Question to all American viewers, how many people go bankrupt in the EU (European union) every year. Look below for correct answer. Zero on a population of about 450 million! USA population 330 million Medical bills are reported to be the number-one cause of U.S. bankruptcies. One study has claimed that 62.1% of bankruptcies were caused by medical issues.1 Another claims that over two million people are adversely affected by their medical expenses.
Elsewhere in the world the government provides universal health coverage but not in America. Where Americans pay around 6k per year in Australia they 10% of that.
Bankrupt is a wide term. You can't only go bankrupt because of healthcare and baby care. In Europe you still can go bankrupt by house loan, bank loan, school loan. Sure probably not as many, but still taking loan is pretty commen in Europe too. For healthcare sure not usually, maybe if you have a serious sickness that can't be cured by govermental healthcare.
@@lixon1501 you can still be homeless if you dont pay mortgage in America, in Europe we have protection, especially if children are involved, we care for children after they are born, and dont rely on god to Procter them From shooters or kidnap
well,it is a good reason for this..americans have a strange idea about taxes-you dont want to pay for the healthcare of someone else,because that will affect your tax-yes..that's true,but to maintain the SAME healthcare services in usa,as in most other western countries,you actualy have to pay much,much more in insurancecosts..and you r ok whit that,because then it is your own choice..or atleast you r fooled to belive that bullshit - here in sweden we pay appox 33% in income tax-and ALL healthcare is totaly free,exept silly things like plastic surgery for someone that dosnt need it(ie a firevictim or something..then it's totaly free)-and for an american citizen to have the same healtcare,you have to pay on average over 53% in taxes AND insurances to get the same thing--the only thing you do is to put money in the coorps pocets
Very much. Once I was interviewing a US worker who asked me what are the health benefits. I was kinda new to the interview stuff and I had to make him clarify. He asked what is covered in his health insurance in that job. I went like "Umm... everything? Just like every other job? Because that is mandatory by law". We had to do some decrypting on his brain during his employment.
@@sarahmichael270244 The irony is that UK is more like USA then any other European country as evidenced in this video by UK Mcdonalds workers having similar low salary as US ones.
It is officially. We might see it in a different way but the definition of a restaurant is "a place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are cooked and served on the premises" . And you may have doubts about the 'cooking' but officially it's a restaurant. But I get your thought, lol.
Officially it is. I remember decades ago when I had an interview at Maccas and I laughed when they said restaurant. To me its just maccas and is more of a fast food joint where as a restaurant is a place that seats its customers, has a waiter AND cook after youve ordered
Is this a red pill moment? I am 64 old Brit, grew up in East and Central Africa. I have travelled around the world, with family, with the military and even as a poor backpacker. I spent 6 months in the US, and have friends and some family there. I love the USA... but, the American attitudes towards the outside world, their naivety around so much of their own country - is all pretty comical, if not rather depressing.
Do you truly not believe that EVERY country, and their people, has their own idiosyncrasies, thoughts, ideas and ideals? If the country is really that bad, why are we the only country with Net Immigration Postive for over 63 straight years? Must be doing something right
@@williamherman9065 He didn't say the country was bad, he said he loved it. The USA is _not_ the only country with net immigration, try Germany, France,UK, Australia etc. ( they're all countries that exist outside the USA in case you didn't know). And, net immigration only proves you aren't the worst country. Your inability to read and process a simple, one paragraph comment says everything we need to know.
William Herman You understand that people leave America too, yes? I have American friends who moved here who say they were never treated like a real person before but didn’t know it till they moved. Don’t mistake your reputation with reality.
The irony here is that while you are discovering this for the first time these facts are freely known in the outside world. Very much like the film ‘the matrix’ most Americans choose to live in denial and ignorance and to mis-phrase a quote..’do you believe that is freedom your breathing now?’..
@@abedrayton6188 Except Americans have free access to the internet. North Koreans are lucky to even have electricity and food let alone a computer. I think it is more of a willing blindness.
@@joandsarah77 It's a similarity, not a one-to-one comparison. The US uses propaganda and indoctrination differently, and its worst offenses are committed against people in other countries (though there are plenty against USians, too)
@@joandsarah77 It's not completely willing. Yes, we have access to the information. But you don't know what you don't know. If you are never given any reason to think that you should seek information from outside of your bubble, then it's really hard to ever actually do it. And America is designed to prevent people from thinking just that, so most people stay within the bubble.
True but also respect to Dude is due for taking on these videos which must be uncomfortable enough as they go against everything he has been taught, let alone doing it in public like this. The American people as a whole should demand better from their government, unfortunately their representatives are too busy lining their own pockets
Exactly… 'Benefits' are what are paid to the unemployed, low paid workers, the sick and/or disabled, or those otherwise unable to live adequately on their income. In most jobs, benefits neither exist nor are necessary. - There may be perks provided by an employer, like a subsidised canteen, social club, gym, discounts on products and services, or even private medical insurance (to allow queue jumping for non urgent treatment/procedures)
First: I love you're genuine reaction. Many Americans are too stubborn to look over their country borders (or their education). You are not. Let me blow your mind with another fact from Germany. My daughter was born 2-years ago, and 10 weeks before birth my wife (ingeneer) was taken out of duty by her gynecologist. PAID. Would have been too dangerous to work for her til birth. In Germany there is a term 'Mutterschutz', tranlated to english meaning 'protection of mother and child' normally 2 weeks off before birth and 6 weeks after. PAID. Which extended in this case because of her condition. But after this she took MATERNAL LEAVE for 12 month. PAID. And after that I (icu nurse) took 3 month PATERNAL LEAVE. PAID. Don't know why American people think this is bad or socialism.
Pst-> it's 6 weeks before the birth and 8 weeks after the birth and in the case of multiple births even 10 or 12 weeks;) The Maternity Protection Act regulates, among other things, the maximum daily working hours/ shift work, work with "hazardous" substances (even dealing with kindergarten children may be considered dangerous if not fully vaccinated). And much more. Many larger companies also hand out extensive material on maternity protection and parental leave after submitting the medical certificate (= certificate or copy of the maternity pass).
Americans have a very different definition of socialism compared to any other country in my experience. They also appear to think it’s an absolute system rather than how we use it which is an “a bit here and there” kind of approach. If we had nothing but socialism it wouldn’t be good but that’s what they think it means.
@@ThePinkBinks Survey after survey has shown that most Americans would love social health care, proper gun control laws, and better worker conditions, but the system of governance (Many blocks in that system to prevent changes) in America makes it very hard to change things, even if the majority of Americans want something they find it very difficult to change laws or get things changed to what they would desire, it simply doesn't happen because of the way the system of Governance is constructed, that allows a few to have huge influence in preventing any change to the Status Co or blocking any new laws to improve things!
@@gerrywhelan5761 Unfortunately, politics in the US is supported and backed by big money and big business, and without legally set and enforced caps on campaign spending, the richest business sectors have undue influence by sponsoring (overtly or otherwise) candidates and parties who'll help them make big profits. The ordinary 'man in the street' has little influence, and what opinions he has to determine his vote, often come from broadcast 'information' paid for and promoted by wealthy campaign budgets funded by big business.
Well actually it's not about socialism, it's about social democracies, which is a somewhat different beast. It's like American can't see the difference.
@@brendanh8193 well tbh socialism is the ideological root of social democracies What Americans need to understand is that there is a huge gap between socialism and marxist communism
@@MyvIsLove2 also the Japanese choose to do it, it’s not out of necessity like America! The Japanese are just naturally work orientated while Americans have to overwork themselves just to survive
Keep asking yourself questions even if you think they're stupid. You won't get an answer if you don't ask! Keep educating yourself about other countries and keep doing these reaction videos - they're so crucial to yourself and your fellow Americans 💪 Lots of thumbs up from Denmark 👍🥳
to answer the question about the full time cap: people can work more then the hours in the contract if they need to finish a project etc and it's considered overtime. In Romania at least (not sure about the rest of Europe), every hour of overtime is payed based on the contract but it's usually 2x the normal hourly pay. For me for example overtime in normal days is 2x and it's 3x for weekends and legal holidays. The employers usually avoid giving overtime unless absolutely necessary but legally they can. Also, they can't legally keep you at work more than 40hr/wk (8hr/day) without giving you overtime. They might try but if they fire you for refusing to stay overtime you can sue them and you usually win... Here at least, a full time contract is clearly defined as 8hr/day, no more no less, and a part time contract is 4hr/day. A lot of places you can usually leave early if you finish your work (at least in the office jobs). Some people stay overtime without pay because they want to work, or the are passionate or whatever but your boss can't legally MAKE you stay overtime. I hope this cleared it up xD.
