bit diverce thoug as the index is combined from economic freedom and personal freedom. In economic freedom USA is number four traling Hongkong (1), Singapor (2) and Georgia (3). In personal they are somwhare around place 30... where Sweden (1), Norway (2), New Zeeland (3) and Denmark (4) and there are a bit og a gap between the first four to the rest.
I completely agree. Ever since I lived in France for a year, it made me realise how flawed our system is. So many Americans are brainwashed to think that our system works or that we shouldn't change a think. Id rather pay a bit more on my taxes to have affordable healthcare and education, and won't have to be in 100k in debt for just hospital bills, or having not to pay for student loans.
Yes, in America, you are free from exploitation if you are willing to create your own business and do better than businesses down the road. Competition in America means you do better if you want a better business and beat the competition. But that is your choice.
Yes and we have imported so many people who lives of government assistance that the whole country is on the brink of collapse ! It was a great country once but now not so much ! :-(
@@SvensktTroll plenty of locals on benefits. Thanks to Blair and his policies. Having a kid in the UK for a lot of young locals is an investment to get free housing and money from the gov.
@@SvensktTroll yea cause it has absolutely nothing to do with greedy & stupid politicians that rather spend money on a payraise for themselves as an example, like the one they gave themselves last year, while discussing if our nurses should get the extra risk pay.... THere is money to both take care of the swedish people & help those in need but not as long as the money is spent on SHIT! Stop blaming the ones that came for help that fled war & start blame the ones that are actually to blame!
In Germany, you get bonus time if you split it to a certain degree. This is done to include dads more into the family life and to create a level playing field between men and women in the job market (women are historically considered more risky to hire, because they could become pregnant - but it men take their fair share of their family life and parental leave, this point disappears).
In Denmark we have social democracy... NOT socialisme... That means that we take care of everyone.. Especially the ones, that needs help. A kind of insurrance of if i one day I need help, the others will do the same for me
my old GF went to Denmark to study from germany :P damn shes living quite good there and the money she gets for studying is incredible compared to our system here in germany
I know in some Scandinavian countries you get paid full time wages even if you lose your job for like 2 yrs. I would be happier to pay very high taxes if this mean it was spent on things like this to protect everyone. It is so easy to become homeless in the UK now. Just one thing you do wrong and you can die on the streets and absolutely nobody cares one thought.
@@ueks69 whereas America has had god knows how many school shootings and done nothing about it, elected a nappy wearing Cheeto puff and acted surprised when half the country are either dead or believe in Qanon and deny he lost the next election because of him, and you don’t stop killing black people. We have brexit and a shitty politician, you have more problems anyone can even count. That are wayyyy more “in the now” than an issue like brexit.
I'm British and I'm telling you Britain is not awake. As it is now its going the way of the US. I agree with all the criticisms on this thread of Britain and Brexit but also of the US. Both have lots wrong with them and I see things getting worse in both before getting better unfortunately.
The statement "They usually let the women have 3 months off you don't get paid but they won't fire you for it" made me actually laugh then feel sad. Ffs America these people are ensuring the continuation of your nation, they deserve some paid leave.
When I lived in the states I had a friend who worked for Olive garden, a large chain restaurant, he wanted to go home for a long weekend for his sisters wedding which would have required 2 days off from work (unpaid) His manager told him he had to work and if he didn't show he'd be fired. He had worked there for 2 years at the point and hadn't taken any holidays in all that time
We get 26 weeks paid maternity leave in New Zealand but you can take a year off if you want. Our government protects us from rampant capitalism. I have no idea what the US government does.
I'm from denmark. I had ten months of paid leave and my boyfriend had the last two months, also with full pay. We sent our daughter off to daycare when she was just around 1 and it made such a difference to have that time with her when she was little.
I’m sitting on my porch, enjoying my beautiful property and this beautiful day; retired at 57 and thankful to be Canadian. I worked hard for 35 years, enjoying the huge benefits of our “socialist” society. ❤️🇨🇦
A brain disease caused very strong mood swings deafness and limb leg with me. The Dutch government has send me to a doctor (their cost) he checked my condition and i was deemed unfit to work. Now my government gives me $1732,86/month to be able to pay all my bills and necessities and have some spare for other things... In America i would be a RIP story for sure. It's not like a huge amount but the thought what would have happened if i was living over there in the states spooks the hell out of me.
@@joseluisceballos355 oh is that right? How do you know? Please supply us with all the facts you have about the Dutch Arbeidsongeschiktheidswet (the law they have in case you are not fit to work anymore).
I'm in the UK, I'm a cleaner in a shopping centre, when I started 10 years ago I got around 28 days a year paid leave, the longer you work there the more days you get a year. Right now I get 35 days a year paid Leave, to think people in the US could have 0 is disgusting to me.
Ashy.......Even for your benefits, I would never live in your country! I am completely happy with the USA! And a janitor is the lowest job in the world! More like slavery!
Your comment is exactly the reason why America is such a garbage country. In Europe we are willing to help out the poor whereas you are "I'm alright, f*** the rest. You are able to watch this video and see all the benefits we get that Americans don 't and still you are brainwashed into thinking your country is the best.
@@ekimandersom4478 .... I was in Germany for 1 year and Southeast Asia for 3 years! I usually do not take paid leave in the US because I love my job! I usually find my work more enjoyable than traveling to some place that is new or strange! And Europe is the last place in the world that I would ever live! Asia is a lot better than Europe! But USA is definitely the best in the world! Do you ever wonder why there is a waiting list of 45 million people waiting to become US citizens and only 15 million waiting to become German citizens? The other countries lists are not even close!
When you're French and you hear that minimum hour wage hasn't increased at all over the last decade... My brain exploded. Minimum hour wage increases every year in France on January 1st. Dear American workers, your leaders don't deserve your hard work!
Alot of Americans are starting to learn this. Hense the reason why so many are quitting their jobs. I was stationed in Germany for 5 years in the army. Since I've returned home I've never looked at my country the same. I've been miserable since I've been home.
Then France is financially not viable. It is a country that is almost broke. Due to all their generosity that is paid with taxes by those French people that actually go to work.
@niels lund That is yesterdays news buddy. There was over a trillion Dollars debt when George W. Bush had his hand in his pockets as he was talking, avoiding someone'sshoes being thrown at him back in the day. Yes man, you are correct, but you bring nothing new to the table. Your data is old.
In Australia, it's mainly high school students that work at Macdonald's. But most employers here LOVE seeing MacDonald's on a person's resume as they believe that fast food restaurants are one of the highest pressure jobs going around, therefore, they have learned how to work fast and under pressure and must have a very good work ethic.
Anyone who has worked in Fast Food understands pressure. I was a Duty Manager at 19 managing kids my age or younger and working over 40+ hours week. Accrued 3 years worth of holidays, can't tell you how many breakdowns I had.
I (also Aussie) worked in fast food and will never do it again if I can help it. In fact, now that I'm older, I'm not even sure if I _can_ work there. I've been told by job seeking agencies that a lot of fast food places like Maccas/Hungry Jacks and supermarkets like Woolworths/Coles etc save most of their positions for people under a certain age and experience threshold. The management positions are filled by older people, yes, but most employees will be the kind who are looking to gain experience and can't immediately dissapear to better pastures once they realise how stressful the job is.
January of 1991 I was one of many thousands on the streets of Vilnius in Lithuania fighting to restore my country's independence and end communist rule. Then the USA was seen as a free country to emulate. But since then I have done several jobs leading to my current positions as a trade and customs economist. I know in detail just how bad the US economy treats working people. When I have tried to explain this to Americans they scream that I must be a COMMIE.
Congrats m8..... The American dream pushed out to the world to emulate is a advertising ploy etc.... When in reality for freedom and security look at Europe as a whole and you will see how the majority of other countries that make it out of the hole and start climbing the economic tree realised that the better option would be like other parts of the world and not the America Inc
The rich have realized we won't put up a fight big enough to change anything. We've been conditioned to believe this is life and most of us are a bit too scared to really change things.
@@moonlitskylight5740 Agree. Politicians and mainstream media help to keep the masses divided so they are distracted from the corruption and exploitation by government, corporations and billionaires.
In most EU countries the paid paternity leave is both for the father and the mother. It’s also a possibility to gift your leave to your partner or vice versa. At least it is like that in a lot of Scandinavian countries and Belgium.
2 года назад+1
In Spain it's 16 paid leave weeks for both, the father and the mother...
Have been working so much in USA, that I can say I feel sorry for the citizens of USA. Not only for the working conditions, but for the broken system of justice that really hurts the people.
@@sooh6299 Men om staten inte tog runt 75% av våra pengar (se nedan) till att börja med så kunde man spara och få avgöra sånt själv... (* över 30% "sociala avgifter" + över 30% "inkomstskatt" + 25% moms på det mesta man köper. Dessutom tunga punktskatter på helt livsnödvändiga saker, som 60-70% ren skatt på el och bensin som vi måste betala med resterna av vår redan dubbelt beskattade inkomst.)
@@herrbonk3635 Jeg foretrekker vårt system over f. eks USA sitt som baserer seg mer på folks egne ressurser allikevel. Det er det ikke tvil om. Hvis staten gir meg sikkerheten om at hvis jeg blir syk så får jeg penger, og hvis jeg får baby så kan en av oss foreldrene være hjemme sammen med babyen i et år, så tar jeg heller det over null barselspermisjon og sykehusregninger som ikke likner grisen.
@@sooh6299 USA är inte min förebild. Statligt betald sjukvård är en bra sida av socialismen, men bara om det stannar där. Sedan 1960 har dock statliga verk och myndigheter mångdubblats. Samma sak med den rika politiska klassen (som lever på våra skatter). Det har spårat ur. Staten försöker helt ogenerat detaljreglera våra liv och värderingar... Det är fråga om diktatur i ordets rätta mening, och har inget med folkstyre (demokrati) att göra.
When my niece was born, my brother and his wife had a combined 1 1/2 year full paid parental leave. She stayed home for the first half year, then they switched and my brother stayed at home with his princess for half a year. The last six months they both kinda worked part-time. Since she's a teacher, he's in IT and their employers are both absolutely willing to help juggle their schedules, they're able to spend a lot of time with the little one. Without having to stress about money. I just don't get why so many Americans instantly scream 'cOmMuNiSm' when presented with constructs that not only work, but are considered citizens rights in other countries (and backed by politicians that are anything but 'leftist commis').
In Finland the mother has to take a certain amount of time off with the baby (three months maybe) but after that either parent can stay home with the child until they are three years old, at about 80% pay. Granted, most of the time it is women who take the parental leave but sometimes men do it as well. I had a year of maternity leave and then 1.5 years parental leave. Our full time week is 37.5 hrs (you have a 30 min unpaid lunch time every day), and I have 5 paid weeks off every summer, a week in winter and then I take a couple weeks around the christmas and New year time, some of it overtime hours. I was also very sick in 2018 and was on fully paid sick leave on and off for 3 months. We also have strict labour laws, so you can't be fired for being on maternity/parental leave or sick leave. These facts and our free healthcare and free university (And before anyone asks, my tax rate is 20%) are why I could never live in the States.
Same here in Germany, I was off work for 1 1/2 years due to 3 OP's on my cervical spine (neck) over that time I recived 80% of my wage from the Health Insurance and my job was on hold until I was recovered. Edit:- I just looked up how much the 3 OP's would have costed in the US = ca $70,000 - $80,000
I’m always open mouthed when I hear that Americans don’t get proper paid holiday time throughout the year. That maternity leave isn’t an entitlement, that bosses can sack staff for being sick, that being sick can kill people in the worlds most _civilised_ country, that healthcare isn’t given to all, that waitresses can be expected to work for tips only, that crossing the road is deemed to be too dangerous for Joe public to do unassisted yet the same people can have a gun, add the blatant racism, religious extremists and I’m just so happy to be born in a better country. Heck, North Korea fits that bill!
Yeah, in Germany employers are outright banned from allowing pregnant employees / new mothers to work at +/- about 6 weeks from the date of birth. Not "the employee may take leave", but "the employer has to prevent the employee from working, or get in a *lot* of trouble otherwise (and rightly so)"
"If your business cannot pay your workers a fair wage, it should not be in business." I've been saying that for years. Around 1990, I worked in the office of a local construction company that looked like they were going places. But they were exploitative. I took home less than £70 per week for a 40 hour week - you work out the hourly rate on that one. I remember the two bosses rubbing it into their employees' faces by both buying a new car at the same time ... one a Jaguar, the other a Range Rover. Not long after I left, they went bust. A few years later, the UK introduced a minimum wage.
Hola, minimum wage didn't happen before the 90's in the UK? oO I am very surprised. It appeared in 1950 in France. Maybe because we are not anglo-saxon, and less influenced by the USA? Merely a theory. The UK sometimes seems to follow the US rather blindly to me.
