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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (112189)	5/23/2000 6:03:00 PM
From: Bert Herman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571040

Bill, Let me take the chance to clear out something. If Americans talk about European social system, it is always in a very negative and stereotype way. Although I think the result of our systems is not so much different. A woman having a child can have a 12 week holiday. The first four weeks are on the cost of the employer, the other eight comes from social security. After that the mother or the father can take unpaid holiday for a maximum of 12 months. I repeat unpaid, but the employer must give him or here this time if she ask it. After that, the child usually goes to child care, or to grandma. Child care is very well organized and controlled by the government and subsidized for people with lower income, just to keep them working. When they go to school, in most school there is a system for child care before and after school, usually from 7 am to 18 pm. I can really not see what's wrong with a system like this and it is not costly at all, considered every woman has about two children in her lifetime. Giving (very productive and often highly educated) woman an opportunity to stay on their jobs and supporting a good combination of work and family is good for the economy and like Amy said, for the companies employing those woman. The problems with the Euro has nothing to do with this but mainly with Germany, still suffering from the cost of integrating the East and West. Another problem, and there I agree with you, is that our social system is to much targeted to large industrial companies and big unions. It misses the souplesse which is required in todays economy. Fortunately, our politicians are beginning to discover it, however not in every country already. Bert

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (112189)	5/23/2000 9:22:00 PM
From: Joe NYC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571040

Bill, OT Surprisingly, I agree with most of your points. There is a mismatch in timing between the earning power of an average person and the childbearing age. Combine that with the fact that most young people start with nothing, with no assets, loss of even the limited earnings power when one of the parents has to stay home and take care of the child, excessive taxes on the young to support the old, pension benefits in many private firms that are stacked against young people, and the list goes on. Joe