Just imagine one company in America turns things on their back and gives all employees all the benefits Europe does. Every US person in poverty would scramble to get a job there and every rich person would condemn it.
that about sums up America's political system ,they put out feelers then add media influence and bam ,get everyone on side. People no longer think or research , just act on what they are told ,unfortunately the rest of the world seems now to follow suit . our media has been hijacked and politics corrupted ,and guess we are all to blame
There was a German company in the USA (it may have been BMW, I‘m not sure anymore) that wanted to open a new factory and implement all the institutions and benefits that are required under German law. That included a works committee and it‘s representation on the board. They actually ran into local state law, competitors lobbied against it and the employees were confused by the concept of direct participation in company management. They rolled it all back in the end. It just didn’t fit the culture.
@@asmodon just about sums up America they believe the propaganda from Aristocrats ,cause they refuse to come together ,unions are bought off and legistration gets put in place .
It's kind of the same with social healthcare tbf bud. If one hospital offered socialised healthcare in America, most patients would opt for treatment at that hospital. It's what happened in the UK when the nhs was introduced. The only doctors before this were all private, they opposed the idea, and were given a deadline to join the nhs workforce. Some joined with just 3 days left before rollout. Upon rollout ALL the patients only attended nhs doctors and hospitals because why pay for something if you don't have to. Within a week, the private sector hold outs signed upto nhs workforce. The private sector still exists in a very much diminished form in the UK, with super low premiums because they have to compete with a free service and turn a profit. But it more or less killed the private sector (and its profits) in less less 24 hours, and thats probably the way it would go with an American company introducing fairer workers rights
I used to live in New York. I was hospitalized with a minor infection for 6 days. It cost me, $32,245. I now live in Canada. I was hospitalized for 3 weeks after a stroke. The cost? 0 dollars. If I still lived in the States I'd now be bankrupt.
I know what you mean I am in UK I spent 2weeks in hospital had multiple x-rays and got seen to by multiple specialist and had medication while there and cost me a grand total of £0.00 hate to think how in debt I would be if I was in the states
@@MyvIsLove2 For the most part our health is in our control, to a point. But there are other times that life just kicks you and we have to deal with it. I'm grateful I got the care, but I'm also grateful I had the money!!
Honestly, when I visited the thing that shocked me the most was cashiers standing for no reason. Some of the things normal in the US just appear sadistic.
As a student I worked for an American-style coffee start-up chain, run by an American and a Canadian who thought McDonald's was a 'great model'. They refused to give me a stool to sit on when I was not busy and said I could use the time for 'cleaning'. I just brought a stool anyway. They threatened to fire me for it, but here in the Netherlands this can't happen. So I referred them to employment law. The delusional ideas these people had were amazing. It's no wonder they went out of business.
@@baronmeduse Yea, my reaction to some things Americans deal with would be to laugh in their face. "You can't sit down" "Of course I can sit down. Don't be silly." "I'll fire you" "No you won't. Never had to deal with people like that luckily.
@@dutchman7623 I did that. They're less and less trustworthy now though, being in the pocket of certain corporations and operating under a succession of right-wing governments.
15:10 My understanding in the UK is that the cap on the work week is about how many hours an employer can _require_ you to work. They can _ask_ you to work more (and you can offer to do more if you want) but they can't hold it against you if you say no. Any additional hours above what's specified in your original contract are also usually paid at one and a half times your usual hourly rate, sometimes more depending on the employer and the circumstances.
In Germany the work protection law states that an employee can't work more than 8 hours per day 6 days a week average, so 48 hours a week. You can work up to 10 hours per day, but your 24 week average has to be at or below 8 hours per day. If you want to earn more, you need to get a better paying job.
Belgium: They also get taxed more if you make over time. If you don't spend your one month yearly vacation outside of work while spending that money for that yearly vacation money you get taxed for that or have to return it. (Meaning that you're working 12months straight w.o break) only applicable to employees not entrepreneurs. Usually employers will have scheduled cycle of who are in "mandatory" vacation as the business will be taxed/ fined if an employee works w.o vacation/ breaks.
I am an IT Consultant after I left the British Army (Royal Artillery) I was paid a day rate of £400 a day Mon-Fri if I had to do work on the weekend etc... that was £75 per hour I was working over time That was my last contract as an example
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are NOT thirld world countries, these countries are the the most developed countries in the world, and are always in the top of the list with the happiest people in the world. You should not apologize for not having the knowledge about these countries. The important thing is that you are open to learn! 👏
@@Lewtable You are right, but i can’t imagine that was you thought i meant either? Just because America as a country has a lot of wealth it does not mean that it’s citizens has a lot of wealth, are living happy and well balanced lives and are treated fairly! The important thing is what you do with that wealth. Looking at the evidence shows that America does not invest that wealth in it’s citizens, that’s for sure. Compare that with the scandinavian countrys, the complete other way around. Sorry but the wrong terms and if that got you confused.
Australian. Never heard the definition of 1st 2nd a sd 3rd world re USA, USSR, etc. It's always been presented as 1st world ie Developed nations, industrialised, higher standard of living, healthcare etc, higher per capita income. 3rd world as Undeveloped nations, subsistence agriculture, other agriculture, not industrialised, very low per capita income%. 2nd world nearly always described as Developing nations ie, agriculture plus industry, and income part way between 1st and 3rd world nations. That does not mean people in 2nd and 3rd world countries are less intelligent, less wise etc, they just haven't had the opportunities people in 1st world countries have had.
I live in a third world country (South Africa) and we get at least 25 days paid leave vacation, three months maternity leave (paid) and that could be extended at half pay. We are prohibited to go to work if we are sick. Our work week is maximum 45 hours per week at full pay. If you work weekends or public holidays, you get 1.5 or double rates per hour. If you are required to work more, like doctors or fire fighters, you get paid days off.
I love you're genuine reaction... As a french, I confirm the 5 Weeks paid vacation and parental leave Yes, Denmark is a rich country. It is one of the countries of northern Europe ( like Sweden, Norway, Finland ... )which are the most taxed but where the quality of life is very good.... In fact, they are in the TOP 10 for that in the World
In Sweden, a minimum of 5 weeks paid vacation, 16 months paid parental leave/child, paid sick days (unlimited), paid time off to care for a sick child,... and more billionaires per capita than the USA.
I am Danish and happy to pay my taxes. Not only parental leave and 5 weeks vacations, but FREE HEALTHCARE (not including dental work except for a few exceptions like cancer in the mouth which is the one I know for sure but we are working on it), children's check every 3 months for low income households, right to pension at 67 years old and for pensioners who only receive their pension and have no extra income or savings, help to pay rent and an extra check every year (US$ 2.600 this year before taxes). I just mentioned a few of the many benefits we have, all payed for through taxes. We pay high taxes but we get a whole lot back. And as you know, we are a very happy country. It seems to me, that the more taxes you pay, the happier you are, because you can see where your money goes and all the things you can get for that. Check the list over happy countries and you will see that there is a correlation 🇩🇰 🦢 🇩🇰
As a swiss, I agree. I am not saying we don't have issues and problems. But compared to the US, I am happy with our issues. Also, here business, unions and the broad public still works together to make it fair. We understand that we need to be able to compete with other markets, but we know that our workers are the biggest asset. from construction workers to nurses and doctors, from cleaners to scientists, in the end, all working together is the only way for us. And I think if you compare all the taxes in the US, nt just the federal ones, the americans pay more or less the same.. just with NO benefits
@@shanwyn We Swiss really can't talk for the rest of Europe. We are closer to the U.S. than to Europe. Medical depth is the second largerst reason for bankrupcy. We work too long and don't even habe medicare for all. We are one of only 2 countries in the world with sich a bad, predatory insurance system. We have to abolish private insurance. It's a expensive scam. We tread people that need help like criminals, we don't pay good retirments and we allow corruption in politics. Yes dark money is legal in our political system. We have to change a lot. Yes we aren't the U.S., but we aren't close to civilized nations. No, buisness and politicans don't Make it fair. They are working against the public. You are the same as these brainwashed Americans. It's so sad. All the workers you listed, we don't pay well and overwork them, especialy nurses. Don't spread these lies.