@@nox8730 We do follow them a little too blindly on international issues but when it comes to social issues, we're way ahead of them (let's face it, half of Africa is way ahead of the US on that score). I think the reason it didn't appear until the 90s (just checked and it was 1999 - I thought it was a little earlier) is two reasons. First, the British economy seemingly took forever to recover from WW2. In the 70s, it was known as the sick man of Europe. It wasn't until the 80s that, despite massive job losses under Thatcher, the UK started to recover as an economic power. So, there wasn't the money in the economy to drive a minimum wage. Secondly, most parliaments after the war were run by Conservatives. It was Tony Blair's centre-left government that introduced the minimum wage.
@@daviddavies3637 "We do follow them a little too blindly on international issues" Yes, that is what i meant. International issues. I do not know enough about the UK to talk about how it works internaly. So, your post is actually really helpful to me, thank you. I remember Margaret... even though i was very young :p. Some of our media called her "La Dame de Fer" i guess?
@@nox8730 I haven't done any French since school but I can guess what that means: The Iron Lady. Or, "The Lady of Iron?" French is structured very similarly to Welsh. I was 12 during the Falklands War. She wasn't very well liked amongst the working classes in this country. A school friend and his family emigrated to New Zealand because there was no work around here. What she did do, however, was roll back the power of the unions, who had brought the country to a standstill in the late 70s and modernised the UK. When she died a few years ago, some bright spark suggested that people should buy a song from the Wizard of Oz in celebration. That song was "Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead." It got to number one in the UK charts. British dark humour, huh?
Right? The use of the word benefit really irks me in this context because all of these things should be rights (as they thankfully are over here). Benefits to me are things like free parking spaces or getting part of your costs for public transportation covered.
The pay difference is why visitors sometimes struggle with the American view on tips, here you tip if the service has been especially good there you tip because the person can't afford to live without it
And it doesn't make your bill any cheaper either. I was shocked at how expensive restaurants were, the food costs were about the same (I'm Australian) and then the tipping made it way more expensive
It's just another tax dodging trick for the restaurants etc. The removal of tipping would increase the price of the food.... but only really by the amount the customers are pressured to tip anyways. And tips aren't taxed. The tip system decreases the income of the restaurants (so less taxes paid) but also cuts costs.
I am European of a weird mixed heritage, Balkans and the Scandinavian and for example on Iceland you don't really tip, it's weird to do it in restaurants, in bars it's okay but still it's mostly symbolic, some people even find it offensive if you tip them, or think you have a crush on them, just don't really do it. In the Balkans it's a bit more common but still there's no mandatory tipping bs, usually you leave symbolic sums to the waitress or the cook, and they collect it and use it to go for drinks after work or whatever, it doesn't influence their earnings - at all (And the Balkans are not a particularly rich region, yet in Serbia for example, while pay in the restaurant will surely be lesser than in idk Germany, you can still cover the cost of living, apartment, bills and still go to Greece for 2 weeks to enjoy the beach etc). It was so weird for me when I went to the US and they were like telling me how much i HAVE to tip, I guess it's a bit more clear but still weird that people depends on MY kindness instead of their employer, like some beggars, it's degrading for those guys.
I used to really want to work and live in the US, when I was much younger. Now, having worked all over the world and lived in several countries, the USA is nowhere in my list of countries I’d aspire to live in. Even South Africa, with all its faults, has infinitely better labour laws, health system (though VERY flawed) and multi cultural life than the US. It’s such a shame that the US has descended to the awful corporate slave state it has become 🥺
I would only want too live in a country with a decent healthcare system sadly America has non of that. I thank god everyday that i was born here in the netherlands. Honestly why would you want too live in America? The American dream is nothing more than a nightmare.
@@DidierWierdsma6335 There is a wealthy upper and middle class in the USA who are well off. But the low paid working class is constantly on the edge of survival, one misfortune and misery sets in.
@@dutchman7623 once again why would you want too live in America? They treat people like garbage their healthcare system is nonexistent the salary's are way too low. America is only a dream for the 1% good luck getting there. Also why cant they take care of their homeless population they have the money for it? America is nothing more than a third world nation period.
Spent my life working with, for and in the US. What got me was that despite only getting, say, 10 days vacation time most people still didn't take those days off. It was like a badge of honour to say you had accrued loads of vacation says (they don't expire). In Europe, we used to have a purge around October to encourage employees to take their vacation as we wanted relaxed, happy and energetic employees. Can't tell you how many times I had to tell my US bosses that they had to modify their style for other countries as you can't walk around threatening employees with being fired in ANY country I have worked in as we have employment legislation. Having lived there, I know that they are only fed USA is the best propaganda and get next to no information about the world.
Here in Australia we have a ‘work to live’ as opposed to a ‘live to work’ mentality. We still work hard but we recognise that there are only so many hours in the day that you can actually be productive.
I am born and raised in the UK, still here. We grew up on British and American TV. I used to look upto the US and really want to move there. Then I travelled there, a few times, and started hearing all these really dystopian, capitalist rules, or lack of, and was really shocked! I looked around when I got home and realised I am so lucky to be born in the UK. I have since visited Norway and Sweden, and its so homely, welcoming and FREE! Unfortunately the USA is NOT the best country in the world. Not even close. Almost every European country is better than the US, in terms of education, health care, corruption, quality of life, cost of living, and being truly FREE
@@patarciepaul Omg yes! They were shocking. I had a few friends in Nevada, and the gun laws are just absolutely mental. I mean, just the idea of being able to have a gun, freely, and carry it around, is unreal. Also, the prejudices in the USA is mad. How only up until recently, you could be sacked for being gay.
I am too old and not enough money to leave the US, or I definitely would. It is so demoralizing to be here. The Supreme Court upheld Citizens United, which started the downward spiral.
Honestly, if ever there was a video that should be mandatorily watched throughout the USA, it’s this one. Not simply for the valuable information included, but to actually see on this wonderful man’s face, the realisation of just HOW far behind America is within the world. People and family first. Look after families and children grow up to be great citizens. Don’t look after the basic family and you get starvation, unrest, prison, and perhaps even suicide through stress and unhappiness! This video made me worry for US citizens more than any other facts I’ve learned to date. Our wonderful Innocent friend here deserves way more for his family. He talks of buying an individual a ticket to anywhere in the US when he reaches 50k subs. I reckon his subs need to buy his whole family tickets to anywhere else in the world and maybe then he can take a leap of faith and live elsewhere for the long term health and happiness of his family. Sending you warm wishes as always from Scotland (yes, that chilly, yet warm and welcoming country). Take care.
Brilliant post Anita , it was mild today at least at 13 degrees, taps aff! In all seriousness could not agree more, enjoy his honest content and would only be fair to give something back
Anita Davidson while I agree with everything you said, my main reason for replying to your comment is to applaud your use of the description, ' . . . this wonderful man . . .' I admire his willingness to learn, and his honesty when he watches something that changes his opinion. A wonderful man indeed!
There still is the myth of US as the best country on earth. US is an wonderful country with great oportunities and landscapes and institutions. But when I asked for tourist-Visa they asked for income, real estate, family and other bonds to Austria. They said they had to make sure, I did not want to stay secretly in US. I asked why should I: In Austria I have a job in a country with labor laws: Maternety leave for 1,5 years with a financail help and the guararntee, that I can get my job back, I have all-around medical insurance including dental brackets for my kids, I have 5 weeks paid hollidays per year and my kids can go to university for free and I will have a pension I will be able to live on. Why should I want to stay in US? The employee anwered: "Still".
i find it funny that in eastern europe, that is a second world zone, where countries are not really very developed, there are cases where there are 2 years of maternal leave, and optional 1 year of father leave, all of these being paid.
@@fionafiona1146 Nope! First world is the 'Old world' (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) or also called the classic world. Second world is the 'New world' (American continent) Third world is the developing world (Sub Sahara Africa, some parts of Asia)
@WolfZone Eastern Europe is developed, has high standards of social care, and high standards for medical care. Though these countries are not rich compared to Western Europe, wealth is better spread than in the US. Many make, and have made, huge progress like the Baltic states and North Balkan.
@@dutchman7623 That's incorrect. Originally first world was used to denote NATO and NATO aligned countries, second world to Warsaw Pact and Soviet aligned countries and the third world were the unaligned countries. Over time third world, which was fungible to begin with, changed to refer to under-developed nations.
Wouldn't it be great if Amazon spent the 11 Billions dollars buying MGM on paying their employees more or maybe offering them some of the basic life work balance we have here in NZ.
@@BobDevV thanks for your insight.. It certainly seems from a non US citizen that the way employees are treated is abit shit by local standards... But As you said most Americans don't know any different.. Jeebers help the corporates if their work force Wakes up and bands together to to seek better wages and benefits.. Oh and heaven forbid the leaders of the US actually tell the lobbyists to keep their money and actually act for the Peoples best interests...OMG this is starting to sound like a Socialist idea... It will never work because a Socialist idea is considered tantamount to Communism.
No no no In America we are free to value greed and greedy people are our HEROES. Have you seen our politicians? and now they working to suppress voting. DO WE NEED REALITY CHECK!!!
I’m a retired English factory manager and so was trained in Employment law. But the system has a hole in it few can answer. If a couple adopt a child they are entitled to the same paternal and maternal payed leave as anyone else. However if they are in a same sex relationship, it’s down to the employer to decide who gets the longer maternal leave. Difficult when perhaps you just have the one person employed. So what questions do you ask them to decide if they get maternal or paternal leave?
I only got 1 week full pay :( all this talk about dividing roles better won't go anywhere without more reform. Im taking shared parental leave too but i was told i was an outlier (3rd person ever...) despite working for a "progressive" company.
In Canada both parents get leave. I know for my job at least the mother is given 17 paid weeks pregnancy leave before she even gifts birth 11 of which may be taken before she is due. Than on top of that she is able to get 32 paid weeks leave after giving birth and any father is able to get 37 weeks.
@MrAbletospeak Who is going to look after you when you get old? Pay taxes in the future? It's sensible even from your position to want to invest in others children, it's in your self interest in fact.
I don't understand the notion of sick leave? In Belgium, when you are sick, you go to a doctor. Doc decides if you are fit to work or not. If not, you stay at home to recover. Company pays you. If you are sick longer than a month, you go on our social security, and you get appox 80% of your wage for the remainder of that time the doctor decides you should recover. I don't understand why companies want sick employees to come to work, not being productive and contaminating others...
You don’t. You push through it because you know this slave work your doing is the only way to survive paycheck to paycheck without being on the street.
As an American living in France for now 20 years. It feels good knowing no matter who you are, if you work, you can live a basic life, food, shelter, clothing, and health care. This is available to all, so when you go to the Super Marche when you even eat at McDonald's in France, the person serving you has a better quality of life than any minimum wage person living in the USA. I would suggest every person learn about socialism, and how private industry is what makes it work. It is not the dirty word you are taught, it is about all having a basic quality of life, living in the once largest economy in the world. Ok, it is just a matter of time before China is bigger than the USA, and they have a rising middle class while Americans continue to fall into poverty.
My family has a dinner once every month or so highlighting a different country. We eat the food and discuss all we learned about the history and culture. I think it’s good for my young nephew to learn how the world is a big wonderful place.
In the UK we have something called Shared Parental Leave, which basicly means that the time off figures can be split betweent the parents any way you wish. The exception is that the mother giving birth gets 3 weeks they can't transfer to the father (starting a week before the due date) and any other type of parent gets two non transfereable weeks from the day she goes into labour (or the day of adoption).
It is similar in Germany - 14 months of paid parental leave. Technically the dad can be on parental leave for the whole time but the first 8 weeks after birth the mother (if employed) is forbidden to work since she is supposed to heal from giving birth.
People say that McDonald's workers don't get payed much is because "they don't work hard" while they are worshipping people like gods because they make one video a month which they payed someone else to make and then they make millions
On your point about not having a career at McDonald's. I'm in the UK and one of my friends started there 5 years ago and has just been promoted to being a manager, he earns more "flipping burgers" than I do as a trained mechanic
Yeah some can make it in the chain no argument about that...... But think ur m8 is a manager so that's a hella lot of responsibility being in charge of both workers and store. Thing is we always will need mechanics... Managers not so much lol so keep that in mind......also If you think you being a mechanic means your making sure (if ur talking about a vehicle/car mechanic) the car is safe and secure to drive for the customer and ur keeping that person on the road as their car maybe important for them to get to work etc so u can add on that your helping keep a roof over their and food in their stomachs...... But I get ya lol its flipping annoying lol
There's a distinct difference between being the "Greatest nation" vs the "most powerful nation". America is powerful, but far, FAR grom great. The Mcdonald's scenario is a prime example. Same for Amazon warehouse workers. Up until October 2018, the warehouse employees started at $12/hr for a job where they mainly stood in one place for 10-12 hours a day, were given only 30 minutes for lunch, and had their time EXTREMELY micromanaged to the point that even the time you had to go to the restroom was forced to be accounted for and held against you. In 2018, they increased it from $12/hr to $15/hr, which is STILL not enough to survive on without having a second job....which most Amazon warehouse workers did. Yet Amazon STILL feels like they did them a favor and that they should be the ONLY company their employees work for. Paying employees the bare minimum when they make BILLIONS in profit every year is just an absolute slap in the face.
