8 ms·

wonder what the pay difference is

by bloqs 1y ago

HenryBemis 1y ago
Wait till someone gets a serious disease (as it happens in many families) and lose their home, car, and their shirt because US healthcare is ....(crickets). Also, imagine a woman having a baby and going back to work on Monday, and having to pay a full salary for care.. insane right?? Who needs babies. But sure, salary difference..
- lmz 1y ago
  They're working remote from the US so not sure how your first point is relevant.
  - HenryBemis 1y ago
    [flagged]
- elmerfud 1y ago
  I'm not saying that all US companies offer decent healthcare options, but that's often because employees don't value that as a negotiation point. I did, and my son was in a horrible car crash and died after many days in ICU and many surgeries. My out of pocket cost was a few thousand to hit the max. Because I cared about healthcare coverage instead of a slightly higher salary. People often forget that freedom of choice in the marketplace is freedom to allow some people to make dumb choices or bad choices. Often times when I hear people complaining about the lack of health care in the US It's because they prioritize short-term gains over budgeting for health care. They're gambling with their health, most people win but some people lose and they lose hard. They're hindsight isn't that they teach people that they should get health care and prioritize that in their budget. Rather they talk about socializing the costs because their irresponsibility somehow a burden to every other responsible person in society.
  - amanaplanacanal 1y ago
    This is a pretty privileged take. There are a lot of people who are never going to find a job with an expensive employer provided health plan.
    - alex43578 1y ago
      So doesn't that then leave Medicare/Medicaid/ACA Exchange plans with their significant subsidies? To anchor the ACA discussion, a calculator is showing someone making $26K at McDonald's would be paying $23 a month in premiums after subsidies (about 1% of their household income). They'll have copays, sure, but there is an OOP max; and while $23 a month isn't nothing at that income level, it's an important part of the budget IMO.
      - elmerfud 1y ago
        Yes, this is very true. I do think part of the problem is people aren't taught about this and adding it in to their budget. It's not nothing, but even for low wage earners it's the cost of a few energy drinks or maybe forgoing the newest iPhone/Samsung.
      - tzs 1y ago
        The "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB) is changing some of that. It will be $23 a month after their application of the tax credits is approved. Currently you get the credits immediately and if it turns out they are too high or too low that is taken care of next year when you do your taxes. With the change in the OBBB you will have to pay the full amount while the application for tax credits is being verified. Also currently if you are happy with your current plan you don't have to do anything to reenroll for the next year. The marketplace can automatically enroll you in the same plan next year (or an equivalent one if your insurance company has changed their offerings). The marketplace can automatically get your tax information and handle getting you set up for the tax credits for the next year. The OBBB is changing that so that every year you have to reapply for the tax credit, and so potentially each year you might have to pay the full amount while that is being verified. The net result of the OBBB will be about 1/3 of the people currently on ACA not being able to remain on it [1]. [1] https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-06-05-fact-sheet-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-would-significantly-reduce-availability-coverage-health-insurance https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-06-05-fact-sheet-one-bi...
sokoloff 1y ago
She works in people ops, where I’d expect the US pay premium to be low or non-existent, at least as compared to tech.
poisonborz 1y ago
The whole point is that this doesn't matter, it's a much less important factor than US employees would assume.
jeroenhd 1y ago
Michigan's average salary is a it below Austria's average salary. Not having American costs covered (healthcare etc) may change the salary impact a little. It's hard to tell without knowing what she does exactly, but as a white collar worker for a tech company she'll probably be earning similar to other white collar workers in Michigan. You won't be able to enjoy the same comfort working for a Bulgarian company in Silicon Valley, but this seems like a rather balanced pick.
ghusto 1y ago
When you find out, don't forget to factor in everything else she gets. The things your higher salary gets you can be had _right this instant_ if you took a different job with a (potentially) lower salary. Money doesn't make you feel good, the things money can _get_ you makes you feel good, and they are often free!
onel 1y ago
Not everything in life is about money

wonder what the pay difference is

by bloqs 1y ago

wonder what the pay difference is

Wait till someone gets a serious disease (as it happens in many families) and lose their home, car, and their shirt because US healthcare is ....(crickets). Also, imagine a woman having a baby and going back to work on Monday, and having to pay a full salary for care.. insane right?? Who needs babies. But sure, salary difference..