16:55 "It must suck to live in these places in Japan" Why do you think that? It sucks to live in the USA - life in all of the listed countries is way better than in the USA. In the USA you not only have to worry about the topics mentioned in this video, it is also one of the least save countries in the world because of sky high crime rates, including a staggering amount of murders because of the crazy lack of gun control. Here's one example: In 2021 19,200 people in the USA where murdered. In Germany we had 220 murders in 2021. Most US americans will say "yeah but we also have a larger population" which is of course true: The US population (332 million) is roughly 4 times as large as the German population (83 million). This means that if the rates per capita where the same the USA would have had about 880 - 900 murders, not 19,200. And that doesn't even cover all the people dying in gun related deaths that are not murders - for example in 2020 24,292 people committed sucicide with a gun, and on top of that there's several thousand people who where killed by accident involving guns. Japan had 854 cases of murder in 2021 btw. which is a way better rate than in the USA (Japan has 126 million inhabitants) Of course Norway and Denmark are not third world countries! Norway is the country with the highest income per capita in the world, and also one of the countries with the highest living standards. He is just listing some countries from different places including a few third world (or developing) countries.
I wanted to respond to this, but i wanted to know, why he thinks that living in Japan sucks, when in reality Japan is way, way better place to live than the US, why would someone think that Japan is bad?
@@jeschinstad No, he was not! He even admitted on another video, that he just “heard stories” how Japan sucks… Did you watch this video at all? It’s clear that the dude just didn’t know, he was not joking or being sarcastic.. he sincerely thought Japan sucks.
@@hidajetsejdic4270: I watched the video directly before responding. It is pretty clear to me that he isn't very well informed about other countries. I am a Norwegian and he asked if Denmark and Norway are third-world countries. He concluded we weren't, which is correct, but he wasn't confident. That wasn't an attempt at humor or sarcasm, it was a seeker of knowledge admitting his ignorance, which I embrace and support. When he speaks about Japan, he's simply trying to come up with an example of a country that is not as bad compared to America as he has been taught to believe. I might've said, «yeah, it must suck to be unemployed in Norway, where you are guaranteed a home and a livable income». He just didn't have enough knowledge to complete his sarcasm - which is why sarcasm should be used sparingly. I often ridicule willful ignorance, but I never make fun of the ignorance of someone who is trying to learn. It would be evil to push a baby who's trying to learn how to walk, right? I think it extends through our lifetimes.
Swede here! I really feel for you guys. I've watched so many reaction videos of this kind and the shock so many of you react with when hearing how America actually compares to the rest of the civilised world, is a little heartbreaking. BUT! With you and others doing these videos, showing YOUR reactions and experiences and spreading them on UA-cam and other places, means that YOU ARE SPREADING KNOWLEDGE! This is GOOD! You are helping your fellow Americans to become aware of how you deserve better and that the current state of things isn't written in stone. So please, spread this on! Yours and others reactions can be the thing that makes other young people see the absolute bullshit you're unnecessarily being forced through! You are sitting right there reacting and by showing it, helping to spread awareness and I so, SO hope for your generation to become the actual labor rights movement your country so desperately need. No nature law says it has to be this bad. Don't despair! Keep being the change for good! Love from Sweden (and btw. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland are some of the richest countries with highest living standards and low poverty rate IN THE WORLD!)
22:45 "You telling me that third world countries can find the means to give people paid leave to spend time with their kids but the richest country in the world can't ?" well, the richest country can find the means , but to quote the late great George Carlin: the owners of america don't want to provide the means. go and check out Gerorge Carlin's "owners of America" routine
Danmark here. If I get paid 22 $ an hour and pay 50% tax I still have 11$ i my pocket, and then have have payed for healtinsurence + education +social security +roads +trains and all sorts af infrastructure. Not only for my self but also for everybody els. So mayby the naighbors kids can be doctors an safe my life one day, insted of robbing me and sell crack to my kids. So after paying this "huge" tax I still have more money than a us-worker get payed before tax. And then you have to pay for all the other things. You were right - Denmark and Norway are not 3world countrys, but it seems usa is. There are states in us where people have a shorter life than Bangladesh. I will never set foot on us soil, and I do not bye american produks if I can avoid it.
Aussie worker here. Your comment about "Doesn't a capped work week mean that workers can't work more?"...no...it means that when you work more than the cap you get paid "overtime rates". If I go over my 38hr work week then I get paid time and a half for the 1st 2hrs overtime and then double time after that...calculated per shift. So on Monday's shift I work 3hrs overtime I get time and a half for the first 2hrs and double time for the third. If I work an hour overtime on the Wednesday then the calculations start over and I get time and a half for that hour. These rates are higher on public holidays up to double time and a half. I get 6 weeks paid leave every year for the first 10yrs. After 10yrs I get a bonus 12 weeks (called long service leave) in a lump sum and I then accrue an additional 3 weeks per year for "long service". So when that gets calculated at a yearly rate I accrue 9 weeks leave per year after 10yrs service. I have been in the same job for 24 years and I currently have approximately 1400hrs leave in my leave bank. Meaning I could go on a vacation for 36 weeks on full pay. Parental leave in Australia is 9months for the mother post birth and 3 months for the father.
It's great that so many american youtubers are doing these reactions and talking about it! I hope other americans are watching and not just people from the rest of the world. And ignore the haters, atleast you are educating yourself. good on ya
Ever been to the US? It is mind boggling what they know about Europe, let alone other areas. Should have seen the face of the Customs Officer that asked me if I wanted to stay longer than the six weeks vacation I had and I answered "No way!". Made it up with him by saying their National Parks were beautiful. (The only thing they did not create themselves.)
Here in Australia, I get 4 weeks holiday every year, I get an extra 17 1/2% extra (called leave loading) if I work for the same company for 10 years I get 3 months off, paid (called long service leave) Parental leave here is 18 weeks. Minimum wage is $20 per hour. The work week is 38 hours after that you get overtime rates 1 1/2 extra pay. Work public holidays double time. Plus we have health care that is paid in our taxes I think it's about 2% of our wages. I can literally (and do) go to a doctor and pay nothing. As a result hardly anybody tips here, there's no need we get a decent wage. So yeah, America is the best country on the planet, yeah, no.
4 weeks (20 days) are mandatory by the EU. It is funny how my uncle who went to the USA in early 90s has fewer days after 30 years of work (in the same company) than I had since day one. It is always hilarious how my family talks about something great in their work place (for example, one of my cousins has 'a lot of paid leave' - 20 days) or country in general while it is pretty low bar here.
Haha America hell yeah 😃 Im in Australia to working in construction and i also get 26 days rdo ontop of annual leave and get paid to live comfortably and only work 40hrs a week. Love Australia 🇦🇺
yes in France, you can stay 3 years at home with your kids (from the second one). And for twins which was my case, it's 36 weeks (12 before birth and 22 after)
To make it a bit clearer for you. During the 1950's the world was struggling from world war two, the US was not. The US then became a magnet for workers skilled and unskilled for a vast majority of Europeans, African and Asians to have a decent life. It was labelled the 'brain drain' those that were highly educated left to live in the US. To stop the 'brain drain' and losing workers to the US, some countries decided to offer MORE than the US did. This created many governments to keep workers with great benefits, such as paid holidays and maternity leave. This did two things stopped the Europeans leaving for the US and kept workers in their countries. Today Europe is now the preferred destination for economic migrants and asylum seekers because it has better rights than the US does. The US still retains its power over US citizens because US citizens are told never leave, never ever leave, ever, because its greatest country on earth, and in reality its not. When a country has to resort to saying its the best country on earth, its a lie.