It's also mandatory for the father to stay at home for the first two weeks with the mother, with pay. And after about nine months the family can decide if the mother or father stays at home with pay.
It should. 40 hours plus is slavery but Ofcourse that’s only if you pay your employees a livable wage. NONE of this is anything the us caters to. Sadly.
@@TheRealVivia, it's not unheard-of that you have a 32 hour workweek, but then you get a smaller paycheck. The down sizing of the full week to 32, or perhaps 35 hrs would only be doable if the pay stays the same per month and then rice per hour.
@@TheRealVivia the idea 40 plus hours is slavery is rediculous. My brother works 50 on a good week, and in return he has financial stability, a savings account and has bought property. If you are awake for 16 hours or so per every 24 hour period(leaving 8 hours of sleep) you have 112 hours of being awake a week. You spend 50 hours, you still have 62 hours! That's hardly slavery, that's called being a responsible person who is willing to do what he needs to. He still has a good social life, a good family relationship, and still has the time to do whatever other things he wants to do(oftentimes video games). You do realize working from sunset to sundown with regular breaks and taking Sunday(maybe Saturday) off has been normal for 100s of years right?
@@oswaldrabbit1409 except that’s bot the norm these days, most people don’t have any time off and are making a shitty wage working those 40-50 hours anyways. Most people are responsible but it does not make up for the failings of this society. It’s really madness. There is no time for family, let alone friends when you can be fired for taking a day off for being sick or you have to choose between paying rent or having food the next week.
You know one time I was traveling to the US and the immigration officer was grilling me about my reasons to enter. He believed that I wanted to stay illegally to work. I probably pissed him off when I told him that I would be crazy to want to stay there and work when I'm Swiss and can actually live off one job VERY comfortably. Like, my good sir, you would have to kidnap me in order for me to stay here and live like a slave.
The figures in the documentary you were watching doesn’t surprise me, as I used to work for a US HQ company in the U.K., and I used to be able to talk to my US colleagues, so I slightly understand holiday, pension, health entitlements. Unfortunately the spread of precarious jobs has filtered through to the U.K. with the “Gig” economy and zero hours contracts, these abuses of the labour market need to be ended. Costs are being driven to the taxpayer from corporations ( who also generally have an appalling record for not paying tax by any means possible). These costs manifest themselves in poor health outcomes ( falls on the taxpayer) , reliance on welfare ( falls on the taxpayer), inadequate time for childcare ( eventually falls on the taxpayer), in other words profits are privatised, costs are socialised. No doubt in the USA I would be considered a “ socialist “, for these views, I am far from it, I pay tax at the highest rate in the U.K., but what I do believe is that everyone should be given fair pay for fair work, and the practices in the video in the USA are far from it. So what are citizens in the USA going to do about it? Remember most politicians are beholden to corporate donations so change is unlikely until that particular boil is lanced.
I agree it is a concern that those precarious jobs are growing in the UK as well. I did not realise how bad it was until the pandemic and I was hearing (I mean via people I know not just rumours) of people in certain jobs ill with Covid being forced to come into work (& spread the virus) or lose their jobs, it felt like something from these videos about America.
The same here in the Netherlands regarding the rise of zero hour contracts and the gig economy. Although announced today on the news: employee organizations and unions agree that they want to get rid of those.
I agree. Standing for hours at a time in a high-pressure, fast-paced situation on a dirty concrete floor? Dealing with abusive people who throw drinks at you for forgetting napkins in their bag? And all this on top of shit wages? They're far from lazy.
How parents get paid parental leave in my country: - mother about 4 months (often starts before birth) - father gets 9 weeks. - Shared parental leave ~6 months to split or have one take all - Stay at home parent gets paid ~400 usd per month by the government if you have children under 3 years, if you have more than one child the amount increases
The creators of the Ferengi were asked about their inspiration for the species (I think there were concerns about anti-Semitism?) and said that they'd based them on modern America haha
I guess that depends on what's the most comparable element to someone. For me personally, America is more like the Klingons, going to war with anyone they don't like, occupying and plundering planets, murdering millions in the process.
Wow. It is the first time an American seems to question his "great " country. I am impressed how little Americans tend to look at the rest of the world. They are so self center !
Yes. I've often said that - should I ever be silly rich, I'd move to America. Other than that, in the real world, no thanks! I've turned down job offers in the States; I worked in America (for British concerns) for around 10yrs in a very specialist field. The job offers appeared lucrative, but the [unwritten] small print was enough to keep me from temptation.
@Rita Roork Your 'Greatest Country' has the worst Health care system in the OECD, Its workers are not entitled to paid holidays (by law) there are no provisions for maternity leave (by law), Your Min Wage has not risen for over a decade, Your infrastructure is falling apart, Your society is racist & laws are used to perpetuate systemic racism. Currently new voting laws are being enacted to destroy your democracy & reduce the right to vote for those of color or if your poor, Your social safety nets are abysmal ask the current 500,000 homeless (including children). The top 1% of your population has got 3 TRILLION dollars richer about the same amount as those at the bottom lost. But your right you do have the strongest military ! Oh yes in a country which was FOUNDED by IMMIGRANTS it seems odd that you applaud strict immigration laws.
The EU requires minimum standards for social insurance as health insurance, retirement, accident insurance. The wise may differ, but it has to be done.
I'm glad you watched this eye-opening video, I met a lot of American tourists when I was working in hotel and when they are asking questions about holidays/maternity leave/sick pay etc they were surprised. The embarrassing moments were usually when they were asking which countries we were from....
Correction on Denmark when it comes to paid vacation days, Danes have at least 35 days a year paid, and they are usually paid on top of the vages in one way or another depending on your contract, so that example of 22$/h at MC in Denmark, would be plus additionally 12,5% of that pay as paid vacation earnings. Full work week in Denmark is 37 hours or in some cases 40 hours if your on some contracts, but your compensated extra for the last 3 hours on top of the 37 hours. Parental leave in Denmark is a bit complicated, Time is split between parents, but it's still 52 weeks at least full paid. Fixing the American system? Good question, maybe if your voting system was not completely messed up so everyone would have a voice could fix a lot of issues. But then again looks like Americans prefer to live on a big lie or allow it to be a foundation for voting laws that worse then the outdated system you already got. And ban lobbyists from existence in politics.
I love seeing Americans react to Second Thoughts videos on how very behind the US is. The problem is that the US is far too arrogant to change and with the cold war propaganda still stuck in the minds of americans even suggesting things like Universal healthcare or better pay is "Communism"
I was working as a bus driver in public transport and if working on public holiday you were paid time and a half for hours worked plus a normal days pay. If working a Saturday it was time and a half for hours worked and double time for Sundays. I retired last year and the hourly rate was about $32 and hour
Actually there are countrys that also give paid weeks for fathers. As an european this doesn't seem unimagenable. Basically your face when you thought about a father getting those paid days off says it all...
The EU decided in 2019 all European citizens who became father should have a minimum of 2 months of paid parental leave and 2 months unpaid. Once again it is a European law so it is a minimum not a maximum.
At a trade fair a few years ago , I caught up with several of my American colleagues and we discussed this over dinner. They were genuinely surprised that their sister companies in Europe and in Asia had such different terms to their contracts compared to theirs. Vacation days, maternity leave. They countered with how they paid lower taxes, however argument was diluted when you included the greater benefits that we received in return for our tax. Health Care, social security, subsidized college education.child care etc. It was an intresting evening exchanging our own experiences working in the same roles in sister companies comparing the positives and negatives. Overall I was a bit surprised by their assumption that the rest of the world had the same working practice as theirs and they in turn had no idea that we had a more balanced work/life balance than they did
In the uk I had 2 paid weeks off for my son and 3 months for my daughter as she was born blind and was given extra paid leave as compassionate leave due to hospital appointments and she had her operations, and still had my 31 days paid leave not including bank holidays for a entry level job
What I don't understand is why yanks don't have free at the point of use, funded by taxes, health care. Also americans don't have good wages nice holiday or sick pay. you guys legally have access to guns why aren't you rioting on the streets for rights you currently don't have. I'm mystified. But usa has great landscapes beautiful scenery. Also love american music, movies and tech
The big health insurance companies and others, have spent decades and hundreds of millions in dollars keeping universal health care out of America. Having a UK style health service will mean the big companies would lose billions of dollars and for companies that are all about how much money they make that's a BIG no. Many Insurance companies employ people just to find an excuse to not pay out for the cost of a person healthcare and the people they employ get bonuses based on how many times they stop paying for someone's health care
@@robertcreighton4635 I have some people who are like family to me who live near St Louis, they have any medical check ups and things that need done at the BUPA hospital near me when they visit as its cheaper
Because they are educated to believe that poverty, abuse and being worked to death are "freedom". As long as they waste time in schools worshipping a flag and being taught nonsense, they will never look for their basic human rights.
Also, in most european countries and probably even more of other non european countries, the father can also get fully paid parental leave, but it is most common, that fathers share it 50/50 with the mother, so that both parents get to see their child in its first years.
Number one fix, make it illegal to bribe your politicians, no political donations, once you cut off the money spigot maybe the politicians will work for the people...
Check Education. My family moved to Australia for a few years and because I was American, I had to repeat my grade! That was because as an educated American it wasn’t good enough. Really was a bummer! When I came back stateside, I was a straight A student and on the honor role!
... it's even more disturbing if you consider people from other countries including rwanda and tanzania come to australia, send their kids to school, and keep asking when the kids are gonna start learning because australian education isn't so high.. they only start teaching in high school O.o
On the subject of paid parental leave: I'm Norwegian, and the 58 weeks are for both parents to share between them, with 12 weeks dedicated for each parent, and with 80% pay. I had six months leave for each of my two kids. And on paid vacation: we have five weeks each year, plus an additional week if you're over 60 years old. And yes, that's also if you're a part time employee.
In Spain, it's 16 weeks of paid leave when you have a kid. Both for mother and father. The father thing is very recent, it used to be much less, but it's important to remove the stereotype that the mother has to be the primary caretaker.
My whole life I’ve earned below average wage. On a single wage I own a 4 bedroom house on 1/4 acre 3 blocks from the beach, 20kms from the city centre. I’m lucky to have been born in Australia. p.s. I don’t struggle to pay the bills.
Me too, I am high school educated, single person, never (in 40 years working) made it above poverty level. But I have a big old farmhouse on 8.5 acres, no mortgage, no debt, and am only working 30 to 40 hours a month. In America. Yes, it is possible to get along on one minimum wage salary, in rural areas, and if you are willing to do without things like a new car, expensive iPhone, cable bill, eating out, and on and on. I live basically like people did several generations ago, by my own choice.
@@susigriinke1242 25 years ago for $10K. It was an old 1902 farmhouse with no insulation, no central heat, very old wiring system, no indoor plumbing, but I managed to buy it for cash (and then had NO cash left!) and lived there for three years before I managed to get a furnace installed, seven years before getting the water system and electrical system upgraded. I had lots of people ask me how it was possible to live without indoor plumbing, and I always responded that people lived that way for all of history up until the 1930's or 1940's (longer than that in rural areas), and somehow humanity survived. Most people either don't want to work that hard, or aren't willing to make any sacrifices to get what they want. I always looked at it as an adventure, and a chance to see what my ancestors really lived like. It's truly not as difficult as it sounds. And unlike my ancestors, I can run in to town and pick up groceries, I don't need to slave all summer over a garden and then spend hours canning and preserving (though I do some of that) to try and supply enough food for over the winter.
I feel for the american citizens. Being enslaved into working their asses off and not being protected. I wouldn't accept this system even for twice what I'm currently paid. The maths would not add up in my life.
I am a teacher in Spain. I have two months of paid vacations in summer and two weeks at Christmas ... we have a free public health system also free public education ... Spain is not a socialist country ... it is a social democracy ... that is, a capitalist country that cares about the well-being of its citizens and their basic rights ... and that same philosophy is common in many European countries ...
In the UK we can 'share' paid parental leave. With ours I had the first 6 months fully paid, then my husband had the next 3 months off at full pay, then I had the last 3 months unpaid. It was absolutely fantastic - my husband still talks about how much he enjoyed that time (it was over Christmas too). Most men in the UK only seem to take their 2 weeks paid paternity leave though.
Just out of interest, how did you manage that? Was it your companies? Standard parental leave is 80% pay for 6 weeks then £157-ish a week for 33 weeks (all approximates!), with the rest (up to a year) unpaid. Did you have employers with a good scheme?
