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Yeah, generally speaking the US does not incentivize its citizens to have kids. Any other first-world country will at least give you free healthcare and materni

Yeah, generally speaking the US does not incentivize its citizens to have kids. Any other first-world country will at least give you free healthcare and maternity leave. Some give paternity leave and let you work fewer hours (for proportionally-less pay) if you are a parent. So if I have a child in the Netherlands, it costs me nothing (doctor checkups, delivery in the hospital, vaccinations, etc.), I get free PTO, and I get to go to a 4 or 3-day workweek. If I have a child in the US, I have to pay my deductible/coinsurance on medical costs, probably still ends up being several grand at least, get no paid time off and will be lucky to get unpaid time off for more than a week or two, still have to choose between 40 hours/week working or unemployment/self-employment, and I get to wonder if my child will come home from school every day. Oh, and I get to make a 401k withdrawal to put them through college unless they are top of their class or really good at sports… Why the fuck would I raise a child in the US?

notch898a 4y ago
This is such a contentious topic in the US that my post was flagged for merely pointing out this kind of problem. The attitude is basically once you have the kid, get fucked and pay and then we'll tax the hell out of the kid thank you very much for your investment. It's incredibly easy to be "selfless" when the other guy is making the lions share of the investment and you still get your full share of social security receipts.
- gymbeaux 4y ago
  I haven't been here for very long, but it seems like a place that tries to be "better than reddit", and I do think in general the quality of the comments and discussions are higher, it's not just low-effort "you're wrong and you suck" stuff, but actual rhetoric. I like it, but as you've seen, some people will still be petty and do things like report comments they don't agree with. It's easier to ignore the comment and move on than to downvote it or report it. This is a website. Who the hell cares.

notch898a 4y ago

This is such a contentious topic in the US that my post was flagged for merely pointing out this kind of problem. The attitude is basically once you have the kid, get fucked and pay and then we'll tax the hell out of the kid thank you very much for your investment. It's incredibly easy to be "selfless" when the other guy is making the lions share of the investment and you still get your full share of social security receipts.

gymbeaux 4y ago
I haven't been here for very long, but it seems like a place that tries to be "better than reddit", and I do think in general the quality of the comments and discussions are higher, it's not just low-effort "you're wrong and you suck" stuff, but actual rhetoric. I like it, but as you've seen, some people will still be petty and do things like report comments they don't agree with. It's easier to ignore the comment and move on than to downvote it or report it. This is a website. Who the hell cares.