There's much more to it than that. The brain drain is only part of the story and only had a minimal effect. Not that many went to the USA from Europe as the USA invested massively in Europe's reconstruction and profited from it dramatically. You massively overestimate how big the brain drain was. Western Europe even had to import workers in the 50s and 60s. What is much, much more important is that in the 50s America had the "red scare" where anyone even remotely showing socialist or communist sympathies was prosecuted and jailed as a traitor and spy. Socialist became synonymous with communist in the USA and the entire leftist political spectrum was wiped out. The USA hasn't had any sort of leftist political party or political influence since the 50s. Even the current "leftist socialist" Bernie Sanders would be considered a moderate left leaning centrist here in Europe. In Europe on the other hand, we literally bordered the Soviet Union and had communism in our doorstep. And while communism had many flaws, workers being treated with respect and respecting their rights resonated much more here because of that. Every country in Europe had a socialist party and often even a flat out communist party. And since all European countries have multi-party parliamentary democracies that often form multi-party coalition governments, the influence of socialist parties was very large here. And that's not even talking about organised unions in Europe. Socialist parties often were and still are the majority in a coalition government in European countries, and steered policy quite heavily in Europe. Whereas in the USA, any sort of leftist politics has been abscent since the 1950s. In the USA you can vote centrist-right (democrat), or extreme right (republican). That's it. There is no left. As I said, even Bernie is "only" a left-centrist and even that is too leftist for the USA to get elected. Literally everything Bernie Sanders proposes (no student debt, cheap education, universal healthcare, workers rights, and so on), every western European democratic country has had since the 1950s-60s.
Well, also these other countries have a much different culture. In Italy I know that the idea of culturally slaving yourself to a job would be absurd. Very few Italians would tolerate living like that. They want to be able to enjoy their lives and their families and their food. A lot of Europe also has universal healthcare and sees education and health as key to not just their country's work and economy, but also their culture and enjoyment of life. There's a much greater culture of universality and helping each other. You can see it even with simple things like wearing masks or not. The US has been groomed to have this libertarian rah rah freedom and capitalist mindset and so it's much harder to get them to understand the benefits of doing things as a collective to make all your lives easier.
@@johanwittens7712 a fair point and it's still relevant the US isn't the promised land. But the WW2 was a sea change for Europe to reevaluate it's politics, it's future and stability. The US did not have internal issues as Europe did. Give that McCarthyism did for several decades control the internal narritive of socialist politics as either corrupt and expensive. Today the US have media that uses bad examples of democratic socialist countries in dire economic trouble. Venezuela and Cuba still get used to demonize socialists movement. The US will over decades move towards a more European model. But if you want that now then move to Europe.
Most European countries already had social benefits before the war . (In Prussia first health insurance 1845/ In German Empire 1883 = 13 weeks sick pay/50%). 4 weeks maternity leave since 1891. During the 50/60/70s labor was sought everywhere in Europe. This led to strong unions, but the realization of the need to protect the worker came in the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century. (Political motives have supported this)
As a retired small business owner, I can tell you that when you work for yourself, you never get a day off if you want to succeed. I had five employees, and my pay was lower than theirs considered as an hourly wage. I made more money each week because I worked eighty hour weeks, which included weekends. This absolutely killed my family life. In this country if you work for a wage you're screwed, if you work for yourself, you're screwed, and if you do illegal stuff for money, you really get screwed. This is something the US really needs to fix
Yeah, I’m very sorry but honestly you had no way to win, not in America. It’s so sad that most young people in America will find that same truth after working their lives away!
@@jennifermcdonald5432 Hopefully things are changing somewhat with the increased availability of the Internet, and knowledge, and awareness about these things. It's easy to be pessimistic, but I'm of the opinion that as years go by, more and more people will be aware of this and try to fix it.
I was just passing through my feed and I clicked on your video. I live in Sweden and we have 5 weeks of vacation every year, paid. 480 paid days to share between the mother and father in paternity leave. Unlimited sick leave. If you are sick stay home and see a doctor. We pay max 122 dollars a year for hospital or a doctors office so if you need a doctor after that is payed it free for that year. Medicine is max 244 dollars for a year than it's free for a year. Insulin is always free! We have 1 billionaire for every 250 000 ppl. Fairy many with a population of only 10 million people.
I think Michael Moore did a series of docos about other countries compared to the USA. One of them was about education and lifestyle differences. It was really amazing seeing how some European countries value their workforce with time off and how many days and hours a week they must work.
It's a video I've seen many Americans react to and the realisation of how bad a life Americans actually have is pretty shocking. The wages and holiday situation is scandalous in America. Your legal system is a joke. Your healthcare is shockingly bad.
The wages mentioned here, are ... i don't know, i am a bit suspicious to how he got to $22 for a McD worker in denmark. In germany it's $11 and i somehow doubt that they pay twice as much just a few hours north of us.
@@TheAlja if they didt pay the workers that, there woundlt be a MCD in denmark at all, MCD learned that the hard way, when all danish unions nearly destroyed McD
Because in “other countries”, we are respected as HUMAN BEINGS with a life and a soul - not Human robots able to be manipulated by greed hungry companies who care diddly squat about the people they USE as a workforce.
You are pretty grown up for such a young boy. I am really impressed. It's maybe a hard shock for you, but see it that way : your eyes get opened up early and you have a lot of time to do something with this information. Now imagine all the Americans who believe with patience how great their country is for their entire life. They don't even have a chance to change something cause they don't even know that other possibilities exist.
I always find it strange when I hear on american movies that parents need to save for a college fund to put their kids through college. In scotland university is free.
@@michaeledwards9358 the UK taxpayer doesn't pay Scottish universities etc. The Scottish government budgets for these things. That's one of the benefits of not voting tory
Shout out to all the people giving me info about there lives in other countries really interesting reading ur comments Also I know Denmark and Norway are not 3rd world country's i got a bad habit of mixing words up especially when I'm focused on something
Germany here..hello! You know, health insurance is mandatory here. Even if you are unemployed. There is some untruth spilled from some youtubers(americans) that getting appointments with specialists is difficult. Well, not true.If you need one you will. The vacationtime here is great. My american hubby started a new job last year and got 33 days. If he plan wisely he will have 45 days. It's payed vacation and he works 30 hours a week. I find the so called american dream a nightmare because what many fail to see is that you need a sh*tload of money in the us to life a good live(having money to call an ambulance-free in europe) instead of an Uber. But if you don't know any different i understand why this sounds outlandish for us americans. See, these prejuduce that eg McDonalds is only for people who can't do better is wrong here. In my hometown a fairly well-known indian-german actor is a manager at McDonalds when he has no acting jobs..that's clever because he is health insured, unemploymend and retierement insured. So i think that is not bad😊
Good on you for wanting to inform yourself and educate others. The more you learn about the world outside the USA the more you can make informed opinions of how you want to live your life. Here in the UK as part of Europe we Europeans have slways looked outwardly to others countries in Europe and far beyond as we do travel extensively to the Far East/Australasian continent/ South America and of course the USA. Travel broadens the mind!
In Denmark we have no minimum wage the reason McDonald pays fair wages is bacause we have strong Unions and yes we pay a lot in tax but 9 out of 10 danes will tell you that we gladly pay it because of what we get
1:50 This comment on what you said a few months ago means that you've opened your eyes for different views. That is huge actually. Keep up the good work! 👍
Getting called in to work when you handed in your vactation and had it approved that day!? I can't even imagine something like this happening. I would quit on the spot and see if i could sue (i propably could)
Well, that can happen in Germany, BUT the employer needs a really good reason. Factory is on fire reasons, returning the vacation day with options to take the vacation, AND pay for all incured costs. You have books a flight and a hotel? The company now has to burden the cost. Not to mention the hot water your company is in, if it breaks up your only option for a 2+ week vacation this year.