In the UK (and I assume other countries) if for example you take a two week paid holiday, and are sick for a week of it, you can claim that week back towards your allowance.
In my country, that is Lithuania, it is a new thing but we already have paid parental leaves for fathers, and even for grandparents if parents want to work or there is only one parent in a family, so yeah in that aspect we are very blessed
@@fuzzlenutberry I hear that infant and maternal deaths or long term disabilities (for baby or mom) are also a thing. In about 40% of births in societies with no medical systems.
@@lucymitchell3045 We don't live in a society without a medical system, most people in our current society do extensive research and have an emergency plan in place. You have a narrow view.
Here in Australia I was forbidden to return to work after the birth of my child for 6 weeks - even if that birth was a still birth! And yes, that 6 weeks was fully paid. I also accrued 20 days annual leave (vacation) and up to 21 days sick leave annually, all of which could be taken as it accrued pro-rata after the first 3 months. If my child was sick and needed me home to look after him/her I could present a certificate from his/her doctor to claim pay from my sick leave to look after him/her - as could the child's father (who could also claim parental leave for a week, fully paid). Our government takes care of our health care from a 1.5% surcharge on our income tax. If we choose to take on insurance like yours we can claim the 1.5% surcharge back on our tax return. Part time workers have exactly the same "benefits", only Casual workers miss out - BUT they get paid an extra 25% per hour to forgo those benefits. It is illegal for employers to refuse to pay these things and illegal to pay less than the minimum wage, they can be, and are, taken to court for refusing such. As "Trude" says: not "Benefits", "rights".
I am horrified at the maternity leave situation over there!! That is so sad that mothers might have to rush back to work and trust their new precious bundle with a childcare provider! I feel so lucky that I made the choices I made when I had my children. It is disgusting that they can treat a new mother this way! Sorry for you guys! We get paid leave and bosses are super understanding aswell! Do Better, Be Kinder and make yourselves proud! x
I had my baby in the 80s. I was married but split up with the baby’s father at the time. I had to look for another job at five months pregnant because my company went out of business. The restrooms had a key. Some of the men at the workplace thought they were funny to hide the key, so sometimes I had to use the men’s room in desperation. I worked until one week before my due date. I went back two weeks after the birth because i had bills to pay. I got zero pay for my time “off” to have my baby. It didn’t get any better for me for a long time after that. The US is a horrible place to live and work, I’m sorry to say. Work is a big part of our lives. Where work is so often exploitative and inhumane, life can’t be very good either. Things are better today but I’ve had to go through things that no one should ever have to go through. And that’s not fair!
@@ritacampbell3833 in Finland you would not have been forced to work one week before giving birth and two weeks after giving birth! Instead you would have started maternity leave latest one month before due date, earlier even depending your job duties and how problem free pregnancy you had. And after baby is born no-one expects new mother back to work just two weeks later... she is in home with her little one, and her work place waits for her, unless company falls down during maternity leave. That thing in USA is inhumane and wrong to all.
"Benefits". We just call them "rights" here in Europe 🤷🏼♀️
Facts
@@renecordova6349 Seriously? What is wrong with you?
@@mariakelly1059 ....You have the problem!! You are ruled by tyrants and can't see it !! But don't worry, the USA will save Europe once again! This time Trump is saving you right now!!
@@renecordova6349 I hope you're a troll
Either way, you're hilarious 🤣
@@renecordova6349 OK... Saw your comments elsewhere and had a good laugh, but you seem serious
And I'm happy for you that you love your country so much, keep spreading the love 😘
My favourite phrase is that America is a Third World Country holding its pants up with a Gucci belt.
Yaaaaaaa lololol
I’ve been saying we’ve been turning into a sh*thole since Raygun - since 1982 when I was TWELVE. I have facts and figures to back myself up on this. America - as a nation - SUCKS. Can’t believe it’s taken folks THIS LONG to figure it out though 🙄. And Wack Arnold’s is one of the HARDEST jobs to work excepting severe manual labor - & I’ve had ex-employees from there go into construction later - & they said construction was EASIER, ffs 🤦♀️
The more I get acquainted with US labor laws (I work for a US company from abroad) I realise that US is a third world country.
America is a continent.
@@junnexgolem well North America and South America are continents, so there’s that. If we’re gonna be specific then “the United States of America” is a third world country holding its pants up with a Gucci belt. I’m not going to edit my comment because 118 people understood it just fine but you decided to be awkward.
"Everyone can flip burgers" A lifetime of going to private BBQs has shown me that is most definitely false
That made me laugh like mrs krabappel
Also it isn't always about who can do something,
It's about who's willing to put up with it.
And it's also a gross oversimplification. I work at a McDonald's. It's a meat grinder of a job with any number of moving parts that MUST be kept running smoothly. It's no longer what can be classified as a simple job. "Burger flipping" is just the tiniest part of the job.
@@kevinmencer3782 yeah,
I don't envy you in the slightest,
I don't perform well in that setting,
But I'm not sure I want to learn that either.
@@kevinmencer3782 Of course, it's still a Restaurant, even if the food is really unhealthy so I imagine it is at least as difficult as working in any other restaurant (maybe even more since the customer frequence is much higher). No one ever says to someone in an italian restaurant "Everyone can flatten dough", even though that is basically the same argument.
"That parental leave must be for the mother....." Yeah. Unless we want some of it to be for the father. The whole year of paid parental leave is to be distributed as wanted between the father and the mother. Because the bond between the father and the child is important as well.
Some people call us communist. I call us human.
30 years ago there was no division of parental leave in my country. Now we are grandparents and the father of our grandchild stayed at home for 4 months in his first year of life. My branch manager also stayed at home for a total of 4 months during parental leave.
Long-established (smaller) companies are slowly getting used to this principle.
Actually.. the father gets parental leave as well.. its not as much as the mother does... but still
Absolutely. And even grandparents who are raising their grandchildren can apply for it I believe.
2 years
Vi blev sgu da også for nyligt kaldt communister af Fox XD......
In the Netherlands we do not even know or use the word “Benefits” connected with a job. It does not matter if you work 3 hours a week or 40 ours a week, everybody has all those benefits accordingly. Paid days off, parental leave, the whole population has health insurance, There is a basic government pension, and with your job, you will build extra pension.
The US is really weird.....
No. It's evil.
Don't tell them that
Very similar here in Ireland. (and I work for a large US multinational, strange how they can afford these things in Europe)
@@edharding9363 It's not a case of that they can afford it. It's a case of they have to pay it to run the firm, because of the law's that protect the workers
@@knightwish1623 what I was trying to say was that they still make huge profits in their Irish factory even though they have to comply with european labour laws, and treat us way better than our US counterparts ;-)
That's also why Walmart completely failed in germany. They didn't expect the german labor unions.
Ironically it's also why Aldi got backlash in the US,
Because they taught employees that you don't have to please the customers,
You just have to do your job.
They are totally unaware of workers rights because they never thought of them. Workers rights: huh?
I do what is required, but I refuse to wear makeup. Its Mickeys D's or job whatever, not your Christian church. Church is a whorehouse. Retail, food serve workers are expected to act as eye candy.. Nope, not me!! Regardless, I refuse to be that
@@BramLastname Pleasing a customer sounds a bit like sex work.That approach teaches customers to feel super entitled and rude to the staff.To me you just do your job,be helpful but people need to know their place too.
@@TheEmpress185 basically Wallmart has people to pack your bags for you,
Lidl and Aldi refuse to waste their money on stuff like that.
"America, greatest country on Earth!"
Only said by Americans
It used to be said by other people in the 19th century, when America was known as a land in which immigrants could escape conscription, get cheap land, have more voting rights than at home, etc. Unfortunately the rest of the world has got a lot better and the US has stayed pretty much the same as it was then in many ways, so it's no longer a shining beacon to the world.
To be fair "Ireland: greatest country in the world" - only said by Irish. "Japan: greatest country in the world".. Japanese. And so forth. We mostly love our homes.
To be fair, it's also said by the millions of people trying desperately to get to the USA.
people from the 3rd world still believe. and i guess it might be true to some of them as it is easier to rise in the foodchain in usa (easier to fall as well though), gotta have some luck ofc and work like a slave.
other countries know they're probably not the best, but say "at least we're better than America".
"They call it the american dream because you have to be a sleep to believe it" - George Carlin
The American Dream is and has always been just that, a dream.
🤣🤣🤣🤣...good one...
A nightmare dream
@@pascalheinrich3990
That wasn't suppose to happen.
Blame God.
@@FrankHeuvelman I dont belief in any gods.
"It's not that we're stupid. We just tend to blindly accept that the U.S. is the greatest place on Earth. And therefore don't see any reason to educate ourselves about the realities of the rest of the world."
Sounds stupid, to me.
No, it's not stupidity...
It's wilful ignorance...
and that's worse!
It is only Americans that think the U S is the greatest Country in the world. The only Americans who don't have that mindset are the ones who have travelled abroad and see how the rest of the world lives.
@@anthonyscott4270 I've spoken to Americans who've travelled but still have that chip on their shoulder.
@EarlJohn61 worse brainwashing worse then North Korea
As an Australian, this is a bit shocking, I already knew about the poor labor conditions in the US, but it is far worse than I thought it was.
Not sure if you have worked a minimum wage job in our country but even if you live in the country side you cant afford to live and if you live in a major city you cant even afford rent
@@shaynegadsden I just looked up the McDonalds wage in Australia its $21.90 an hour. That is $17USD. Now to be fair the cost of food in Australia is higher than the US but a small amount. But if I worked at McDonalds I could afford rent, food, utilities etc. I would not be very well off but I would be okay, and I would get 4 weeks paid holidays year and 16 paid weeks maternity leave too.
@@jenellienostrabo Yeah, im Australian too and thats just one job where the corporation makes it as low as possible, you can work for a cafe or a good restaurant or anything else for higher than that on the same qualification - but its way easier to get a degree here, or as in i mean its easier to enter university which would get your pay way up and on contract salary and full benefits and everything. Its for the good of the society, yet the Americans are so scared about socialism lol
@@jenellienostrabo it’s higher than that if you are employed as a casual, it would be close to $25 per hour. Not forgetting that full time while lower also gives 4 weeks paid holidays and at least 10 days sick leave every year which is not done in the US
@@shaynegadsden wow maybe stop buying drugs and smokes and alcohol and you'll have enough
The horrors of Social Democracy, decent minimum wage, sick pay, holiday pay, pension contributions, 35 hour week., maternity leave, paternity leave.
Same in New Zealand. They just doubled our paid sick days off because of covid. We dont have any covid in NZ but thanks.
No wonder Republicans are so scared of socialism, the might lose profit and get workers that are healthier and happier than before. :)
@@andersmartensson8659 They are scared of everything that represents emphaty
@@icebergrose8955 no covid? are you sure?
@@adoreslaurel yes. We have cases in the quarantine hotels but no community spread.
The fact that Afghanistan treats mothers more fairly than U.S. is actually the most insane thing I've ever heard. Genuinely mad.
Yes. The US should remove itself fast before they destroy that too.
A lot of the reason most countries hate Americans is because we think we’re better and we fail to realize we’re a slave to corporate whereas most of the other countries look out for their people. Granted every country has their struggle but in the grand scheme of things they do a much better job taking care of their people.
@@dystopia3300 That and America loves to mess with other countries politics.
@@ad_astra468 there a saying I like : " If the USA saw what they were doing to the USA, the USA was invade the USA"
@@ad_astra468 Exactly. They force so called “democracy” on other countries.
USA is often called the most free country on Earth. It really depends on how you measure freedom. In the US, you're free TO exploit people. In most other developed countries, you're free FROM being exploited.
USA is free TO....
Most other countries are free FROM....
Which type of freedom is the best, is subjective. I personally prefer to be free from medical bankruptcy, free from capitalist exploitation etc.
The Cato institute accualy messuers levels of freedom in the world and sadly "the land of the free" are tied at place 17, not to bad, but not as free as counries like New Zeeland, Denmark, Sweden Finland, Germany and others.... Its a bit diverce thoug as the index is combined from economic freedom and personal freedom. In economic freedom USA is number four traling Hongkong (1), Singapor (2) and Georgia (3). In personal they are somwhare around place 30... where Sweden (1), Norway (2), New Zeeland (3) and Denmark (4) and there are a bit og a gap between the first four to the rest.
I completely agree. Ever since I lived in France for a year, it made me realise how flawed our system is. So many Americans are brainwashed to think that our system works or that we shouldn't change a think. Id rather pay a bit more on my taxes to have affordable healthcare and education, and won't have to be in 100k in debt for just hospital bills, or having not to pay for student loans.
Good point
Yes, in America, you are free from exploitation if you are willing to create your own business and do better than businesses down the road. Competition in America means you do better if you want a better business and beat the competition. But that is your choice.