lmz 1y ago
They're working remote from the US so not sure how your first point is relevant.
- HenryBemis 1y ago
  [flagged]
elmerfud 1y ago
I'm not saying that all US companies offer decent healthcare options, but that's often because employees don't value that as a negotiation point. I did, and my son was in a horrible car crash and died after many days in ICU and many surgeries. My out of pocket cost was a few thousand to hit the max. Because I cared about healthcare coverage instead of a slightly higher salary. People often forget that freedom of choice in the marketplace is freedom to allow some people to make dumb choices or bad choices. Often times when I hear people complaining about the lack of health care in the US It's because they prioritize short-term gains over budgeting for health care. They're gambling with their health, most people win but some people lose and they lose hard. They're hindsight isn't that they teach people that they should get health care and prioritize that in their budget. Rather they talk about socializing the costs because their irresponsibility somehow a burden to every other responsible person in society.
- amanaplanacanal 1y ago
  This is a pretty privileged take. There are a lot of people who are never going to find a job with an expensive employer provided health plan.
  - alex43578 1y ago
    So doesn't that then leave Medicare/Medicaid/ACA Exchange plans with their significant subsidies? To anchor the ACA discussion, a calculator is showing someone making $26K at McDonald's would be paying $23 a month in premiums after subsidies (about 1% of their household income). They'll have copays, sure, but there is an OOP max; and while $23 a month isn't nothing at that income level, it's an important part of the budget IMO.
    - elmerfud 1y ago
      Yes, this is very true. I do think part of the problem is people aren't taught about this and adding it in to their budget. It's not nothing, but even for low wage earners it's the cost of a few energy drinks or maybe forgoing the newest iPhone/Samsung.
    - tzs 1y ago
      The "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB) is changing some of that. It will be $23 a month after their application of the tax credits is approved. Currently you get the credits immediately and if it turns out they are too high or too low that is taken care of next year when you do your taxes. With the change in the OBBB you will have to pay the full amount while the application for tax credits is being verified. Also currently if you are happy with your current plan you don't have to do anything to reenroll for the next year. The marketplace can automatically enroll you in the same plan next year (or an equivalent one if your insurance company has changed their offerings). The marketplace can automatically get your tax information and handle getting you set up for the tax credits for the next year. The OBBB is changing that so that every year you have to reapply for the tax credit, and so potentially each year you might have to pay the full amount while that is being verified. The net result of the OBBB will be about 1/3 of the people currently on ACA not being able to remain on it [1]. [1] https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-06-05-fact-sheet-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-would-significantly-reduce-availability-coverage-health-insurance https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-06-05-fact-sheet-one-bi...

sokoloff 1y ago

She works in people ops, where I’d expect the US pay premium to be low or non-existent, at least as compared to tech.

poisonborz 1y ago

The whole point is that this doesn't matter, it's a much less important factor than US employees would assume.

jeroenhd 1y ago

Michigan's average salary is a it below Austria's average salary. Not having American costs covered (healthcare etc) may change the salary impact a little. It's hard to tell without knowing what she does exactly, but as a white collar worker for a tech company she'll probably be earning similar to other white collar workers in Michigan. You won't be able to enjoy the same comfort working for a Bulgarian company in Silicon Valley, but this seems like a rather balanced pick.

ghusto 1y ago

When you find out, don't forget to factor in everything else she gets. The things your higher salary gets you can be had _right this instant_ if you took a different job with a (potentially) lower salary. Money doesn't make you feel good, the things money can _get_ you makes you feel good, and they are often free!

onel 1y ago

Not everything in life is about money