As a Brit, I feel the need to lay out some basic facts so... Children under 16 are not legally allowed to work in a full-time position, but they are able to work for a limited number of hours from the age of 13. But then at aged 16, you get a National Insurance Number (NINO = SS ID) and can get a full-time job and pay taxes on it. Then we need to discuss minimum wage (it's officially called National Living Wage, which is the minimum wage that the average person needs to live a good life on), it varies based on your age ... Living Wage. Pay Rate in GBP/Hr(as of April 2022). Apprenticeship. 4.81. 16 - 17 y/o. 4.81. 18 - 20 y/o. 6.83. 21 - 22 y/o. 9.18. 23 y/o +. 9.50. There is no legal minimum when deciding what is working full-time hours, where it is up to an individual employer to decide what is classed as a full or part-time contract. However, typically, a full-time worker in the UK will work 35 to 40 hours per week. But the breakdown of a 40 hour work week is usually a 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday schedule but for each 6 hour shift you get a mandated 15 minute break (but most places give you a half hour lunch break). Then there's the issue of income tax, in the UK we pay 1 tax bill to the central government on our income. This is usually handled through a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, how PAYE works is that the company you work for knows how many hours you are contracted and how many hours you are billing on your timesheet. So the company tells HMRC (our IRS) how much you earn, HMRC calculates your taxes and asks the company to pay that ... and no worker who is NOT self-employed ever has to worry about filing income tax, for the self-employed there is a simple and FREE HMRC self-declaration website that they type in their identifiers (name, address, business registration number, NINO), their income and expenses - and then the HMRC calculate the person's taxes for FREE (no b/s "processing fees") and then takes payment by bank transfer. Our income taxes are fairly simple to calculate and understand, in that how much Income Tax you pay in each tax year depends on: 1. how much of your income is above your Personal Allowance. 2. how much of your income falls within each tax band. So what this means is that EVERYONE (from Queen Elizabeth to a lowly peasant like me) has a non-taxable personal allowance of £12,570 per year, we all pay no income tax on this. If you have a spouse who doesn't have paid employment, then their allowance is applied to your income and you pay no tax on the first £25, 140 of your income. But the basic income tax brackets are as follows: - Band Taxable income Tax rate Personal Allowance Anything under £12,570 0% Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20% Higher rate £50,271 to £150,000 40% Additional rate Anything over £150,000 45% So for example, let's say you earn £200, 000 per year then your tax bill will be: - 0% tax on the first £12,570 = So £200, 000 - £12,570 = £187, 430 of taxable income. Then you pay 20% of £50,270, that's £4,054 Leaving you with an income of £137, 160 that you have yet to pay taxes on, this falls into the Higher Rate (40%) bracket ... £187, 430 - £50,270 = £137, 160 Then you 40% of £137, 160, which is £54, 864. Your cumulative taxes are: - £4,054 (20% of £50,270) + £54, 864 (40% of £137, 160) = £58, 918 (this is the total figure you will pay in income tax, but if you're NOT self-employed then you never see this money as it's automatically deducted every month from your pay cheque). Meaning that after taxes, your £200, 000 per year income is £145, 136 ... you get to keep 72.56800% of your initial income because your total income tax was a mere 27.432% on your £200, 000 per year income. Then let's talk about annual leave, almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ (or 28 days) of paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave) upon commencement of working at a company. This includes agency workers, workers with irregular hours & workers on zero-hours contracts. And an employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave. However, for part-time workers, their leave may be calculated as a pro-rata percentage. Full-time is taken to be 40hours/week, so if you work 20hours/week you get 50% annual leave ... but generally, most companies just give everyone bank holidays (unless it's the service industry or an essential job [AKA the emergency services or care work]). As to sick leave, employees can take time off work if they’re ill. They need to give their employer proof if they’re ill for more than 7 days, this proof is a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) - and is obtained from their General Practitioner (AKA Family Doctor's Office). Fit notes are FREE if the employee has been ill for more than 7 days when they ask for one, although the doctor might charge a fee if they ask for the fit note earlier than the 7th day. Employers cannot force employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave. Employees who are off work sick for more than 4 weeks may uninterrupted be considered long-term sick. However, there are no limits to the number of times you can apply for sick leave in a year (as long as you're not actively taking the Micky and going off sick every Monday morning and every Friday afternoon as well as for Glastonbury)! All workplaces have to offer a pension scheme in which they match contributions (for every £ you put in they have to match this), but you also get the state pension if you pay taxes. Parental leave is unpaid. You’re entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday. Although most places pay it out of holiday or sick leave and also pay for someone to do your job while you're off. And they can't fire you for going on parental leave either. The UK has some cushy employment laws at the moment ... At the moment, but post-Brexshit and with an extremely neoliberalist Tory govt ... Soon Tiny Tommy gonna be back down 't pit and Lil' Suzy gonna be working 100 hours per week in a cramped & unsafe factory because Boris Johnson's real name is Ebenezer Scrooge and he only cares about the bottom line for industrialists!
@@gazinessex2 you're welcome to the info, I learned this stuff when putting together 2 courses (an "Intro to Employment" course that was aimed at a bunch of 16 - 21 Y/Os, and a Basic UK Civics course that's aimed primarily at non-British citizens living in the UK)... and yeah, as someone who is very clumsy (Damn you, Autism!) and has a hydrocephalic brother... I really appreciate our NHS, I just wish our government did!
In some countries like France, it is ILLEGAL to send any type of work email to employees outside of work hours, because workers are meant to enjoy their time outside work. Additionally, I heard about one American guy working in a Scandinavian country (I forget which one he said he lived in) and how his boss took away his work computer and all his paperwork and ordered him to take time off from work. The boss told him that he was genuinely concerned for his mental health and told him to not return to work until he had fun and was well rested. That says a lot about how low the US is compaired to other countries, lol.
If you look up one of the tiktok compilations about Americans Living Abroad Tell Me One Time You Realised America Really Messed You Up, this happened to a dude working in the Netherlands. The boss literally took aways his computer and phone and told him to go away for three weeks!
18:12 If you look at Germany from the outside, you see big businesses. But the truth is: Most of the German GDP is created by small and middle-sized companies. Behind every Mercedes, there are countless small companies making parts. And all of them can afford to pay correctly and provide all the mandated benefits. Because they have to, if they can't, they don't have a business but sugar plantation.
I'm from Texas, USA. As a teenager there was BBC World News (British) and NHK News (Japan). Half an hour news shows. They talked about countries and issues in a more thoughtful way. How another country's news affect another country(ies). It was always strange how US news programs were very USA-centric. About 90% of the news about the US and how so-and-so country(ies) are "not as great as the US." Anywhere from culture practices, education, treatment of people, "hopes and dreams," etc. Then there's the PBS Newshour and Amanpour also broadcasted on PUBLIC television, the same channel as Sesame Street and Masterpiece. I discovered these U.S. news programs in my 18+ years. They are actually informative and thoughtful U.S.A. pieces. After watching reaction videos about U.S. people in the other countries and reading people's comments, my perspective has been widened even more. Thank you for this video. You're thinking and "not being entertaining" gets to me. Very humble. -Peace
Having a legally binding maximum hours working week doesn't mean you can't work over those hours, it simply means that a company can't force you to work more than those hours. An employee can still choose to work over those hours if they so wish but it also mandates that the worker has to be paid time and a half or double time. As well as creating a better work/life balance for the employees, this also means that it's better for the employer to employ two full time people at a decent hourly rate than one full time person who does a lot of over time at time and a half or double time with all the potential associated health issues that might emerge over time. This creates a much better balanced economy.
I once went to work on Good Friday (urgent contract needed completing), I was paid double time and had time off in lieu (TOIL) as well the following Tuesday. I was asked to do this rather than being forced so I volunteered as I had no plans for that day anyway. I later on worked flexi-time with bracketed start and finish times. I could go in 30 minutes early, take the minimum 30 minute lunch break and finish 30 minutes late to build up TOIL. This TOIL allowed me to have for example, Fridays off, Mondays off or both or if enough was built up a whole working week. There were limits on what you could accumulate and how much you could tack onto other days of paid time off but they were still generous terms.
