6 ms·

Wow, thats like almost what everyone is entitled to in most industrialized countries! What a great company to work for!

by fleitz 12y ago

argonaut 12y ago
Let's be a little careful here. "<X> should do <Y> because most <Z>'s do <Y>" (or some variation thereof) is an incredibly poor argument to make. Most industrialized nations have stronger restrictions on free speech than America, for example.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  > Most industrialized nations have stronger restrictions on free speech than America, for example. Yet, most have a higher quality of life. France (for example) works the fewest hours per week, yet the highest GDP per capita (EDIT: added hour) hour. They get 5 weeks minimum for vacation per year, plus 22 days more if you choose to work more than 35 hours per week! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_employment_leave_by_country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_emplo... "Think about it. Nationmaster ranks France as #18 in terms of GDP per capita, at $36,500 per person, yet France works much less than most developed nations. They achieve their high standard of living while working 16% less hours than the average world citizen, and almost 25% than their Asian peers as per UBS. Plus, if you visit France you'll also realize that their actual standard of living is probably much higher than GDP numbers would indicate. Thus, if one were to divide France's GDP per capita by actual hours worked, you'd probably find that the French are achieving some of the highest returns on work-hours invested. Labor Alpha, if you will. We can actually calculate this Labor Alpha using statistics from Nation Master. France has $36,500 GDP/Capita and works 1,453 hours per year. This equates to a GDP/Capita/Hour of $25.10. Americans, on the other hand, have $44,150 GDP/Capita but work 1,792 hours per year. Thus Americans only achieve $24.60 of GDP/Capita/Hour. This puts the French Labor Alpha at about $0.50 GDP/Capita/Hour over the US. It may sound small at first, but add that up across millions of people, and a few decades. Now you've built a lesson for the rest of the world to learn." http://www.businessinsider.com/are-the-french-the-most-productive-people-in-the-world-2009-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/are-the-french-the-most-produ...
  - x0x0 12y ago
    One could only dream, though of course, that requires you to get a job in france; they have their own unemployment problems and a quoted 10% unemployment rate [1]. I'm sure it's much higher amongst the youth and minorities. Does anyone know if that rate is best compared to U3, U4, U5, or U6? [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11101137/Sick-Frances-economy-is-stricken-by-unemployment-fever.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11101137/Sick-F...
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - spindritf 12y ago
    GDP (PPP) per hour worked is over 10% lower in France[1]. GDP (PPP again) per capita is over 30% lower. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_hour_worked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PP...
- fleitz 12y ago
  Well, if by freedom of expression you mean the right walk around in a Nazi uniform then yes. If by freedom of expression you mean the right to be a woman and take off her shirt in the same places men can take off their shirt, then no.
  - argonaut 12y ago
    Your words, not mine. I said freedom of speech.
x0x0 12y ago
You know, I won't argue with you about the leave. But it's distinctly atypical in America -- the fmla only mandates 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and that only for companies with more than 50 employees. CA does provide for 6 weeks at 55% of salary, capped at roughly $1k a week. So despite your nonsense, Google is doing something quite generous -- and for professionals making, say, $150k it costs them probably on the order of $125k.
facepalm 12y ago
In those countries the government pays for it, not the company. Somebody has to pay for it, you know. Do you have your own company? I'd like to see how much you pay for paternity leave.
- orbitingpluto 12y ago
  Perhaps you don't know that some employers in those God-forsaken socialist countries will offer a “top-up” benefit, which pays a portion of your regular salary in addition to normal maternity/paternity benefits. I don't understand why American-elite are so tax adverse, higher taxes could be used to support a more stable society, and consequently, protect their own wealth.
  - fleitz 12y ago
    They are adverse because your tax rate is to use a legal term: fucking insane. Did you know that before Obamacare / Bushcare, America spent more on medicaid as a percentage of GDP than Canada did for its entire healthcare system? Protip: Make your government more efficient, and stop spending more than every other nation on earth combined on arms. Or just watch the cross of iron speech from 60 years ago where Dwight 'bombs away' Einsenhower said your military spending was to use a political term: fucking insane.
- fleitz 12y ago
  Yes, I have my own company, I only have contractors right now, and yes I pay for it, in my taxes. Here's a better question since the 'government' is paying for it, what's your top corporate tax rate? IIRC it's 35%, mine is 19%.
  - x0x0 12y ago
    Not really. The effective corporate tax rate is 9%.
spindritf 12y ago
The salary difference between the US and the rest of the industrialized world is so massive, especially at IT giants, that probably even a completely unpaid leave would average out to more money than in, say, France.
tzs 12y ago
Googles paid maternity leave is more than people get in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine in Europe. In the Americas, Google's paid leave is bested by only Canada and Chile, and tied with Venezuela. It's better than anything in Africa. In Asia/Pacific, it ties Iran, and beats everyone else.

