Randomness

[TSara]

HAHAHAHA

Dance Paws Dude.

Dance paws.


heh

[Emberchyld]

If you think the foot undeez are amusing, you should check out the foot thongs

But those were a bit toooooo racy for my footsies. I'm a bit of a prude when it comes to those things .

As for long hours, if you're salaried, your employer basically owns your soul. In order to keep the high profit margins in the current economy, lots of companies in the US have been laying off a chunk of their workforce and not hiring more people to replace them... so the load goes onto the remaining workers. To keep your job, you do what it takes to get the work done, and that means loooong hours. Ie, my sister knows people in the NY financial field-- it's so competitive that they're working more than eating, sleeping, etc, with 100+ hr work weeks.

Here in the US, we also tend to "live to work", while most of Europe is still balanced and "works to live" (though, as more american companies expand there and unemployment due to cheaper labor in Asia and South America begin hitting their economies, lawmakers are re-thinking some of the labor laws and protections in many of the countries). We work directly with France and travel there often and envy our French co-workers-- not only for the 35 hr work week and seemingly endless vacation time, but also because they're still able to find that great balance. Once they're out of the office, they totally switch off work mode while we have a tendency to "bring our work" home with us. They enjoy their lunch break-- some go pick their children up from school, have a nice, sitdown lunch, etc, while we're at our desks shovelling our food into our mouths over e-mail. A lot of it is the corporate mindset drilled into our heads, some is our own fault at not putting things into perspective, and a lot of it is workforce competition related. I have a personal rule, though: If I can take my salary, divide it by the number of hours that I work, and I get less than I would if I worked at McDonalds, then the job isn't worth the trouble.

Hourly workers are supposed to be paid overtime and holiday pay if they are forced to work either. But they're also subject to the pressure of a larger work load (just not the luxury, sometimes, of the time to work it!).

Now, if only CEOs weren't getting those huge salaries, maybe they could afford more workers...

[CX]

Europeans also pay more taxes.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Europeans also pay more taxes.

WAY more taxes!

[JadziaKathryn]

I think you people are in the wrong jobs. Just about any job I get as a historian (unless I go the join corporate America route which is plan Y - just above McDonald's) isn't going to ask me to pile on the overtime. If I teach, there are only so many classes one can teach in a week in the amount of time people are in class. If I work in a museum - well, those are hardly rushed enviroments.

But don't all switch careers now. I will be looking for a job after I graduate in May '09, and I don't want too much competition!

[Entilzha]

The weekly work hours are limited 40 hours per week. In a month there is allowed only 20 hours overtime and in a year 200 hours. But usually the overtime part is off the books. The taxes in my country are lower then in other EU countries. How much taxes to you have to pay in the US from you monthly paycheck. What's the total %.

[CX]

Depends on how much money you make. For me it was about $200 tax withheld per pay period, which was two weeks.

[TSara]

The weekly work hours are limited 40 hours per week. In a month there is allowed only 20 hours overtime and in a year 200 hours. But usually the overtime part is off the books. The taxes in my country are lower then in other EU countries. How much taxes to you have to pay in the US from you monthly paycheck. What's the total %.

That really depends on where you are at in the USA.

But for me....I'm outside of Washington DC in Maryland. Both the Federal government and Maryland together take about half of my pay in taxes before I even see it.

So for $3,400 dollar check I might only see $1,700 of it.

[Entilzha]

In my country the government takes only income tax 22% and that is from the part of the salary that is taxed. There is a minimum of around I think it is 180 dollars(it may have even increased) that is not taxed.

[Emberchyld]

And, don't forget that since we don't have socialized medicine, part of our "salary"/pay is in benefits, or you have to pay out of pocket for your own insurance, etc. We also don't have free or subsidized university, like many (not all, I know) European countries, and so you have a lot of people in deep debt paying every month towards that as well. And most Americans don't have pensions and thus, retirement is out of pocket savings as well, unless you want to depend on Social Security (something that, I believe, is starting to disappear in Europe as well?).

Don't get me wrong-- I agree with CX that we do still have less taxes and therefore, in many situations more disposable income, but it comes with a price. And there are people in the US who do have 40 hour work weeks, but that's becoming less and less as time goes on. Get work with any major corporation and, unless you're hourly, expect to work 40 hrs + at least 10%. Like I said, as American companies move themselves and their practices into Europe and as European companies adjust their way of doing business in order to compete with US companies, you see the European way of life changing as well (this is why the French waistline has been expanding over the past few years, and why obesity is starting to become a global problem-- a lot has to do with how we structure our lives, and how our food consumption and physical output changes with that structure, apparently). One country that's swung even further out in the work hours direction is India, and the health impact of the long hours and sitting still has been significant there.

