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I make a lot more than 100K, I have unlimited vacation, unlimited sick leave. Only 12 weeks of FMLA, so there's that. And healthcare isn't free anywhere in th

I make a lot more than 100K, I have unlimited vacation, unlimited sick leave. Only 12 weeks of FMLA, so there's that. And healthcare isn't free anywhere in the world, just financed differently. I pay for my insurance from my paycheck, but the paycheck is so much larger that it works out fine. My deductible is zero, out-of-pocket maximum is zero, so it's not effectively much different than 'free' healthcare. I am well aware of how much Europeans hate America. It's readily apparent on HN.

gambiting 6y ago
>>I make a lot more than 100K That's all well and good, but most Americans don't and therefore they cannot afford the same social benefits that nearly all EU citizens just have as standard. Yes, I am aware that you can live an extremely good life in America if you're rich. Most people aren't rich though. >>My deductible is zero, out-of-pocket maximum is zero, so it's not effectively much different than 'free' healthcare. And what is your insurance like if you get fired tomorrow? >>unlimited sick leave. Unlimited paid sick leave? >>I am well aware of how much Europeans hate America. I don't hate America, I would love to come over and visit, you guys have beautiful national parks. There's just zero chance I would ever agree to come and live there.
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  > Unlimited paid sick leave? Yep. And unlimited paid vacation, too.
  - dagw 6y ago
    So if you said "I'm taking Jan-March off to go skiing" you just get to go chill in the alps for 3 month with full pay? Where are you working? Are they hiring?
    - omgwtfbbq 6y ago
      Unlimited vacation as a perk at US tech companies and startups in particular is a total illusion. I'm sure they never use 4 weeks a year that most Europeans are legally entitled to and if they tried would probably find that it is not nearly as "unlimited" as advertised.
      - gambiting 6y ago
        I don't know why you're getting downvoted, it's exactly true. In EU if you have 28 days of paid leave, the company has to give you that time off, no exceptions. In US companies with "unlimited" vacation time it's not really unlimited because most places would really not like if you took 28 days off a year(and promptly exercise their right to at will employment) and a lot of companies would say ok, you can have unlimited leave but you have to be on call. In Germany it's literally illegal for employees to bother employees while they are on holiday.
michaelmrose 6y ago
If a lot more than 100k is 150k you make more than 92% of Americans. At 180k it's more than 95% of Americans. We are all really happy for you but most people aren't in the same boat comparing Europe and America based on how well it works out for the wealthy doesn't seem useful.
- teachingassist 6y ago
  Also - if you have the power to demand that much payment, you have the power to negotiate a contract which protects you. At-will employment doesn't apply here.
michaelmrose 6y ago
>I am well aware of how much Europeans hate America. It's readily apparent on HN. There's a lot to dislike about how we have comported ourselves over the last 400 years and how we treat our people. If you reduce this to an irrational emotional hatred you do people a disservice. For myself I only call myself an American for lack of better options.
dang 6y ago
Please do not post nationalistic flamewar comments or other flamewar comments to HN. Your comment would have been fine without the last paragraph. Btw, people's generalized ideas of the community are hopelessly dominated by cognitive bias: the bad (what you dislike) stands out more than the good (what you like), so you are far more likely to notice it and weight it more heavily. Everyone is subject to this bias, and nearly every dataless generalization people make about HN is an expression of it. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20notice%20dislike&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

gambiting 6y ago

>>I make a lot more than 100K That's all well and good, but most Americans don't and therefore they cannot afford the same social benefits that nearly all EU citizens just have as standard. Yes, I am aware that you can live an extremely good life in America if you're rich. Most people aren't rich though. >>My deductible is zero, out-of-pocket maximum is zero, so it's not effectively much different than 'free' healthcare. And what is your insurance like if you get fired tomorrow? >>unlimited sick leave. Unlimited paid sick leave? >>I am well aware of how much Europeans hate America. I don't hate America, I would love to come over and visit, you guys have beautiful national parks. There's just zero chance I would ever agree to come and live there.

rootusrootus 6y ago
> Unlimited paid sick leave? Yep. And unlimited paid vacation, too.
- dagw 6y ago
  So if you said "I'm taking Jan-March off to go skiing" you just get to go chill in the alps for 3 month with full pay? Where are you working? Are they hiring?
  - omgwtfbbq 6y ago
    Unlimited vacation as a perk at US tech companies and startups in particular is a total illusion. I'm sure they never use 4 weeks a year that most Europeans are legally entitled to and if they tried would probably find that it is not nearly as "unlimited" as advertised.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      I don't know why you're getting downvoted, it's exactly true. In EU if you have 28 days of paid leave, the company has to give you that time off, no exceptions. In US companies with "unlimited" vacation time it's not really unlimited because most places would really not like if you took 28 days off a year(and promptly exercise their right to at will employment) and a lot of companies would say ok, you can have unlimited leave but you have to be on call. In Germany it's literally illegal for employees to bother employees while they are on holiday.

michaelmrose 6y ago

If a lot more than 100k is 150k you make more than 92% of Americans. At 180k it's more than 95% of Americans. We are all really happy for you but most people aren't in the same boat comparing Europe and America based on how well it works out for the wealthy doesn't seem useful.

teachingassist 6y ago
Also - if you have the power to demand that much payment, you have the power to negotiate a contract which protects you. At-will employment doesn't apply here.

michaelmrose 6y ago

>I am well aware of how much Europeans hate America. It's readily apparent on HN. There's a lot to dislike about how we have comported ourselves over the last 400 years and how we treat our people. If you reduce this to an irrational emotional hatred you do people a disservice. For myself I only call myself an American for lack of better options.

dang 6y ago

Please do not post nationalistic flamewar comments or other flamewar comments to HN. Your comment would have been fine without the last paragraph. Btw, people's generalized ideas of the community are hopelessly dominated by cognitive bias: the bad (what you dislike) stands out more than the good (what you like), so you are far more likely to notice it and weight it more heavily. Everyone is subject to this bias, and nearly every dataless generalization people make about HN is an expression of it. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20notice%20dislike&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...