As well as lieu days, there are legal regulations on how many hours you can work without a break, and how many hours that break must be, as well as how many consecutive days you can work without a day's break, and how many days before a longer break is mandated.
He (the guy from Second Thought) refers to Ethiopia (African cotinent), Madagascar (African continent) and Afghanistan (Asia) as "third world countries". The others are developed countries (like France, Denmark and pretty much most Europen countries as well as Japan (Asia) which he mentioned earlier. When he mentions "countries that we bombed into oblivion" he obviously refera to Afghanistan.
Right there.... your...."Afghanistan can offer 90 days maternity leave a country where we're told women have no rights" please refer to the overturning of Roe Vs Wade...
Where are all the Americans objecting to this video? There doesn't appear to be too many videos on UA-cam of citizens of other countries having their eyes opened. All countries in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) have issues but it seems America has rather more then the others. Nice to see you checking statements on some of the videos. Its sad to see your reaction when all the statements are factual and true. Really enjoying your videos, well done and thank you..
The Afghanistan example is old information as the withdrawal of foreign currency which was propping up the country and the Taliban confining all women to the home means there is no longer need for parental leave.
I'm a Brit, so believe me when I say that we have our own problems to deal with... but the US ? A few decades ago - when I was in my 20's - the US was seen as the place to be, the 'Land of Opportunity'. Now, I thank my lucky stars that I never emigrated... the US seems hell-bent on heading towards civil-war. That's not to say that the UK is much better... from an economic standpoint it's much worse since BREXIT... but it's the same insular-view, that disregards the rest of the world that's to blame. I'm not sure where we're headed, but until people start thinking in global-terms and viewing all global-citizens the same, we're bu99ered.
I knew that some of these things were terrible for Americans and could never understand why they are so patriotic! They just don’t realise how the rest of the world are so much better off.
15:15 I can only speak for the UK, though assume this is common across the rest of Europe too. Your working week is capped, any hours you work over this would be overtime, for which you are paid. Overtime pay increases if the hours are unsociable, a rest day or national holiday. However, not all are entitled to overtime. If you work a salaried job, depending on how conscientious you are, you work each day until your job is done and what remains can be done tomorrow and so on. Most employers can be flexible. The important thing to remember is law. Law protects the employer and as importantly, the employee. Employment rights are enshrined in law.
Yes, this is an important distinction; while the Working Hour Directive limits employees to 48 hours required work, this is averaged over 3 months and many contracts for professional staff will have terms such as "37.5 hours per week or such time as required to complete the scheduled tasks" with the understanding that an all-night session to prepare a tender document will be balanced by shorter hours elsewhere. When I worked as an engineer these terms were common because jobs were unpredictable--sometimes it just wasn't practical to 'down tools' at 5pm and go home if you were at the opposite end of the country and 30m up a transmission tower with half an hour required to complete a job that had been delayed by snow (been there, done that). When I later became Service Team manager I tried my best both to balance hours and to schedule jobs so my team ended up close to home on a Friday (or at least had an early finish for those working in other countries).
About the workweek question, when I lived in Germany my workweek was 40 hours, if I worked more I could either get it paid (which isn't great because tax cuts are high) or just stay at home for the extra hours.
Cap the length of the work week: It doesn't mean that is the maximum number of hours you can work per week. Any work done over this point has to be classed as overtime, with increased pay.
16:13 Not sure why the UK's 8 public holidays aren't included in the graph. You still get paid. Maybe the graph maker didn't want to make the UK look good. lol 🤔 EDIT: And if your employers ask if you'd like to work one or more of them, they pay you time-and-a-half, or double time, if you say yes.
I work for Sainsburys, there is no option of "Would you like to WORK a bank holiday?" - You're expected to WORK the bank holiday. The same goes for most of us in the retail sector. If you want the day off you gotta book it... in advance... months in advance and it counts towards your holiday entitlement!!! Thats prob why the graph showed what it did. Either unpaid leave if boss allows or if paid, counts towards the minimum holiday pay requirement.
@@CrazyInWeston Since I started work in the mid 80's, Bank Holidays have always been optional and well-paid if worked, in my experience. If the retail sector is being Americanised, maybe it's time the unions stepped things up a bit. I'm all for decent employment rights and benefits for _all_ workers.
From the uk, the work hours cap is varied, i work 37.5 hours a week contracted but can easily do 50 if i wanted to, there isn't a limit on how much you can choose to work but there is a limit on what a company can force you to do
The point with McDonald's paying in USA/UK is that in the UK you can actually afford to live with that amount (working full time) and if you can't - you apply for what's called Universal Credit (benefits scheme) that tops it up and/or pays your rent to bring it to minimum living standard. Even if USA pays more, the cost of living is disproportionately higher so that gap is not closed. Wages have to be measured not in a vacuum but how proportional they are to the living cost. It doesn't matter if you get $100 an hour, that's not a lot if say the rent is like 50 grand a month (hyperexaggerrated example obviously but just to show my point) Also - healthcare and other vital services are free in the UK (and even moreso in EU as even UK lags behind in many sectors) so that wage goes a much longer way even if it's smaller. Also Norway pays a lot more because it's also more expensive to live there. But at least you get paid proportionally. In the USA wages are stagnant and don't get increased along with the living cost. 10% increase? Yay... Guess you can get 2 tins of canned tuna instead of one 😂 10% of shit wage is still a shit wage. To bring it up to standard it has to be increased by 150% AS A MINIMUM!
It was great to see somebody not just believing what you are told but looking into what other countries do. I am from New Zealand, so here are some facts for you about living here. Minimum wage is $21.60 per hour regardless of job. I work as a road worker and i get over $30 per hour. If i work over 8 hours OR 40 hours in a 7 day time, this goes to 1.5 times my wage. I also get 25 paid days off + 11 statuary holidays (Christmas day, Easter etc) + 10 days sick leave. If i wan to work on one of these days, i must be paid 1.5 my hourly rate AND get a paid day off for when i choose it. So 46 paid work days off or 2 months of the year to take when WE want to, not when the employer asks. Also there is 6 months paid parental and 6 months non-paid and the employer must hold your position for you. Oh - free health care as well so not a bad place to live.
@@ianmurphy9096 Thanks. It's different in Germany: you get 6 weeks /100% from the company, then for 18 months 70% of the last salary from the health insurance ( due to tax differences it's almost 100%). After that you can get 70% unemployment benefit for 18 months. If you are still sick, you have the possibility to retire. The amount of the pension is then calculated as if you had worked until 67.
Every country thinks their county is the best in the world. But also aware enough to know everyone else thinks that too. Americans seem to think it only applies to them, it’s a delusion
I'm in the UK. I've retired now but I used to work a 41 hour week. I could work overtime if I wanted to and there was a need for an extra body, but I had to volunteer to work the overtime, I couldn't be pressurised into doing it
@@melbeasley9762 Yes but they usually get a choice of being compensated or get extra days off proportional to what extra they've worked. Not sure about the UK but in most of EU extra time gets payed more than regular work time. In my country for ex. if you work extra hours during the workday or in weekends the pay is double. But also you can't just choose to come in on Saturday for ex., there has to be a real need but also they can't force you except in critical jobs like ambulance or fire depts. and even in those they have to show there was real pressure on those emergency systems.
@@marian-gabriel9518 I was in the Ambulance Service. They will still send you out on a call even if you've only a minute left on your shift, though usually the crew taking over will be in early for you but I remember a colleague working 17 hours straight.
@@marian-gabriel9518 No, I think it was probably time and 1/4, but may have been time 1/2. Actually finishing on time was a bit like the meal break. Practically non existant.
America has that crazy positivity about how they're the best. If that boundless energy was put into making it so, I don't think it would take too long.
the fact that in the United States there is no payment for parental leave. will make many workers all over the world heartbroken. because all countries even the poorest countries in Africa guarantee an average of 14 weeks with 100% paid parental leave. and developed countries in Europe have an average of 52 weeks of 100% paid parental leave.