@@boydmerriman because you can’t start your own business and be successful when your employer is paying you a living wage?
In Sweden the parental leave can be split between mother and father. Each can do six month if they want to.
Yes this is possible in the UK to
Yes and we have imported so many people who lives of government assistance that the whole country is on the brink of collapse ! It was a great country once but now not so much ! :-(
@@SvensktTroll plenty of locals on benefits. Thanks to Blair and his policies. Having a kid in the UK for a lot of young locals is an investment to get free housing and money from the gov.
@@SvensktTroll yea cause it has absolutely nothing to do with greedy & stupid politicians that rather spend money on a payraise for themselves as an example, like the one they gave themselves last year, while discussing if our nurses should get the extra risk pay....
THere is money to both take care of the swedish people & help those in need but not as long as the money is spent on SHIT! Stop blaming the ones that came for help that fled war & start blame the ones that are actually to blame!
In Germany, you get bonus time if you split it to a certain degree. This is done to include dads more into the family life and to create a level playing field between men and women in the job market (women are historically considered more risky to hire, because they could become pregnant - but it men take their fair share of their family life and parental leave, this point disappears).
In Denmark we have social democracy... NOT socialisme...
That means that we take care of everyone.. Especially the ones, that needs help.
A kind of insurrance of if i one day I need help, the others will do the same for me
I have moved to denmark around 1 year ago I can say this is one of the best ppl I have ever met
my old GF went to Denmark to study from germany :P damn shes living quite good there and the money she gets for studying is incredible compared to our system here in germany
I know in some Scandinavian countries you get paid full time wages even if you lose your job for like 2 yrs. I would be happier to pay very high taxes if this mean it was spent on things like this to protect everyone. It is so easy to become homeless in the UK now. Just one thing you do wrong and you can die on the streets and absolutely nobody cares one thought.
@@MICKEYISLOWD Additionally, university isn’t just free here, but the government will *pay you* to go. It’s a nice place to live.
There's no social democracy. Most of the Europe has socialism.
“You know by Britain doesn’t have a British dream? Well, that’s because the British are AWAKE”
Shows clearly with Brexit you elected a sentient ham for PM to herd your gammons 👍
Too many old houses over 120 years in London. Imagine how many generations passed away in each semi detached house.. Brits not afraid of ghost
@@ueks69 whereas America has had god knows how many school shootings and done nothing about it, elected a nappy wearing Cheeto puff and acted surprised when half the country are either dead or believe in Qanon and deny he lost the next election because of him, and you don’t stop killing black people. We have brexit and a shitty politician, you have more problems anyone can even count. That are wayyyy more “in the now” than an issue like brexit.
@@charlottemartin4715 i am not American, i am from Europa
I'm British and I'm telling you Britain is not awake. As it is now its going the way of the US. I agree with all the criticisms on this thread of Britain and Brexit but also of the US. Both have lots wrong with them and I see things getting worse in both before getting better unfortunately.
The statement "They usually let the women have 3 months off you don't get paid but they won't fire you for it" made me actually laugh then feel sad. Ffs America these people are ensuring the continuation of your nation, they deserve some paid leave.
When I lived in the states I had a friend who worked for Olive garden, a large chain restaurant, he wanted to go home for a long weekend for his sisters wedding which would have required 2 days off from work (unpaid) His manager told him he had to work and if he didn't show he'd be fired. He had worked there for 2 years at the point and hadn't taken any holidays in all that time
@@ztoical but they call you lazy... I want to move back to europe as soon as i can to leave this hellscape.
I can't imagine living in a country where you'd get fired for taking a month of paternity leave.
That's just batshit insane.
We get 26 weeks paid maternity leave in New Zealand but you can take a year off if you want. Our government protects us from rampant capitalism. I have no idea what the US government does.
Brainwashing hard in U.S.A. and most still believe "being great again" by just doubling down. Capitalism has failed.
I'm from denmark. I had ten months of paid leave and my boyfriend had the last two months, also with full pay. We sent our daughter off to daycare when she was just around 1 and it made such a difference to have that time with her when she was little.
I’m sitting on my porch, enjoying my beautiful property and this beautiful day; retired at 57 and thankful to be Canadian. I worked hard for 35 years, enjoying the huge benefits of our “socialist” society. ❤️🇨🇦
Good for you! I hope you keep enjoying retirement.
A brain disease caused very strong mood swings deafness and limb leg with me. The Dutch government has send me to a doctor (their cost) he checked my condition and i was deemed unfit to work. Now my government gives me $1732,86/month to be able to pay all my bills and necessities and have some spare for other things... In America i would be a RIP story for sure. It's not like a huge amount but the thought what would have happened if i was living over there in the states spooks the hell out of me.
Right. Not the government. It is your fellow compatriot’s money that is supporting you friend. Other people are paying your bill buddy.
@@joseluisceballos355 oh is that right? How do you know? Please supply us with all the facts you have about the Dutch Arbeidsongeschiktheidswet (the law they have in case you are not fit to work anymore).
Ahahah great..
I'm in the UK, I'm a cleaner in a shopping centre, when I started 10 years ago I got around 28 days a year paid leave, the longer you work there the more days you get a year. Right now I get 35 days a year paid Leave, to think people in the US could have 0 is disgusting to me.
Ashy.......Even for your benefits, I would never live in your country! I am completely happy with the USA! And a janitor is the lowest job in the world! More like slavery!
Your comment is exactly the reason why America is such a garbage country. In Europe we are willing to help out the poor whereas you are "I'm alright, f*** the rest. You are able to watch this video and see all the benefits we get that Americans don 't and still you are brainwashed into thinking your country is the best.
@@renecordova6349 "I am completely happy with the USA"
Are you really tho? Seems like you have to say it to believe it
@@renecordova6349 Thats because you never lived anywhere else.
Every American that lived somewhere else would disagree with you.
@@ekimandersom4478 .... I was in Germany for 1 year and Southeast Asia for 3 years! I usually do not take paid leave in the US because I love my job! I usually find my work more enjoyable than traveling to some place that is new or strange! And Europe is the last place in the world that I would ever live! Asia is a lot better than Europe! But USA is definitely the best in the world! Do you ever wonder why there is a waiting list of 45 million people waiting to become US citizens and only 15 million waiting to become German citizens? The other countries lists are not even close!
When you're French and you hear that minimum hour wage hasn't increased at all over the last decade... My brain exploded. Minimum hour wage increases every year in France on January 1st. Dear American workers, your leaders don't deserve your hard work!
Alot of Americans are starting to learn this. Hense the reason why so many are quitting their jobs. I was stationed in Germany for 5 years in the army. Since I've returned home I've never looked at my country the same. I've been miserable since I've been home.
Then France is financially not viable. It is a country that is almost broke. Due to all their generosity that is paid with taxes by those French people that actually go to work.
@@joseluisceballos355 France has lower debt as a % of GDP than the USA by almost 40 ppkt.
Plus a inflation rate that's out of control.
Currency inflation decreases people's income on top of that, but don't tell anyone, okay?
@niels lund That is yesterdays news buddy. There was over a trillion Dollars debt when George W. Bush had his hand in his pockets as he was talking, avoiding someone'sshoes being thrown at him back in the day. Yes man, you are correct, but you bring nothing new to the table. Your data is old.
In Australia, it's mainly high school students that work at Macdonald's. But most employers here LOVE seeing MacDonald's on a person's resume as they believe that fast food restaurants are one of the highest pressure jobs going around, therefore, they have learned how to work fast and under pressure and must have a very good work ethic.
Anyone who has worked in Fast Food understands pressure. I was a Duty Manager at 19 managing kids my age or younger and working over 40+ hours week. Accrued 3 years worth of holidays, can't tell you how many breakdowns I had.
I (also Aussie) worked in fast food and will never do it again if I can help it. In fact, now that I'm older, I'm not even sure if I _can_ work there. I've been told by job seeking agencies that a lot of fast food places like Maccas/Hungry Jacks and supermarkets like Woolworths/Coles etc save most of their positions for people under a certain age and experience threshold. The management positions are filled by older people, yes, but most employees will be the kind who are looking to gain experience and can't immediately dissapear to better pastures once they realise how stressful the job is.
Somebody please pay a ticket to Europe for this guy. I'll show him the Netherlands.
Well, I doubt a rich person would do it, and the rest of us are too freaking poor to afford bus fare across town.
"I can't imagine anyone paying that much for the guys" well, that's a failure of your imagination. Paternal leave is very much a thing.
I wouldnt bring Gender to it its just paid leave for one of the parents for having a baby easy as that how does it matter if the man takes it or Woman
January of 1991 I was one of many thousands on the streets of Vilnius in Lithuania fighting to restore my country's independence and end communist rule. Then the USA was seen as a free country to emulate. But since then I have done several jobs leading to my current positions as a trade and customs economist. I know in detail just how bad the US economy treats working people. When I have tried to explain this to Americans they scream that I must be a COMMIE.
Congrats m8..... The American dream pushed out to the world to emulate is a advertising ploy etc.... When in reality for freedom and security look at Europe as a whole and you will see how the majority of other countries that make it out of the hole and start climbing the economic tree realised that the better option would be like other parts of the world and not the America Inc
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Don't mind these screamers. They have no idea what communism is.
@@lordkabal2010 Then you see the yellow vest movement in France.
People from the US are; as this video stated at the beginning, simply ignorant XD
“It’s not that they can’t, it’s because they won’t”
Sadly that is all too true
The rich have realized we won't put up a fight big enough to change anything. We've been conditioned to believe this is life and most of us are a bit too scared to really change things.
@@moonlitskylight5740 Agree. Politicians and mainstream media help to keep the masses divided so they are distracted from the corruption and exploitation by government, corporations and billionaires.
@@martiwaterman1437 Exactly, it's like a giant magic trick. We are focusing here, while they are pulling something over there.
In most EU countries the paid paternity leave is both for the father and the mother. It’s also a possibility to gift your leave to your partner or vice versa. At least it is like that in a lot of Scandinavian countries and Belgium.
In Spain it's 16 paid leave weeks for both, the father and the mother...
Have been working so much in USA, that I can say I feel sorry for the citizens of USA.
Not only for the working conditions, but for the broken system of justice that really hurts the people.
Sir, Wonder do you work Finland now?
@@yaxizhang9455 Finland among other European countries.
Dont forget Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Actually in Norway it's mandated that part of the parental leave is for the dad. Minimum 15 weeks.
Lika sjukt som i Sverige då. Vad har staten för rätt att detaljstyra våra privatliv?
@@herrbonk3635 Mange liker det. Jeg skulle gjerne hatt tiden selv med mine barn...
@@sooh6299 Men om staten inte tog runt 75% av våra pengar (se nedan) till att börja med så kunde man spara och få avgöra sånt själv...
(* över 30% "sociala avgifter" + över 30% "inkomstskatt" + 25% moms på det mesta man köper. Dessutom tunga punktskatter på helt livsnödvändiga saker, som 60-70% ren skatt på el och bensin som vi måste betala med resterna av vår redan dubbelt beskattade inkomst.)
@@herrbonk3635 Jeg foretrekker vårt system over f. eks USA sitt som baserer seg mer på folks egne ressurser allikevel. Det er det ikke tvil om. Hvis staten gir meg sikkerheten om at hvis jeg blir syk så får jeg penger, og hvis jeg får baby så kan en av oss foreldrene være hjemme sammen med babyen i et år, så tar jeg heller det over null barselspermisjon og sykehusregninger som ikke likner grisen.
@@sooh6299 USA är inte min förebild. Statligt betald sjukvård är en bra sida av socialismen, men bara om det stannar där. Sedan 1960 har dock statliga verk och myndigheter mångdubblats. Samma sak med den rika politiska klassen (som lever på våra skatter). Det har spårat ur. Staten försöker helt ogenerat detaljreglera våra liv och värderingar... Det är fråga om diktatur i ordets rätta mening, och har inget med folkstyre (demokrati) att göra.
When my niece was born, my brother and his wife had a combined 1 1/2 year full paid parental leave. She stayed home for the first half year, then they switched and my brother stayed at home with his princess for half a year. The last six months they both kinda worked part-time. Since she's a teacher, he's in IT and their employers are both absolutely willing to help juggle their schedules, they're able to spend a lot of time with the little one. Without having to stress about money. I just don't get why so many Americans instantly scream 'cOmMuNiSm' when presented with constructs that not only work, but are considered citizens rights in other countries (and backed by politicians that are anything but 'leftist commis').
