Work + Money
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Cubicle Coach: Vacation time... want more?
Vive La Difference
Dear CC: I just learned that everyone in Europe
gets six weeks off and full health benefits. I’ve been in my job
five years and still get two weeks and have to pitch in for
insurance. Why do Euros have it so good?
They also eat salad for dessert. Wouldn’t you rather have a
Snickers? Don’t even think about comparing your lot to some
mademoiselle’s in Marseilles. They have guaranteed jobs for life,
lovers on the side, and they never get fat. We have chronic
indigestion, 10,000-person downsizings to please Wall Street, and
nobody’s getting laid enough. But we’re Americans, damn it, and
we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Posted by Cubicle
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Related: work, vacation time, time off, profession, job, europe, career
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Posted by genefwill Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:57am PDT
That is the stupidest answer to that question.
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Posted by tvshrine Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:22pm PDT
they also take 2 hour lunches, most everything, even the grocery stores close at noon for the lunch break.
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Posted by daytripper Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:56pm PDT
...that was an answer?
Yeah, usually CC prefaces the answer with humor and sarcasm ...only you forgot the answer this time.
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Posted by Marie Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:37am PDT
in reality... the french pay over 22% of thier paychecks for social services like health care and social security plus income tax... they are paying for their own health insurance which was a 70:30 plan when I lived there in the 90's. So the burden is on the employee to pay for health insurance for themselves as a payroll deduction.
americans think someone owes them health insurance... all the benefits in europe are paid for by the worker who pays much higher taxes than we do...
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Posted by Lucky Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:44am PDT
I live in Belgium and the largest (nearly 60%) part of my salary is for social security and health care.
If you have the chance to have a job, the american system is much more interesting because you pay for your own social security and health care. You don't have to pay for the others...
With the Belgian system, many people don't work because it's sometimes more interesting than working and paying so much taxes.
But if you don't have a job, you'd better live in Belgium than in the US.
Nothing is perfect.
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