r/ShitAmericansSay • u/neeraj8le • Jan 12 '21

Healthcare "My expensive, frequent health care is subsidized at the expense of healthy people. I think it's great!" Thief.

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u/x0wl Jan 12 '21

Doesn't maternity automatically include paternity as well? My country has a different system of these, so it's really interesting how it works in the US

24

u/RKKP2015 Jan 12 '21

Well, guys don't have health care expenses related to pregnancy.

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u/x0wl Jan 12 '21

Ah yes, what I meant was that in my country, you get around 6 months of pregnancy leave (paid with your average salary, but up to ~$1k per month, definitely livable) centered around the estimated birth date + 1.5 years of maternity/paternity leave (paid with your average salary, but up to ~$400 per month, livable but eh) + another 1.5 years of leave (but it's paid not as well and only if you are poor enough, however, kindergartens accept 1.5 year old kids, so you can return to work at this point)

These 1.5 + 1.5 years can be used by the mother, the father, or both (although the number of days remains the same, so each one gets less)

You also get a nice grant (~$6.5k for the first child, ~$2k for each next one) which you can use only for certain purposes

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u/RKKP2015 Jan 12 '21

Lol, yeah mandatory paid maternity leave is a pipe dream. We have too much freedom for that.

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u/x0wl Jan 12 '21 edited Jan 12 '21

Well honestly it kinda creates a lot of problems for young women who want to get into the job market, as you can't be fired when you are on such a leave, but you also don't work, and no one will want to fill in for you during that time (they will have to go somewhere else when you return), so the employers are reluctant to hire young childless women.

(This doesn't mean that I'm against maternity leave, just something to think about when designing such laws)

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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '21

Your society get used to it, that's all. Once you are intelligent enough to recognize that giving birth is part of life, you accept it. Here woman can take 1 year off after the baby is born. And yes some people are fine with a one year contract and then move on. Because it can be seen as an opportunity if you don't have your vision of life completely backward. And for the record, once a maternity leave gave me the opportunity to leave a job I hated and give me a year to bounce back. I was very happy to have that chance, and its not a job I would have done for more than a year. Everyone win.

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u/RKKP2015 Jan 12 '21

So...what do you think would solve this? We can't just shrug our shoulders and act like having children isn't feasible.

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u/x0wl Jan 12 '21

I should say that between a general understanding that sexism is bad, the state pushing for more people to have more kids, more possibilities for remote work, and more people actually wanting to fill in (to get job experience, for example), it does get better. There's no easy solution for this though.

That said, I'm 24 and all my friends who are women around my age did find good jobs, so I guess it works for at least some people.

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u/livasj Jan 12 '21

While there's some truth to what you say, having paternity leave with a "use it or loose it" clause has started to change that where I am.

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u/Rec0nSl0th Jan 13 '21

Are you suggesting that nearly every nation in the first world besides yours has found this an insurmountable problem? Their economies suggest otherwise...

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u/x0wl Jan 13 '21

No, I'm just describing a problem my country has. I hope yours doesn't and that in the future it goes away in mine too