In Finland the mother has to take a certain amount of time off with the baby (three months maybe) but after that either parent can stay home with the child until they are three years old, at about 80% pay. Granted, most of the time it is women who take the parental leave but sometimes men do it as well. I had a year of maternity leave and then 1.5 years parental leave. Our full time week is 37.5 hrs (you have a 30 min unpaid lunch time every day), and I have 5 paid weeks off every summer, a week in winter and then I take a couple weeks around the christmas and New year time, some of it overtime hours. I was also very sick in 2018 and was on fully paid sick leave on and off for 3 months. We also have strict labour laws, so you can't be fired for being on maternity/parental leave or sick leave. These facts and our free healthcare and free university (And before anyone asks, my tax rate is 20%) are why I could never live in the States.
Same here in Germany, I was off work for 1 1/2 years due to 3 OP's on my cervical spine (neck) over that time I recived 80% of my wage from the Health Insurance and my job was on hold until I was recovered.
Edit:- I just looked up how much the 3 OP's would have costed in the US = ca $70,000 - $80,000
I’m always open mouthed when I hear that Americans don’t get proper paid holiday time throughout the year. That maternity leave isn’t an entitlement, that bosses can sack staff for being sick, that being sick can kill people in the worlds most _civilised_ country, that healthcare isn’t given to all, that waitresses can be expected to work for tips only, that crossing the road is deemed to be too dangerous for Joe public to do unassisted yet the same people can have a gun, add the blatant racism, religious extremists and I’m just so happy to be born in a better country. Heck, North Korea fits that bill!
Yeah, in Germany employers are outright banned from allowing pregnant employees / new mothers to work at +/- about 6 weeks from the date of birth. Not "the employee may take leave", but "the employer has to prevent the employee from working, or get in a *lot* of trouble otherwise (and rightly so)"
But if you want to have paid lunch, it’s possible with availability and 29 minutes. That’s much better.
"If your business cannot pay your workers a fair wage, it should not be in business." I've been saying that for years. Around 1990, I worked in the office of a local construction company that looked like they were going places. But they were exploitative. I took home less than £70 per week for a 40 hour week - you work out the hourly rate on that one. I remember the two bosses rubbing it into their employees' faces by both buying a new car at the same time ... one a Jaguar, the other a Range Rover. Not long after I left, they went bust. A few years later, the UK introduced a minimum wage.
You were living the Tory dream I think. Your nightmare that is,.. but their dream.
Hola, minimum wage didn't happen before the 90's in the UK? oO I am very surprised. It appeared in 1950 in France. Maybe because we are not anglo-saxon, and less influenced by the USA? Merely a theory. The UK sometimes seems to follow the US rather blindly to me.
@@nox8730 We do follow them a little too blindly on international issues but when it comes to social issues, we're way ahead of them (let's face it, half of Africa is way ahead of the US on that score).
I think the reason it didn't appear until the 90s (just checked and it was 1999 - I thought it was a little earlier) is two reasons. First, the British economy seemingly took forever to recover from WW2. In the 70s, it was known as the sick man of Europe. It wasn't until the 80s that, despite massive job losses under Thatcher, the UK started to recover as an economic power. So, there wasn't the money in the economy to drive a minimum wage. Secondly, most parliaments after the war were run by Conservatives. It was Tony Blair's centre-left government that introduced the minimum wage.
@@daviddavies3637 "We do follow them a little too blindly on international issues"
Yes, that is what i meant. International issues. I do not know enough about the UK to talk about how it works internaly. So, your post is actually really helpful to me, thank you. I remember Margaret... even though i was very young :p. Some of our media called her "La Dame de Fer" i guess?
@@nox8730 I haven't done any French since school but I can guess what that means: The Iron Lady. Or, "The Lady of Iron?" French is structured very similarly to Welsh.
I was 12 during the Falklands War. She wasn't very well liked amongst the working classes in this country. A school friend and his family emigrated to New Zealand because there was no work around here. What she did do, however, was roll back the power of the unions, who had brought the country to a standstill in the late 70s and modernised the UK.
When she died a few years ago, some bright spark suggested that people should buy a song from the Wizard of Oz in celebration. That song was "Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead." It got to number one in the UK charts.
British dark humour, huh?
Fascinating looking in as Brit. I'm amazed how things I take for granted as my employment 'rights' are seen a benefits in the States.
Right? The use of the word benefit really irks me in this context because all of these things should be rights (as they thankfully are over here). Benefits to me are things like free parking spaces or getting part of your costs for public transportation covered.
The pay difference is why visitors sometimes struggle with the American view on tips, here you tip if the service has been especially good there you tip because the person can't afford to live without it
And it doesn't make your bill any cheaper either. I was shocked at how expensive restaurants were, the food costs were about the same (I'm Australian) and then the tipping made it way more expensive
It's just another tax dodging trick for the restaurants etc. The removal of tipping would increase the price of the food.... but only really by the amount the customers are pressured to tip anyways. And tips aren't taxed. The tip system decreases the income of the restaurants (so less taxes paid) but also cuts costs.
I am European of a weird mixed heritage, Balkans and the Scandinavian and for example on Iceland you don't really tip, it's weird to do it in restaurants, in bars it's okay but still it's mostly symbolic, some people even find it offensive if you tip them, or think you have a crush on them, just don't really do it. In the Balkans it's a bit more common but still there's no mandatory tipping bs, usually you leave symbolic sums to the waitress or the cook, and they collect it and use it to go for drinks after work or whatever, it doesn't influence their earnings - at all (And the Balkans are not a particularly rich region, yet in Serbia for example, while pay in the restaurant will surely be lesser than in idk Germany, you can still cover the cost of living, apartment, bills and still go to Greece for 2 weeks to enjoy the beach etc). It was so weird for me when I went to the US and they were like telling me how much i HAVE to tip, I guess it's a bit more clear but still weird that people depends on MY kindness instead of their employer, like some beggars, it's degrading for those guys.
Americans already know this, but minimal wage for restaurant workers is far less. $2, and something, I think.
AND workers are taxed for what restaurant owners say they should be earning with tips... which is at least the official minimum wage
I used to really want to work and live in the US, when I was much younger. Now, having worked all over the world and lived in several countries, the USA is nowhere in my list of countries I’d aspire to live in. Even South Africa, with all its faults, has infinitely better labour laws, health system (though VERY flawed) and multi cultural life than the US. It’s such a shame that the US has descended to the awful corporate slave state it has become 🥺
I would only want too live in a country with a decent healthcare system sadly America has non of that.
I thank god everyday that i was born here in the netherlands.
Honestly why would you want too live in America?
The American dream is nothing more than a nightmare.
@@DidierWierdsma6335
There is a wealthy upper and middle class in the USA who are well off.
But the low paid working class is constantly on the edge of survival, one misfortune and misery sets in.
@@dutchman7623 once again why would you want too live in America?
They treat people like garbage their healthcare system is nonexistent the salary's are way too low.
America is only a dream for the 1% good luck getting there.
Also why cant they take care of their homeless population they have the money for it?
America is nothing more than a third world nation period.
@@DidierWierdsma6335 Easy!! ..... GREED!!
What does "even South Africa" insinuate?
"The USA - the greatest country in the world." is true when your horizont is limited to the USA which I learn seems to be true for most of its people.
Spent my life working with, for and in the US. What got me was that despite only getting, say, 10 days vacation time most people still didn't take those days off. It was like a badge of honour to say you had accrued loads of vacation says (they don't expire). In Europe, we used to have a purge around October to encourage employees to take their vacation as we wanted relaxed, happy and energetic employees. Can't tell you how many times I had to tell my US bosses that they had to modify their style for other countries as you can't walk around threatening employees with being fired in ANY country I have worked in as we have employment legislation. Having lived there, I know that they are only fed USA is the best propaganda and get next to no information about the world.
That's also one of the key reasons why Walmart failed in Germany
@@SennaHawx hahahahahahahaha, holy shit. It failed? Walmart of all places?
@@tiger751 Yes. No Walmart in Germany. There is a pretty good video about that.
ruclips.net/video/PxtXI0K4YJs/видео.html
@L M Walmart owns several other chains in various countries. The stores just aren't called "Walmart"
.. and that's EXACTLY the 'powers that be' want to keep it.
The constant BRAINWASHING ensures it.
Here in Australia we have a ‘work to live’ as opposed to a ‘live to work’ mentality. We still work hard but we recognise that there are only so many hours in the day that you can actually be productive.
I am born and raised in the UK, still here. We grew up on British and American TV. I used to look upto the US and really want to move there. Then I travelled there, a few times, and started hearing all these really dystopian, capitalist rules, or lack of, and was really shocked! I looked around when I got home and realised I am so lucky to be born in the UK. I have since visited Norway and Sweden, and its so homely, welcoming and FREE! Unfortunately the USA is NOT the best country in the world. Not even close. Almost every European country is better than the US, in terms of education, health care, corruption, quality of life, cost of living, and being truly FREE
I'm from the UK and I agree with you. Growing up I thought America was awesome. What changed my opinion was the Michael Moore documentaries.
@@patarciepaul Omg yes! They were shocking. I had a few friends in Nevada, and the gun laws are just absolutely mental. I mean, just the idea of being able to have a gun, freely, and carry it around, is unreal. Also, the prejudices in the USA is mad. How only up until recently, you could be sacked for being gay.
I am too old and not enough money to leave the US, or I definitely would. It is so demoralizing to be here. The Supreme Court upheld Citizens United, which started the downward spiral.
The corporation I worked for a job or two ago once asked me to relocate to the U.S. from my home in New Zealand. I laughed.
You really missed out there...I mean, they might have let you own a gun! ;)
@@Penguin_of_Death Ha ha, true. The frightening thing is that I might have thought that I'd probably need one.
@@ianwebb3496 you do....trust me.
Honestly, if ever there was a video that should be mandatorily watched throughout the USA, it’s this one. Not simply for the valuable information included, but to actually see on this wonderful man’s face, the realisation of just HOW far behind America is within the world. People and family first. Look after families and children grow up to be great citizens. Don’t look after the basic family and you get starvation, unrest, prison, and perhaps even suicide through stress and unhappiness! This video made me worry for US citizens more than any other facts I’ve learned to date. Our wonderful Innocent friend here deserves way more for his family. He talks of buying an individual a ticket to anywhere in the US when he reaches 50k subs. I reckon his subs need to buy his whole family tickets to anywhere else in the world and maybe then he can take a leap of faith and live elsewhere for the long term health and happiness of his family. Sending you warm wishes as always from Scotland (yes, that chilly, yet warm and welcoming country). Take care.
Pfft warm. I will never forget your ice cream vans selling ice cream in a blizzard 🤣 best winter holiday
I think it is purposeful and the whole society is aimed towards making debt slaves and prisoners.
Brilliant post Anita , it was mild today at least at 13 degrees, taps aff!
In all seriousness could not agree more, enjoy his honest content and would only be fair to give something back
Anita Davidson while I agree with everything you said, my main reason for replying to your comment is to applaud your use of the description, ' . . . this wonderful man . . .' I admire his willingness to learn, and his honesty when he watches something that changes his opinion. A wonderful man indeed!
@@jordanhowe1899 no such thing as seasonal ice cream! 🍦🍨🍧😂🥶
There still is the myth of US as the best country on earth. US is an wonderful country with great oportunities and landscapes and institutions. But when I asked for tourist-Visa they asked for income, real estate, family and other bonds to Austria. They said they had to make sure, I did not want to stay secretly in US. I asked why should I: In Austria I have a job in a country with labor laws: Maternety leave for 1,5 years with a financail help and the guararntee, that I can get my job back, I have all-around medical insurance including dental brackets for my kids, I have 5 weeks paid hollidays per year and my kids can go to university for free and I will have a pension I will be able to live on. Why should I want to stay in US? The employee anwered: "Still".
i find it funny that in eastern europe, that is a second world zone, where countries are not really very developed, there are cases where there are 2 years of maternal leave, and optional 1 year of father leave, all of these being paid.
Second world used to refer to the Warschau packt bubble.
@@fionafiona1146 Nope!
First world is the 'Old world' (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) or also called the classic world.
Second world is the 'New world' (American continent)
Third world is the developing world (Sub Sahara Africa, some parts of Asia)
@WolfZone
Eastern Europe is developed, has high standards of social care, and high standards for medical care.
Though these countries are not rich compared to Western Europe, wealth is better spread than in the US.
Many make, and have made, huge progress like the Baltic states and North Balkan.
@@dutchman7623 those aren't first and second though
@@dutchman7623 That's incorrect. Originally first world was used to denote NATO and NATO aligned countries, second world to Warsaw Pact and Soviet aligned countries and the third world were the unaligned countries. Over time third world, which was fungible to begin with, changed to refer to under-developed nations.
Wouldn't it be great if Amazon spent the 11 Billions dollars buying MGM on paying their employees more or maybe offering them some of the basic life work balance we have here in NZ.
@@BobDevV thanks for your insight.. It certainly seems from a non US citizen that the way employees are treated is abit shit by local standards... But As you said most Americans don't know any different.. Jeebers help the corporates if their work force Wakes up and bands together to to seek better wages and benefits.. Oh and heaven forbid the leaders of the US actually tell the lobbyists to keep their money and actually act for the Peoples best interests...OMG this is starting to sound like a Socialist idea... It will never work because a Socialist idea is considered tantamount to Communism.
