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66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

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Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't tax your way to wealth. Taxing the rich more won't make the quality of life of the average person better. The rich already pay the OVERWHELMING majority of tax.

The rich wouldn’t be rich without poorer people. Also I’m a bit dubious about your statement, it goes against what I can quickly search for but I would gladly be proven wrong.

"High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2020, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 10.2 percent of total AGI and paid 2.3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.2 percent of total AGI and paid 42.3 percent of all federal income taxes."

https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/summary-latest-fe...

In New Zealand, about 12% of individuals pay about 50% of personal income tax, and the top 3% pay about a quarter. That doesn't take into account the amount they are taxed indirectly through GST or through company tax on companies they own shares in.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#332
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tuiton in France is $500-600 USD/year for any European citizen. And degrees are only 3 years in France.

> And degrees are only 3 years in France. Uh, no, France follows the European-wide bachelor's master's doctorate system when it comes to granting european credits. Which means that, yes, you can follow the normal cycle of 3 years (license/bachelor's), 5 years (masters), 7 years (doctorage), and these will basically count if you're looking to study abroad. Some of my coworkers have 2 years of studies (IUT/BTS). Some h…

I'm not sure how anything you said refutes what I said.

Can you clarify?

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#333
post #142

I was born and educated in Scotland, worked in the UK for a decade or so, then moved to the US and worked for big tech for 15 years while living in the US and becoming a US citizen. I then chose to move back to Scotland, where I continue to work for the same US big tech company but get paid UK wages with UK employment benefits. So, I've lived significant portions of my life on both sides. Here in the UK, I get 29 day…

I work in a major tech company and never check email outside work hours, which I cap at 40 hours a week. I never work weekends, never check work during weekends or vacations. I make much more than my European peers, have a better car, better weather and bigger house. I have 25 days of paid vacation. While this is better than the US average, I don't know a single person in my friends group wanting to trade the US for…

Hopefully you realise how lucky you are, and that your situation is the exception in the USA rather than the standard.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Becoming independent and doing what you truely want to do without having to worry about opportunity cost, monetary compensation, or societal repercussions for "wrongthink". Ironic considering there's very few paths to FIRE in the US (work in tech, be born rich). Whereas the average person in the EU has a safety net that "independent" people in the US have to slave for.

And it is precisely said safety net that holds you back. Yes you are safe, just kind of like a sheep or cow can be safe. You are not free . Few paths to FIRE in the US? Well definitely still more than in the EU. The primary reason people aren't all going FIRE in the US is stupidity. Seriously, how can some people make 300k a year and not be a millionaire within a decade, then retire for the rest of their life in some…

> For anyone who is not completely clueless about money FIRE is relatively attainable in the US.

Of course, the average US citizen is closer to homelessness than being a millionaire. The US savings rate is abysmal.

> Move to a LCOL area

That's the beauty of those "terrible" safety nets, after a certain age anywhere in the EU becomes a LCOL area.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rich wouldn’t be rich without poorer people. Also I’m a bit dubious about your statement, it goes against what I can quickly search for but I would gladly be proven wrong.

"High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2020, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 10.2 percent of total AGI and paid 2.3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.2 percent of total AGI and paid 42.3 percent of all federal income taxes." https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/summary-latest-fe... In New Zealand, about 12% of individuals pay about 50%…

But income tax is not all taxes at all.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2020, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 10.2 percent of total AGI and paid 2.3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.2 percent of total AGI and paid 42.3 percent of all federal income taxes." https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/summary-latest-fe... In New Zealand, about 12% of individuals pay about 50%…

But income tax is not all taxes at all.

Income tax is by far the largest and most significant tax, and I gave examples of other taxes in which the rich pay far more.

Do you really think the poor pay the most company tax?

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But income tax is not all taxes at all.

Income tax is by far the largest and most significant tax, and I gave examples of other taxes in which the rich pay far more. Do you really think the poor pay the most company tax?

Alright. I’m not very aware of the taxes in USA. In France VAT and company taxes are more important.

Rich people don’t pay company taxes either. Companies pay companies taxes.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#338
post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You shouldn’t be. They’re different from you; get over it.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to the society to understand why some people think the way they do. Everyone is different but not everyone is right. I’m often wrong on many things and people correct me. I’m concerned about their need to get a little bit more money if they don’t have time to profit from it. I guess they don’t know that life can be better with more free time. Or they don’t enjoy free time, but that does…

Are you seriously trying to argue that you know what is best for other people? That vacation time is objectively better than money? That the choice shouldn’t be left up to the individual, but they must take your own preferences over theirs? That is the most idiotic thing I have heard all month.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#339
post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to the society to understand why some people think the way they do. Everyone is different but not everyone is right. I’m often wrong on many things and people correct me. I’m concerned about their need to get a little bit more money if they don’t have time to profit from it. I guess they don’t know that life can be better with more free time. Or they don’t enjoy free time, but that does…

Are you seriously trying to argue that you know what is best for other people? That vacation time is objectively better than money? That the choice shouldn’t be left up to the individual, but they must take your own preferences over theirs? That is the most idiotic thing I have heard all month.

Very few choices in life are truly entirely up to the individual. Virtually nobody votes for political candidates that offer the ability for individuals to have absolute control over the money they earn or contract terms of the jobs they hold.

Re: 66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

#340
post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to the society to understand why some people think the way they do. Everyone is different but not everyone is right. I’m often wrong on many things and people correct me. I’m concerned about their need to get a little bit more money if they don’t have time to profit from it. I guess they don’t know that life can be better with more free time. Or they don’t enjoy free time, but that does…

Are you seriously trying to argue that you know what is best for other people? That vacation time is objectively better than money? That the choice shouldn’t be left up to the individual, but they must take your own preferences over theirs? That is the most idiotic thing I have heard all month.

Yes, I do think that having slightly more money is not better than having more free time for most people. You will always have a few exceptions and some outliers, but 21% sounds like a lot.

Incomes correlate to happiness, but once you have enough to live happily, it’s perhaps time to enjoy your time left alive.

Of course, if you lack money to live happily, you may be forced to work a lot. But enforced paid vacations don’t sound like a bad deal anyway if you are in such a situation.

We unfortunately can’t let some workaholic ruin life for everyone else. Our societies need a minimal vacation amount because otherwise, there would be too much abuse and social injustice.

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