At least in Germany the wage while on leave is paid by the state, so the only cost the employer has during the time, is the obligation to keep the job open for when the new parent returns.
@@Psi-Storm and the state is paid for by people's taxes. but in the united states they don't like their taxes to help the poor and it's better to use it for the military. to facilitate resource expansion for US companies
If you want to work over your contracted hours in the UK it's called "Overtime" So, if you WANT to work more than your contracted hours, you can. Contracted hours are not a con 😂
People in the UK are generally aware of their rights including the many Europeans working here as it is obligatory for companies to advise them in writing when joining the Hours/Pay structures, holiday, pension and health coverage. So even where English is their second language other workers often discuss what rights a new employee should have. However I am sure some 'cowboy' smaller companies try to rip off their employees but will get slayed by Employment Tribunals quite easily if they break the law. The Employment laws here are quite robust and really protects our rights here and in Europe generally. Again this is a result of longterm Socialism...looking after society as a whole rather than longterm Capitalism which looks after the elite/rich and leaves the rest to struggle!
The European work hours law is you can't work more than an average of 48 hours a week averaged over an 11 week period. Which means you can can put in very long hours when it's needed but effectively have to be given that time back to meet the average. There are no restrictions on getting a second job. Those are just the figures for any one job.
I must say, really digging the channel man, and enjoying the reaction videos. Found myself getting into these as of recent and it's always enjoyable to learn someone else in a different part of the world's perspective. The work week hours 'cap' that's mentioned in the video is only the maximum that an employer can enforce as part of the contract with the employee - overtime can still be worked if offered by an employer and if the employee wants to do this, and is generally paid at a higher rate than the standard hourly rate (e.g. if you make £10.00/hour and do an hours overtime at 1.5x, you'll be paid £15.00 for that hour). Of course, the pay rate for overtime varies per employer, however.
I'm German and never was in the US, but I learned a lot about the US through TV and UA-cam. One day I saw a UA-cam Video from an American who was new in Europe he described that he was in the center of a German city and noticed two boys aged 6 or 7 coming around the corner. To my surprise he expected an adult to follow coming around the corner every second. That way I learned, that in the "land of the free" children are not free. Here in Germany, it is absolutely normal for young children to roam on their own in public spaces and use public transport like buses, trams, the tube, and local trains. And no, we don't have those yellow school buses like you in the US because it doesn't make any sense here. After all, we have a good public transport system. So here young children learn how to use public transport on their own, and to school, they walk or use a bike and those with longer distances to school get a permanent ticket for public transport. And of course, the bus might not go directly to the school so they might have to change trams, trains, or buses. And those tickets are often valid nationwide, so theoretically they could explore the entire country on weekends and holidays with regional trains. (The public transport ticket (Deutschland-Ticket) is not valid on long-distance trains like InterCity (IC) and InterCityExpress (ICE)). Another thing is, as you already noticed, the medical system. In Germany usually all people have compulsory health insurance, which also includes close family members (children and spouse), and costs around 15 to 16 % of your income depending on the insurance company. You have the choice between probably 50 and 150 insurance companies, which by law all have to pay for all treatments specified by law. Depending on the insurance company you might get extras like courses for health, losing weight, or sports courses. Around half of the 15 to 16% gets deducted from your salary, and the other half has to be paid by your employer by law. Unemployment insurance, pension insurance, and long-term care insurance are also mandatory and have to be deducted from the salary with 50% and the other half has to be paid by the employer by law. Only the income tax is deducted from your salary completely, so the salary you get is your net income with all duties already being paid. By the way, the prices you see in shops or restaurants also include taxes. (Only the bottle and can deposit or the deposit for multi-use takeaway food packaging or multi-use coffee cups comes on top because that's the money you get refunded by returning the empty bottles, cans, cups, or packaging.) And the tip in the restaurant is not a necessary part of the payment, because waiters get a real wage like al workers and the laws for minimum wage apply there, too. Therefore, some people don't give tips, give the change as a tip, or give not more than 10%. But back to the health topic: Ambulances are free Doctor visits are free (including specialists) For hospitals, you pay a co-payment of 10 Euro per day (which might perhaps cover the cost of the three meals you get), beds, and all treatments and surgeries are free. At the pharmacy, your usual co-payment is 5 Euro, depending on the total price of the medicine your co-payment may rise up to the maximum of 10 Euro. If you are ill and shouldn't work, you get a notice from the doctor, and you will get full payment for six weeks, if you are ill longer than that, the health insurance will pay for another 78 weeks (around one and a half years), but they might reduce the payment to 70% of your salary. Your vacation entitlement is four weeks by law, but usually, you get more than five weeks. Six weeks or some days more are not unusual. And a difference to the US, where you can ask to get your vacation days, in Germany you are obliged by law to take your vacation days completely, you are not allowed to waive any, since vacation is mandatory to recreate yourself. If you get ill during vacation, you need a doctor's notice to get the lost vacation days back that you lost by illness. And the law says that you have to take at least two weeks of your vacation entitlement coherent. And the employer is not allowed to contact you during vacation, except in a real emergency. If you have a high salary, very much above the average, you may decide to be released from the compulsory health insurance system and take a "private" insurance company. That means, you get invoices for everything, have to pay those, and request a refund from the insurance. I personally don't recommend this, since the insurance might - refuse to refund certain treatments - will definitely increase the insurance rate with your increasing age, and you might get a problem if you are a pensioner (because you can't return to the compulsory system) - and your family members are not covered and might need separate health insurance. If you are a woman and give life to a child, you can get paid parental leave. Though I'm not sure about the exact regulations, it is at least one year, and you can give some of your months to your husband to share the parental leave time, for both parents, the rule by law is that they return to the exact working place which they left. The Employer has to reserve those positions by law for the parents. The parents get a monthly payment from the federal government of 300 Euros per child from birth to the 18th birthday, up to the 21st birthday if the child is unemployed, and up to the 25th birthday if the child is in education at a university or professional education at a company. Schools are free, and Universities are almost free, you might have to pay an amount usually between 50 and 300 Euro per semester since every state has its own rules. Other things I learned are that in some states like Florida, they are not teaching the real history anymore, but a fantasy history where slaves got vocational training in some sort of holiday camp to prepare them for future job careers. Our educational system here takes a huge emphasis on everything around WWII, and often classes visit Nazi concentration camps. The same applies to nature. Normally, humans as well as animals get different sexual orientations by birth. How can that be a political topic, it's been the way of nature for thousands of years? Are US politicians stupid? Didn't they learn in history for example, that Roman Emperor/Cesar Elagabalus was a transgender and insisted on being a woman though he was born as a boy? And why does Ron DeSantis have a "Don't say gay bill"?. Since people are born with their sexual orientation, they can't be successfully persuaded to become LGBTQ+ nor can conversion therapy be successful. You can force people to pretend they changed, but a real change is as possible as to force somebody to change his/her eye color or his/her blood type. Children should be told at the age of three that people are born with different sexual orientations so that they can comfortably discover their own orientation without thinking they are a sort of teratism, which might lead to psychic diseases or suicidal tendencies. The same applies to global warming. The "greenhouse effect" was discovered 200 years ago by one of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Revolution leaders, mathematician and scientist Prof. Joseph Fourier. It has been checked and approved by hundreds of thousands of scientists all over the world. How can this be a political discussion topic 200 years later? How stupid can people be? (Or should I ask how so many people can be bribed by the fossil fuel industry?)
I wish Americans ooen their eyes finally.Here in Germany we have everything that the Americans don't.Free healthcare,minimum of 30 days paid vacation,security in everyday life,no guns,50 weeks parental leave and so on....Americans are not free,infact they live in fear and unsecurity.There isno American dream,it's a myth you leaders want you to believe.I wish this changes in the future,but i would never choose to live in the usa thats for sure....
@@MyvIsLove2 You're right mate.I was talking about me personly,just put the sentence in the wrong way.But,the fact is people in my surrounding do have mainly 30 days off.