See my reply about Amazon.
No no no In America we are free to value greed and greedy people are our HEROES. Have you seen our politicians? and now they working to suppress voting. DO WE NEED REALITY CHECK!!!
American: "I cannot imagine that the father gets a paid leave when his baby is born".
Me: "believe it "
12:23
let me put this is perspective for you. Japan has suffered from a stress & suicide crisis for decades due to overworking
yeah that shocked me to no end. How do they deal?!
and in japan its classed as a national emergency
That is due to their extreme conformism. Still, 137 hours is an enourmous gap.
regarding parental leave... In England men do indeed get 'paternal' leave. My husband got 2 weeks off full pay for all three of ours!
We have that in Scotland & Wales as well, must be a BRITISH thing !
I’m a retired English factory manager and so was trained in Employment law. But the system has a hole in it few can answer. If a couple adopt a child they are entitled to the same paternal and maternal payed leave as anyone else. However if they are in a same sex relationship, it’s down to the employer to decide who gets the longer maternal leave. Difficult when perhaps you just have the one person employed. So what questions do you ask them to decide if they get maternal or paternal leave?
I only got 1 week full pay :( all this talk about dividing roles better won't go anywhere without more reform. Im taking shared parental leave too but i was told i was an outlier (3rd person ever...) despite working for a "progressive" company.
In Canada both parents get leave. I know for my job at least the mother is given 17 paid weeks pregnancy leave before she even gifts birth 11 of which may be taken before she is due. Than on top of that she is able to get 32 paid weeks leave after giving birth and any father is able to get 37 weeks.
@MrAbletospeak Who is going to look after you when you get old? Pay taxes in the future? It's sensible even from your position to want to invest in others children, it's in your self interest in fact.
"i can't imagine anyone paying that much for the guy"
Me: laughs in Norwegian
13:00 that seems so absurd to me. NO paid vacation or sic leave?...how do you stay sane? jesus.
they dont. Ever hear of the term 'going postal'? Well, that term was invented in America for a reason.
Sanity doesn't pay,
Apathy does.
I don't understand the notion of sick leave? In Belgium, when you are sick, you go to a doctor. Doc decides if you are fit to work or not. If not, you stay at home to recover. Company pays you. If you are sick longer than a month, you go on our social security, and you get appox 80% of your wage for the remainder of that time the doctor decides you should recover. I don't understand why companies want sick employees to come to work, not being productive and contaminating others...
You don’t. You push through it because you know this slave work your doing is the only way to survive paycheck to paycheck without being on the street.
Because our "healthcare system" is fucked up beyond all belief, and I could NOT afford psychiatric treatment or meds.
As an American living in France for now 20 years. It feels good knowing no matter who you are, if you work, you can live a basic life, food, shelter, clothing, and health care. This is available to all, so when you go to the Super Marche when you even eat at McDonald's in France, the person serving you has a better quality of life than any minimum wage person living in the USA. I would suggest every person learn about socialism, and how private industry is what makes it work. It is not the dirty word you are taught, it is about all having a basic quality of life, living in the once largest economy in the world. Ok, it is just a matter of time before China is bigger than the USA, and they have a rising middle class while Americans continue to fall into poverty.
"Americans" are all people who live in the American Continent, not just in the united states
My family has a dinner once every month or so highlighting a different country. We eat the food and discuss all we learned about the history and culture. I think it’s good for my young nephew to learn how the world is a big wonderful place.
In the UK we have something called Shared Parental Leave, which basicly means that the time off figures can be split betweent the parents any way you wish. The exception is that the mother giving birth gets 3 weeks they can't transfer to the father (starting a week before the due date) and any other type of parent gets two non transfereable weeks from the day she goes into labour (or the day of adoption).
Gay couples are eligible too which is lovely.
We have that too in Finland.
Sweden too
It is similar in Germany - 14 months of paid parental leave. Technically the dad can be on parental leave for the whole time but the first 8 weeks after birth the mother (if employed) is forbidden to work since she is supposed to heal from giving birth.
Think it was a European directive
People say that McDonald's workers don't get payed much is because "they don't work hard" while they are worshipping people like gods because they make one video a month which they payed someone else to make and then they make millions
Was your English teacher _paid_ enough? Or did she work for tips only?
@@JulieWallis1963 sorry that my grammer isn't amazing when I'm writing a youtube comment
@@overall1937 That Julie Wallis was very rude to you , absolutely no need for her comment .
Eventhough it is a job everyone can do it is still a job that needs to be done.
On your point about not having a career at McDonald's. I'm in the UK and one of my friends started there 5 years ago and has just been promoted to being a manager, he earns more "flipping burgers" than I do as a trained mechanic
Yeah some can make it in the chain no argument about that...... But think ur m8 is a manager so that's a hella lot of responsibility being in charge of both workers and store. Thing is we always will need mechanics... Managers not so much lol so keep that in mind......also If you think you being a mechanic means your making sure (if ur talking about a vehicle/car mechanic) the car is safe and secure to drive for the customer and ur keeping that person on the road as their car maybe important for them to get to work etc so u can add on that your helping keep a roof over their and food in their stomachs...... But I get ya lol its flipping annoying lol
Legit dude dumb xd
He is talking from an American perspective ,.. he already said in other country's they get pad more at MacDonalds .
A lot of that managerial skill he learnt at McD will transfer across to other companies, especially the health and safety training.
@@lordkabal2010 hmm seems like there will be less need with electric cars, far less moving or complex parts, more likely to need a software engineer.
I mean the UK is crap with parental leave. But compared to the USA even we come out on top 😂😭🤦♀️
When i talked about german healthcare my american counterpart he just said: "Could you adopt me?" I like brief and comprehensive comments.
There's a distinct difference between being the "Greatest nation" vs the "most powerful nation". America is powerful, but far, FAR grom great. The Mcdonald's scenario is a prime example. Same for Amazon warehouse workers.
Up until October 2018, the warehouse employees started at $12/hr for a job where they mainly stood in one place for 10-12 hours a day, were given only 30 minutes for lunch, and had their time EXTREMELY micromanaged to the point that even the time you had to go to the restroom was forced to be accounted for and held against you. In 2018, they increased it from $12/hr to $15/hr, which is STILL not enough to survive on without having a second job....which most Amazon warehouse workers did. Yet Amazon STILL feels like they did them a favor and that they should be the ONLY company their employees work for. Paying employees the bare minimum when they make BILLIONS in profit every year is just an absolute slap in the face.
Or a firm kick to Jeff’s Balls.
In Denmark we're discussing if the full time week should be 32 hour.
It's also mandatory for the father to stay at home for the first two weeks with the mother, with pay. And after about nine months the family can decide if the mother or father stays at home with pay.
It should. 40 hours plus is slavery but Ofcourse that’s only if you pay your employees a livable wage. NONE of this is anything the us caters to. Sadly.
@@TheRealVivia, it's not unheard-of that you have a 32 hour workweek, but then you get a smaller paycheck. The down sizing of the full week to 32, or perhaps 35 hrs would only be doable if the pay stays the same per month and then rice per hour.
@@TheRealVivia the idea 40 plus hours is slavery is rediculous.
My brother works 50 on a good week, and in return he has financial stability, a savings account and has bought property.
If you are awake for 16 hours or so per every 24 hour period(leaving 8 hours of sleep) you have 112 hours of being awake a week. You spend 50 hours, you still have 62 hours!
That's hardly slavery, that's called being a responsible person who is willing to do what he needs to.
He still has a good social life, a good family relationship, and still has the time to do whatever other things he wants to do(oftentimes video games).
You do realize working from sunset to sundown with regular breaks and taking Sunday(maybe Saturday) off has been normal for 100s of years right?
@@oswaldrabbit1409 except that’s bot the norm these days, most people don’t have any time off and are making a shitty wage working those 40-50 hours anyways. Most people are responsible but it does not make up for the failings of this society. It’s really madness. There is no time for family, let alone friends when you can be fired for taking a day off for being sick or you have to choose between paying rent or having food the next week.
You know one time I was traveling to the US and the immigration officer was grilling me about my reasons to enter. He believed that I wanted to stay illegally to work. I probably pissed him off when I told him that I would be crazy to want to stay there and work when I'm Swiss and can actually live off one job VERY comfortably. Like, my good sir, you would have to kidnap me in order for me to stay here and live like a slave.
I had a similar reaction from an immigration officer in Florida. No I was not delighted to have to reorganise my life to come here!
The figures in the documentary you were watching doesn’t surprise me, as I used to work for a US HQ company in the U.K., and I used to be able to talk to my US colleagues, so I slightly understand holiday, pension, health entitlements. Unfortunately the spread of precarious jobs has filtered through to the U.K. with the “Gig” economy and zero hours contracts, these abuses of the labour market need to be ended. Costs are being driven to the taxpayer from corporations ( who also generally have an appalling record for not paying tax by any means possible). These costs manifest themselves in poor health outcomes ( falls on the taxpayer) , reliance on welfare ( falls on the taxpayer), inadequate time for childcare ( eventually falls on the taxpayer), in other words profits are privatised, costs are socialised. No doubt in the USA I would be considered a “ socialist “, for these views, I am far from it, I pay tax at the highest rate in the U.K., but what I do believe is that everyone should be given fair pay for fair work, and the practices in the video in the USA are far from it. So what are citizens in the USA going to do about it? Remember most politicians are beholden to corporate donations so change is unlikely until that particular boil is lanced.
I agree it is a concern that those precarious jobs are growing in the UK as well. I did not realise how bad it was until the pandemic and I was hearing (I mean via people I know not just rumours) of people in certain jobs ill with Covid being forced to come into work (& spread the virus) or lose their jobs, it felt like something from these videos about America.
Yeah. The zero hour contract and the company mindset it came with is one the worst things that happened to UK employment stability.
The same here in the Netherlands regarding the rise of zero hour contracts and the gig economy. Although announced today on the news: employee organizations and unions agree that they want to get rid of those.
There are a handful of cases where zero hours contracts are ok (e.g. casual work), but they are severely abused at the moment.
"In America, you're on your own. America is not a country; it's just a business, Now pay me " A line from the end of the movie "killing them softly"
@Rita Roork How is your gun doing? Have you fed it a cup of murican freedom yet?
For vacation, I don't even know anyone right now who would want to go to the US. Personally I go to Europe.
You can still want to see the nature and cities in the states.
@3:00 I would never say MacDonalds employees are lazy. They're working for starters and are on their feet all the time.
I agree. Standing for hours at a time in a high-pressure, fast-paced situation on a dirty concrete floor? Dealing with abusive people who throw drinks at you for forgetting napkins in their bag? And all this on top of shit wages? They're far from lazy.
How parents get paid parental leave in my country:
- mother about 4 months (often starts before birth)
- father gets 9 weeks.
- Shared parental leave ~6 months to split or have one take all
- Stay at home parent gets paid ~400 usd per month by the government if you have children under 3 years, if you have more than one child the amount increases
... Wow ... I think I spent almost that entire video with my mouth open .... genuinely speechless
If you equate the Earth to the whole of the Star trek Universe then The USA would be the Ferengi.
Too many Quarks. And not enuff Roms.
And our rulers only obey the rules of acquisition.
???
The creators of the Ferengi were asked about their inspiration for the species (I think there were concerns about anti-Semitism?) and said that they'd based them on modern America haha
I guess that depends on what's the most comparable element to someone.
For me personally, America is more like the Klingons, going to war with anyone they don't like, occupying and plundering planets, murdering millions in the process.
In Estonia, father can take "newborn child vacation", I believe, it's common in Europe.
Wow. It is the first time an American seems to question his "great " country. I am impressed how little Americans tend to look at the rest of the world. They are so self center !
The USA is the greatest country on earth for the top 1% of the population the rest are flimflammed with the dream a flag & a song !
Yes. I've often said that - should I ever be silly rich, I'd move to America. Other than that, in the real world, no thanks! I've turned down job offers in the States; I worked in America (for British concerns) for around 10yrs in a very specialist field. The job offers appeared lucrative, but the [unwritten] small print was enough to keep me from temptation.
@Rita Roork pmsl found you again hahaha what a shame your still trolling along but you do you 😊😅
@Rita Roork Your 'Greatest Country' has the worst Health care system in the OECD, Its workers are not entitled to paid holidays (by law) there are no provisions for maternity leave (by law), Your Min Wage has not risen for over a decade, Your infrastructure is falling apart, Your society is racist & laws are used to perpetuate systemic racism. Currently new voting laws are being enacted to destroy your democracy & reduce the right to vote for those of color or if your poor, Your social safety nets are abysmal ask the current 500,000 homeless (including children). The top 1% of your population has got 3 TRILLION dollars richer about the same amount as those at the bottom lost. But your right you do have the strongest military !
