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Without parental leave I might be dead

nytimes.com

261–270 of 570 posts

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The so-called "progressives" in Congress couldn't even get paid leave in the transportation bill because they have no spine. It just shows how badly this country is fucked by corporations

How does "having a spine" force votes out of people who disagree?

Because if a caucus isn't willing to stand their ground to get what they want, then what is the fucking point? Not to mention it was one of Pete Buttigieg's things he was pushing for. Yet when asked about why it didn't get included, he just kind of shrugged his shoulders like he didn't really give a shit.

It's why the Tea Party had limited success in the early part of the decade: they were willing not to participate. And it's why Democrats lost ground in elections (VA governor's race being the key one), and will be hit harder in the midterms.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#262

One thing most libertarians never understood about Keynes, is that Keynes was probably as much, if not more, anti-communist than they. But keynes also knew that people that are hungry today, don't have too much patience to wait for the markets to reach an equilibrium, and because of that they tend to make revolutions. This American Market fundamentalism is probably the biggest threat that the liberal capitalism ever…

Business people don't have the training to think about that sort of thing and politicians should, but they do whatever their corporate donors tell them to do. I believe FDR said he did what he did to save capitalism.

Anyway, it's all short term thinking. We've had two revolutionary type events in the last year, the BLM movement and the Jan 6 movement. We currently have a general employment strike going on. People are pissed. Once they realize that the party divisions are mostly intentional and mostly cultural rather than economic, and everybody wants the same thing, who knows what will happen.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#263
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden has 48 weeks. Would you rather be a parent in the US than Sweden?

A rational answer to that would be yes for anyone who is making an above average salary, and no only if you are below average. That's how all tax funded benefits work.

Why's that? You're still not getting those benefits with an above average salary.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep saying it: the ERA was a (successful) ruse by the elite class to further dilute and weaken the middle class dressed up with a feminist guise.

You know the ERA hasn't been ratified, right?

Yes? You also know that something as momentous as a constitutional amendment doesn't happen in a vacuum either, right? It still had the effect of nearly doubling the size of the workforce, and now ~50 years later we're now seeing what it means to have a dual-earner family income.

The middle class is rapidly shrinking and the dream of owning a house for many newlyweds is fast receding in the rear view mirror, but hey, equality! Right?

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#265
post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're looking at the mean which includes billionaire disposable income. Look at the median for a more realistic picture (scroll down 1 grid).

I doubt many billionaires have income. Although you're partially right, I'm not sure which is a better metric. Probably depends on where in the distribution you are (above or below the median).

>I doubt many billionaires have income.

Realized capital gains, dividend income, income on rents. I'm not sure how the calculate disposable income. If I have 200M in stock that I could sell, is that considered disposable income? If I earn 2M in dividends that I reinvest, is that considered disposable?

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#266

I really cant understand the logic of forcing women back into work after 2-4 weeks. Its just not beneficial for anyone. The mum is utterly frazzled. The employer gets half an employee back Society is conditioned to think that the only practical way to raise a baby is to give up on work/get live in care. now, to look at it from a "my mum managed, I don't want to undermine the american nuclear family" point of view: Ye…

I think the core of the problem has a few basic parts: * the average person/family is trying to live a little beyond their means * “work needed to do” is like a gas, it expands to fit the hours worked * rent seeking elements expand to keep #1 true The takeaway is that there is a lot of “work” being done in the economy that doesn’t need to be done because prices will always rise a little past what people can pay comfo…

Regulations must be altered to encourage building sufficient housing where it's wanted.

After the prerequisite step is taken, then the tax code should be changed to fix that rent seeking, in houses yes, but generally too. Seeking rent is not an overall economic good, but a wealth transfer mechanism from the poor to the rich.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#267
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a model. its not a study, its a metric collected from the UK for the last 20 years. The arguments for "not hiring women because they'll just go and get pregnant" have largely been settled in the UK. shared parental leave is a thing, its just what happens. Employers that don't facilitate it are punished, either by employment tribunal, or people leaving to join somewhere that does.

> This isn't a model. its not a study, its a metric collected from the UK for the last 20 years. And absolutely nothing else changed in the UK in the last 20 years that may affect this number? Logic would tell you the disincentive exists. Looking at aggregate country data over 20 years doesn't tell you anything about a single policy. > Employers that don't facilitate it are punished, either by employment tribunal, or…

> And absolutely nothing else changed in the UK in the last 20 years that may affect this number?

Explain why this matters? The data demonstrates that you can increase parental leave while also reducing employment discrimination and improving conditions. That's the real world outcome.

> Logic would tell you the disincentive exists.

Surely logic would tell you to give more weight to real world outcomes than to imagined mental models about how others "should" behave?

I'd question why you think people should think that way in the first place.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#268
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all women are equal. I have seen women who gave birth just a couple of weeks before, thriving & bursting of energy in the workplace.

Sucks to be the kid of these bursting energy balls though. Hope the kid has a nanny or a grandmother who isn't like that.

Or a father.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you ask for an extended leave of absence? Many employers are a lot more humane than a lot of employees give them credit for, whether they're bound by law or not.

I created a throw away for this, but during a recent family emergency, my small 100 person company decided to fire me rather than allow my request for 3 months off without pay. They could easily have supported it, and I was a good employee, but instead I heard now they've replaced me with an Eastern European contractor for cheap. So rather than help me in my time of need, after I had saved their ass from some other c…

A slightly more sophisticated strategy - dedicate more then the minimum effort to a company...but only after they demonstrate decent devotion to good employees. So "Tit for Tat", very roughly.

Re: Without parental leave I might be dead

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I choose to hone a skill by teaching myself programming and I monetized it at an early age. Anyone can do what I did. I'm not special.

You are very special. Do you meet a lot of different people? Like, different countries, adults with parents from other socioeconomic backgrounds, people with chronic diseases, all of that stuff? Because, to me, it really seems like you don't.

Yes, I'm in a lot of discord servers. I have talked to people from many countries. I have even talked to others using their native language. I'm sure that I've encountered people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and people with chronic diseases.
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