Wow, thats like almost what everyone is entitled to in most industrialized countries! What a great company to work for!

by fleitz 12y ago

Wow, thats like almost what everyone is entitled to in most industrialized countries! What a great company to work for!

Let's be a little careful here. "<X> should do <Y> because most <Z>'s do <Y>" (or some variation thereof) is an incredibly poor argument to make. Most industrialized nations have stronger restrictions on free speech than America, for example.

toomuchtodo 12y ago
> Most industrialized nations have stronger restrictions on free speech than America, for example. Yet, most have a higher quality of life. France (for example) works the fewest hours per week, yet the highest GDP per capita (EDIT: added hour) hour. They get 5 weeks minimum for vacation per year, plus 22 days more if you choose to work more than 35 hours per week! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_employment_leave_by_country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_emplo... "Think about it. Nationmaster ranks France as #18 in terms of GDP per capita, at $36,500 per person, yet France works much less than most developed nations. They achieve their high standard of living while working 16% less hours than the average world citizen, and almost 25% than their Asian peers as per UBS. Plus, if you visit France you'll also realize that their actual standard of living is probably much higher than GDP numbers would indicate. Thus, if one were to divide France's GDP per capita by actual hours worked, you'd probably find that the French are achieving some of the highest returns on work-hours invested. Labor Alpha, if you will. We can actually calculate this Labor Alpha using statistics from Nation Master. France has $36,500 GDP/Capita and works 1,453 hours per year. This equates to a GDP/Capita/Hour of $25.10. Americans, on the other hand, have $44,150 GDP/Capita but work 1,792 hours per year. Thus Americans only achieve $24.60 of GDP/Capita/Hour. This puts the French Labor Alpha at about $0.50 GDP/Capita/Hour over the US. It may sound small at first, but add that up across millions of people, and a few decades. Now you've built a lesson for the rest of the world to learn." http://www.businessinsider.com/are-the-french-the-most-productive-people-in-the-world-2009-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/are-the-french-the-most-produ...
- x0x0 12y ago
  One could only dream, though of course, that requires you to get a job in france; they have their own unemployment problems and a quoted 10% unemployment rate [1]. I'm sure it's much higher amongst the youth and minorities. Does anyone know if that rate is best compared to U3, U4, U5, or U6? [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11101137/Sick-Frances-economy-is-stricken-by-unemployment-fever.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11101137/Sick-F...
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- spindritf 12y ago
  GDP (PPP) per hour worked is over 10% lower in France[1]. GDP (PPP again) per capita is over 30% lower. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_hour_worked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PP...
fleitz 12y ago
Well, if by freedom of expression you mean the right walk around in a Nazi uniform then yes. If by freedom of expression you mean the right to be a woman and take off her shirt in the same places men can take off their shirt, then no.
- argonaut 12y ago
  Your words, not mine. I said freedom of speech.

x0x0 12y ago

You know, I won't argue with you about the leave. But it's distinctly atypical in America -- the fmla only mandates 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and that only for companies with more than 50 employees. CA does provide for 6 weeks at 55% of salary, capped at roughly $1k a week. So despite your nonsense, Google is doing something quite generous -- and for professionals making, say, $150k it costs them probably on the order of $125k.

facepalm 12y ago

In those countries the government pays for it, not the company. Somebody has to pay for it, you know. Do you have your own company? I'd like to see how much you pay for paternity leave.

orbitingpluto 12y ago
Perhaps you don't know that some employers in those God-forsaken socialist countries will offer a “top-up” benefit, which pays a portion of your regular salary in addition to normal maternity/paternity benefits. I don't understand why American-elite are so tax adverse, higher taxes could be used to support a more stable society, and consequently, protect their own wealth.
- fleitz 12y ago
  They are adverse because your tax rate is to use a legal term: fucking insane. Did you know that before Obamacare / Bushcare, America spent more on medicaid as a percentage of GDP than Canada did for its entire healthcare system? Protip: Make your government more efficient, and stop spending more than every other nation on earth combined on arms. Or just watch the cross of iron speech from 60 years ago where Dwight 'bombs away' Einsenhower said your military spending was to use a political term: fucking insane.
fleitz 12y ago
Yes, I have my own company, I only have contractors right now, and yes I pay for it, in my taxes. Here's a better question since the 'government' is paying for it, what's your top corporate tax rate? IIRC it's 35%, mine is 19%.
- x0x0 12y ago
  Not really. The effective corporate tax rate is 9%.

spindritf 12y ago

The salary difference between the US and the rest of the industrialized world is so massive, especially at IT giants, that probably even a completely unpaid leave would average out to more money than in, say, France.

tzs 12y ago

Googles paid maternity leave is more than people get in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine in Europe. In the Americas, Google's paid leave is bested by only Canada and Chile, and tied with Venezuela. It's better than anything in Africa. In Asia/Pacific, it ties Iran, and beats everyone else.