Oh yes in a country which was FOUNDED by IMMIGRANTS it seems odd that you applaud strict immigration laws.
@Rita Roork You are insane, Rita. Did you watch this video?
Yeah it’s illegal to not offer a pension in the U.K. and I believe a lot of Western Europe
The EU requires minimum standards for social insurance as health insurance, retirement, accident insurance. The wise may differ, but it has to be done.
I think so to. I remember even building up pension when I worked my student job.
I appreciate that you are open to learning new stuff and are able to challenge your perceptions. Kudos to you Sir
I'm glad you watched this eye-opening video, I met a lot of American tourists when I was working in hotel and when they are asking questions about holidays/maternity leave/sick pay etc they were surprised. The embarrassing moments were usually when they were asking which countries we were from....
"Americans" are all people who live in the American Continent, not just in the united states
Correction on Denmark when it comes to paid vacation days, Danes have at least 35 days a year paid, and they are usually paid on top of the vages in one way or another depending on your contract, so that example of 22$/h at MC in Denmark, would be plus additionally 12,5% of that pay as paid vacation earnings. Full work week in Denmark is 37 hours or in some cases 40 hours if your on some contracts, but your compensated extra for the last 3 hours on top of the 37 hours. Parental leave in Denmark is a bit complicated, Time is split between parents, but it's still 52 weeks at least full paid.
Fixing the American system? Good question, maybe if your voting system was not completely messed up so everyone would have a voice could fix a lot of issues. But then again looks like Americans prefer to live on a big lie or allow it to be a foundation for voting laws that worse then the outdated system you already got. And ban lobbyists from existence in politics.
I love seeing Americans react to Second Thoughts videos on how very behind the US is.
The problem is that the US is far too arrogant to change and with the cold war propaganda still stuck in the minds of americans even suggesting things like Universal healthcare or better pay is "Communism"
In the UK companies often pay double time plus a day off if you work on a bank holiday.
Some may well do, but not all - I don't get any extra enhancements for working a bank holiday
In the NHS, I get a day in lieu if I am on call on a bank holiday - even if nobody actually calls me!
I was working as a bus driver in public transport and if working on public holiday you were paid time and a half for hours worked plus a normal days pay. If working a Saturday it was time and a half for hours worked and double time for Sundays. I retired last year and the hourly rate was about $32 and hour
Actually there are countrys that also give paid weeks for fathers. As an european this doesn't seem unimagenable. Basically your face when you thought about a father getting those paid days off says it all...
The EU decided in 2019 all European citizens who became father should have a minimum of 2 months of paid parental leave and 2 months unpaid. Once again it is a European law so it is a minimum not a maximum.
At a trade fair a few years ago , I caught up with several of my American colleagues and we discussed this over dinner. They were genuinely surprised that their sister companies in Europe and in Asia had such different terms to their contracts compared to theirs. Vacation days, maternity leave. They countered with how they paid lower taxes, however argument was diluted when you included the greater benefits that we received in return for our tax. Health Care, social security, subsidized college education.child care etc.
It was an intresting evening exchanging our own experiences working in the same roles in sister companies comparing the positives and negatives. Overall I was a bit surprised by their assumption that the rest of the world had the same working practice as theirs and they in turn had no idea that we had a more balanced work/life balance than they did
"Don't have a skill but work there", that attitude is the problem.
In the uk I had 2 paid weeks off for my son and 3 months for my daughter as she was born blind and was given extra paid leave as compassionate leave due to hospital appointments and she had her operations, and still had my 31 days paid leave not including bank holidays for a entry level job
Is there a national minimum for us in the UK on parental leave? I got much more than you and that was four decades ago when it depended on your job.
@@jennil7797 my job at the time did the minimum allowed by law on leave
Always judge a society by the way it treats its weakest members.
this
What I don't understand is why yanks don't have free at the point of use, funded by taxes, health care.
Also americans don't have good wages nice holiday or sick pay. you guys legally have access to guns why aren't you rioting on the streets for rights you currently don't have. I'm mystified.
But usa has great landscapes beautiful scenery. Also love american music, movies and tech
The big health insurance companies and others, have spent decades and hundreds of millions in dollars keeping universal health care out of America. Having a UK style health service will mean the big companies would lose billions of dollars and for companies that are all about how much money they make that's a BIG no. Many Insurance companies employ people just to find an excuse to not pay out for the cost of a person healthcare and the people they employ get bonuses based on how many times they stop paying for someone's health care
@@Westcountrynordic thanks good reply what a sad reality 😢
@@robertcreighton4635 I have some people who are like family to me who live near St Louis, they have any medical check ups and things that need done at the BUPA hospital near me when they visit as its cheaper
Because they are educated to believe that poverty, abuse and being worked to death are "freedom". As long as they waste time in schools worshipping a flag and being taught nonsense, they will never look for their basic human rights.
@@helenwood8482 I agree. Is paying for Police and Firefighters out of taxes a socialist idea too?
In Lithuania new moms get 18 weeks, new dads 4 weeks. Then after the 18 weeks they get a further 3years to divide between the two of them
Also, in most european countries and probably even more of other non european countries, the father can also get fully paid parental leave, but it is most common, that fathers share it 50/50 with the mother, so that both parents get to see their child in its first years.
Number one fix, make it illegal to bribe your politicians, no political donations, once you cut off the money spigot maybe the politicians will work for the people...
The problem with that is the people being bribed are the exact same people who make the laws. They aren't going to stop something that benefits them
Check Education. My family moved to Australia for a few years and because I was American, I had to repeat my grade! That was because as an educated American it wasn’t good enough. Really was a bummer!
When I came back stateside, I was a straight A student and on the honor role!
Honour roll (NOT "role")? That year or so in Australia nust have helped!
@@Rottnwoman 'must; not nust; lol
... it's even more disturbing if you consider people from other countries including rwanda and tanzania come to australia, send their kids to school, and keep asking when the kids are gonna start learning because australian education isn't so high.. they only start teaching in high school O.o
@@Rottnwoman Thank you for the spelling check! 😃 Sadly sometimes I have issues when typing late at night and not proofreading! Lol 😂🤣😅 Cheers.
In some states education starts later depending on what part of the year you were born. Wonder if it had something to do with that.
Dads get paid to stay home with their kids in Norway.
On the subject of paid parental leave:
I'm Norwegian, and the 58 weeks are for both parents to share between them, with 12 weeks dedicated for each parent, and with 80% pay. I had six months leave for each of my two kids.
And on paid vacation: we have five weeks each year, plus an additional week if you're over 60 years old. And yes, that's also if you're a part time employee.
In a lot of counties the father gets paid parental leave too,
Usually just 50% or less timd than the mother.
In Spain, it's 16 weeks of paid leave when you have a kid. Both for mother and father. The father thing is very recent, it used to be much less, but it's important to remove the stereotype that the mother has to be the primary caretaker.
My whole life I’ve earned below average wage. On a single wage I own a 4 bedroom house on 1/4 acre 3 blocks from the beach, 20kms from the city centre.
I’m lucky to have been born in Australia.
p.s. I don’t struggle to pay the bills.
Me too, I am high school educated, single person, never (in 40 years working) made it above poverty level. But I have a big old farmhouse on 8.5 acres, no mortgage, no debt, and am only working 30 to 40 hours a month.
In America. Yes, it is possible to get along on one minimum wage salary, in rural areas, and if you are willing to do without things like a new car, expensive iPhone, cable bill, eating out, and on and on. I live basically like people did several generations ago, by my own choice.
Wow. Bet you purchased it a while back. Couldn't do that in Australia ATM. Good for you 😊
@@susigriinke1242 25 years ago for $10K. It was an old 1902 farmhouse with no insulation, no central heat, very old wiring system, no indoor plumbing, but I managed to buy it for cash (and then had NO cash left!) and lived there for three years before I managed to get a furnace installed, seven years before getting the water system and electrical system upgraded.
I had lots of people ask me how it was possible to live without indoor plumbing, and I always responded that people lived that way for all of history up until the 1930's or 1940's (longer than that in rural areas), and somehow humanity survived. Most people either don't want to work that hard, or aren't willing to make any sacrifices to get what they want.
I always looked at it as an adventure, and a chance to see what my ancestors really lived like. It's truly not as difficult as it sounds. And unlike my ancestors, I can run in to town and pick up groceries, I don't need to slave all summer over a garden and then spend hours canning and preserving (though I do some of that) to try and supply enough food for over the winter.
I feel for the american citizens. Being enslaved into working their asses off and not being protected. I wouldn't accept this system even for twice what I'm currently paid. The maths would not add up in my life.
"Americans" are all people who live in the American Continent, not just in the united states
I am a teacher in Spain. I have two months of paid vacations in summer and two weeks at Christmas ... we have a free public health system also free public education ... Spain is not a socialist country ... it is a social democracy ... that is, a capitalist country that cares about the well-being of its citizens and their basic rights ... and that same philosophy is common in many European countries ...
In the UK we can 'share' paid parental leave. With ours I had the first 6 months fully paid, then my husband had the next 3 months off at full pay, then I had the last 3 months unpaid. It was absolutely fantastic - my husband still talks about how much he enjoyed that time (it was over Christmas too). Most men in the UK only seem to take their 2 weeks paid paternity leave though.
Just out of interest, how did you manage that? Was it your companies? Standard parental leave is 80% pay for 6 weeks then £157-ish a week for 33 weeks (all approximates!), with the rest (up to a year) unpaid. Did you have employers with a good scheme?
In the UK (and I assume other countries) if for example you take a two week paid holiday, and are sick for a week of it, you can claim that week back towards your allowance.
In my country, that is Lithuania, it is a new thing but we already have paid parental leaves for fathers, and even for grandparents if parents want to work or there is only one parent in a family, so yeah in that aspect we are very blessed
In Canada, Men and Women can take parental leave with pay. It can range from 15 weeks to 40 weeks depending on need.
No paid time off. Yet you also have to pay for the medical bills for having a baby.
@Rita Roork forgetting the addendum,"if they can afford it". If they can't,what happens then?
I hear at home natural birth is a thing, you don't have to incur medical expenses.
@@fuzzlenutberry I hear that infant and maternal deaths or long term disabilities (for baby or mom) are also a thing. In about 40% of births in societies with no medical systems.
@@lucymitchell3045 We don't live in a society without a medical system, most people in our current society do extensive research and have an emergency plan in place. You have a narrow view.
the us economy out here preaching abstinence, even after marriage X'D
Here in Australia I was forbidden to return to work after the birth of my child for 6 weeks - even if that birth was a still birth! And yes, that 6 weeks was fully paid. I also accrued 20 days annual leave (vacation) and up to 21 days sick leave annually, all of which could be taken as it accrued pro-rata after the first 3 months.
If my child was sick and needed me home to look after him/her I could present a certificate from his/her doctor to claim pay from my sick leave to look after him/her - as could the child's father (who could also claim parental leave for a week, fully paid).
Our government takes care of our health care from a 1.5% surcharge on our income tax. If we choose to take on insurance like yours we can claim the 1.5% surcharge back on our tax return.
Part time workers have exactly the same "benefits", only Casual workers miss out - BUT they get paid an extra 25% per hour to forgo those benefits.
It is illegal for employers to refuse to pay these things and illegal to pay less than the minimum wage, they can be, and are, taken to court for refusing such.
As "Trude" says: not "Benefits", "rights".
I am horrified at the maternity leave situation over there!! That is so sad that mothers might have to rush back to work and trust their new precious bundle with a childcare provider! I feel so lucky that I made the choices I made when I had my children. It is disgusting that they can treat a new mother this way! Sorry for you guys! We get paid leave and bosses are super understanding aswell! Do Better, Be Kinder and make yourselves proud! x
I had my baby in the 80s. I was married but split up with the baby’s father at the time. I had to look for another job at five months pregnant because my company went out of business.
The restrooms had a key. Some of the men at the workplace thought they were funny to hide the key, so sometimes I had to use the men’s room in desperation.
I worked until one week before my due date. I went back two weeks after the birth because i had bills to pay. I got zero pay for my time “off” to have my baby.
It didn’t get any better for me for a long time after that. The US is a horrible place to live and work, I’m sorry to say.
Work is a big part of our lives. Where work is so often exploitative and inhumane, life can’t be very good either. Things are better today but I’ve had to go through things that no one should ever have to go through. And that’s not fair!
@@ritacampbell3833 in Finland you would not have been forced to work one week before giving birth and two weeks after giving birth! Instead you would have started maternity leave latest one month before due date, earlier even depending your job duties and how problem free pregnancy you had. And after baby is born no-one expects new mother back to work just two weeks later... she is in home with her little one, and her work place waits for her, unless company falls down during maternity leave.
That thing in USA is inhumane and wrong to all.