JadziaKathryn... I really hope that you do get the 40 hr workweek when you graduate, but also remember that your trade-off is that there are a limited number of positions for someone in your field. And, don't get me wrong-- my job is cool and I love it (well, don't ask me that on a Monday morning) and it lets me do things like have a place to live ($1000/week apartment ) and food, but it has its trade-offs (like missing days 2 and 3 of a Trek convention because I was flying out for a business trip on a Sat). And if I was offered a chance to live in Europe, I'd be torn because they have a lot of things that we don't have in the US (like good Special K with chocolate and good cheese) but there are also a lot of things here that I love that they don't have over there (like cheap gas and Borders and ice rinks/dance schools within spitting distance-- uhm, at least in Portugal/France, the two countries that I know well).

[blacknblue]

Ultimately, it is in your on hands. I tried the "live to work" route. That is the reason I no longer have to work for a living. Instead, I survive on Social Security disability. And I survive adequately.

I took my three years back pay and used it to pay off all my debts (I had already lost my house and car by that time, so there wasn't too much left to pay) and settled in at a lower middle class lifestyle. Just the same way I was originally raised, that is the way I am raising my son. Except instead of two workaholic parents, he has someone at home all the time.

You just have to decide how much you can live with, and how much you can live without. And where you can tolerate living. If NYC is the only place on Earth where you can be happy, then a minimum wage job is not going to cut it. OTOH, if living in a small town in the rural USA south is where you want to be, $7 an hour plus some free lance work on the side might be all you need. Depends on what you consider adequate.

If central air conditioning is vital to your survival, you are going to require more than someone who can live with a window fan. If you absolutely MUST have a new car every year or two, then prepare to spend more hours a week working than someone like me, who buys a decent used car and then drives it until it dies of old age.

We have used some of the same dishes for everyday use since our wedding. We replace things when they break, not when we get bored. Some people can't stand to live that way, they must redecorate the house every few years, replace the furniture, etc. periodically or they will go crazy. I recently bought a used clothes dryer for $40. It was 2 years old. The guy who sold it to me said that the customers (a married couple) had a matched set and the washer died. Rather than replace the washer, they absolutely had to have another matched set. So they traded in the dryer, which was still in mint condition, in order to have a washer and dryer that matched in color. Thus saving me a couple of hundred dollars.

Somebody said it isn't the high cost of living that gets you, it's the cost of living high. I don't know if I would go that far. But you can always set your own limits. You may not like them, but ultimately no body can force you to do anything that you do not consent to.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Well, effective taxes in Sweden, if you count the "hidden" ones, VATs etc. is about 60-65 per cent for a normal income household.

I'd much rather have more disposable income and take care of health insurances and the things that are now socialized myself.

[JadziaKathryn]

Somebody said it isn't the high cost of living that gets you, it's the cost of living high. I don't know if I would go that far. But you can always set your own limits. You may not like them, but ultimately no body can force you to do anything that you do not consent to.

There's a great deal of truth in that. Some people care if their clothes are designer labels and such. I don't, and it saves me a fortune. Which is good, because otherwise I'd only be able to afford 4 outfits. I also am willing to spend the time digging through clearance racks to find a good bargain.

[TPoptarts]

Salvation Army and Goodwill... that is when I actually have to buy "new" clothes. Like otherwise I'm fine with my old ones until they're all like torn and stuff. I've had most of my clothes for like at least 6-7 years. (Well I really never grew much )

[Mitchell]

Ultimately, it is in your on hands. I tried the "live to work" route. That is the reason I no longer have to work for a living. Instead, I survive on Social Security disability. And I survive adequately.

Funny. I know of quite a few farmers that lived/live by that motto. An were still milkin cows into their 80s, or 70s. Not an Easy job by any means for 70 to 80 year old Knees, an other joints.

Then theirs my Dad. He's just short of 60,,, an moves an acts like he's just short of 80 at times.
(Thank god I take after My Mom's side of the family physicaly.)


An to be Honest, I go nuts if I vegitate for to long. Its why I still work on my "Days off".




Personaly I tend to think the Nation has been getting pretty lazy as a whole when it comes to work. I still cant figure out how my grandfathers did it. One ran a farm his whole life, on top of havin several off the farm jobs (coal truck driver during the depression, ran cranes in philly shipyards during WWII, Even operated a dredging Crane on the chesapeake bay during the 50s, then as a mechanic at a farm Machinery dealership in the 60s.) An he still found time to train, an Hunt Coon dogs. Dozzens of Dogs at a time.

My other grand father was pretty much the same. Accept he wasnt a farmer. He just worked part time on one, as his third job. After buss drivin, an his shift at a Firestone plant.

Sometimes I cant decide what happened. Did the weeks, days, an hours get shorter? Or did we all just get freakin lazy in the past 30 years?
Cause theirs no way I beleave I could ever pull off runnin the farm, an take on another job.

Even though I have to keep busy. I just dont have the time for it.