11:25 it's even more true than a lot of people seem to realize. Because of money in politics the rich and large corporations get what they want, but the voters do not. In the US it's basically impossible to run a political campaign without large donor money. Money in politics in modern times has been legal since the 1970s in the US.
Although I don`t at present know the figure, it is actually illegal in the UK for anyone to spend more than a small amount on electioneering .The figure spent has to be declared and accounted for .
Dude, you are a good Dude. (so sayeth this old punk) Please, watch more of this chanel's content. (not for me, or your audience, but for yourself, and thus by extention us all) And when you've had your mind blown by them, proceed to the podcast they host with two other youtubers. It's worth the watch and certainly worth the listen. Stay stubborn, stay strong, and stay awesome, Dude. You and folk like you are the sliver lining to the storm clouds that have gathered since the 80's. You give an oldhead hope, thank you for that.
You don't fire a politician, they just don't get voted in. Sounds good, right? The problem is that in America the politician that has more money behind them wins 90% of the time, so in the end it is not really the voters, but the rich and corporations that decide which politician gets elected, and you can guess what kind of politician those people are.
Hey young fella! Glad you are putting yourself out there/here 👍 Your best education about the REAL outside world, is here in the comments section! 💡💡 People don't generally dislike Americans, but the boasting about how "you are the greatest country country in the world" is always amusing but tiresome. Especially when most of you know nothing about outside of your borders. That's not your/s fault, it's the education system you were given. It's a very big world out there mate! Go find it 👍🛫🌏 PS America is not the land of the free. Not when women don't have a say about their own bodies and kids can't go to school safely. 😢😢👎 Basic human rights.
In most european countrys you are allowed to work longer hours, if you want. But you will be payed overtime (in Sweden that is usually worth 2x your normal salary, with some variations). The company can under certain conditions order you to work overtime, but that is worth even more than normal overtime. And there is in most cases a cap on how many hours of overtime (normal / Ordered) that you can work in a year. Where I work I think it is max 200 hours in a year total. Plus you need to get 11 hours of rest in between work shifts.
The thing about the paid days off, those are mandatory in most Countries here, as in you HAVE to take those paid days off, even if you dont have a holiday planned or anything at some point EVERY year you MUST take that amount of paid days off.
Like a lot of people, I always heard that America was "The land of the free", which is breath-taking when you hear of the freedoms that people get in most other countries. Imagine you (wherever you are) moved to the US. Imagine yourselves asking these questions: "What do you mean I have to work for a year just to get paid leave?" "What do you mean I don't have access to healthcare as a basic human right?" "What do you mean if I get ill, I could go bankrupt and lose my home?" "What do you mean if I have a baby, I'm expected to go straight back to work or lose money?" It's just insane. What is interesting there is the comment near the end of the video where you said your mum wasn''t where she expected to be because she was delayed by 15 years looking after you. That is such a sad analysis. Said like that, it's almost as if having a child is an inconvenience, or a delay if you will of reaching her goal (wealth?) - and I think that speaks volumes. Surely a more balanced approach would be raise a family and be comfortable, than childless and rich? Though of course, everyone should be free to make their choice. Oh, and to answer your question about the hours cap. WORKERS have the right to work more hours if they wish. COMPANIES cannot mandate their employees to work more than this limit, so it empowers the workers, not the corporations, like it should be.
In Italy, if you have a full-time contract, you work 8 hours a day for a total of 40 hours a week. The employer may require the worker to carry out additional services not exceeding 25% of the agreed weekly hours, with an increase of 15% on the hourly wage. The worker can refuse to carry out additional work if he has work, health, family or professional training needs.
Why would it suck living in Japan? Curious statement. Well done looking at the reality which is truly staggering and tbh much of the rest of the world laughs at how exploited the US is with its workers but can’t believe it’s actually accepted. Madness
As somebody who has actually lived in Japan, I can certainly give reasons why it sucks (and also a few reasons why it's awesome). However I don't think the video guy really knows why he said this.
I would say I laugh, I think it's sad/take pity on people in the US. Even worse for the homeless and especially the homeless veterans. That shit is messed up.
Well I like Japan as much as the next guy, and as a foreigner it's more bearable to live in Japan, but there are some caveats that come with it, especially in its bureaucracy and work, more so in work for ethnically Japanese. It's usually very slow, appointments take long times, translation usually isn't easy, and a lot of things even about owning a home, especially as a foreigner, can be difficult. That does not mean every foeigner has a bad experience living in Japan, and there's plenty of good, but the Japanese culture, as nice as it is, has some very strong pecularities that will strike you as convoluted or regressive when actually living there.
@@DudeSaysThings 🤣🤣🤣I love how you are so excited about learning! I’m 67 and the USA has been hard on me financially and with no healthcare for decades. We put money in politicians pockets and they give us nothing!
I just want to highlight an error in regards to 0 paid holidays in the UK. That's not true, we're paid for Christmas Day and Easter. Everywhere is closed Christmas Day (except emergency services of course), so everyone goes home for Christmas Day itself. If we work religious bank holidays, like Easter, although there's no statuary right to pay employees more, depending on the company, you can earn one and a half or double.
Your question about capped hours, in Australia, the full time work week is 38 hours. You can work more hours than that if you wish. Your employer may offer you overtime, or you may take a second job. If you get overtime, for each hour you work over 38 hours, you get paid 1.5 times your normal hourly rate for the first few hours of overtime, then you go onto double time, which is 2 times your regular hourly rate. It's usually cheaper for employers to not offer overtime and just employ someone else for the extra hours, but as I said, you can always work a second job.
I just discovered this kind of thing but one of my fav genres of UA-cam videos right now is Americans having their mind blown by what the outside world is really like. I mean, it’s not even great where I am, but the USA is next level terrible for workers.
Question to all American viewers, how many people go bankrupt in the EU (European union) every year. Look below for correct answer.
Zero on a population of about 450 million!
USA population 330 million
Medical bills are reported to be the number-one cause of U.S. bankruptcies. One study has claimed that 62.1% of bankruptcies were caused by medical issues.1 Another claims that over two million people are adversely affected by their medical expenses.
Ima pin this for the people
Elsewhere in the world the government provides universal health coverage but not in America. Where Americans pay around 6k per year in Australia they 10% of that.
Bankrupt is a wide term. You can't only go bankrupt because of healthcare and baby care. In Europe you still can go bankrupt by house loan, bank loan, school loan. Sure probably not as many, but still taking loan is pretty commen in Europe too. For healthcare sure not usually, maybe if you have a serious sickness that can't be cured by govermental healthcare.
@@lixon1501 you can still be homeless if you dont pay mortgage in America, in Europe we have protection, especially if children are involved, we care for children after they are born, and dont rely on god to Procter them From shooters or kidnap
well,it is a good reason for this..americans have a strange idea about taxes-you dont want to pay for the healthcare of someone else,because that will affect your tax-yes..that's true,but to maintain the SAME healthcare services in usa,as in most other western countries,you actualy have to pay much,much more in insurancecosts..and you r ok whit that,because then it is your own choice..or atleast you r fooled to belive that bullshit - here in sweden we pay appox 33% in income tax-and ALL healthcare is totaly free,exept silly things like plastic surgery for someone that dosnt need it(ie a firevictim or something..then it's totaly free)-and for an american citizen to have the same healtcare,you have to pay on average over 53% in taxes AND insurances to get the same thing--the only thing you do is to put money in the coorps pocets
I find sad that americans call "benefits" what the rest of the world calls "rights"
In the US, they call it benefits. In my country, they call it self-evidence.
So true 😭😭😭
Very much. Once I was interviewing a US worker who asked me what are the health benefits. I was kinda new to the interview stuff and I had to make him clarify. He asked what is covered in his health insurance in that job. I went like "Umm... everything? Just like every other job? Because that is mandatory by law". We had to do some decrypting on his brain during his employment.
a british woman is asked in a video what she things of the states and she says: a thrird world country with a gucci belt
@@sarahmichael270244 The irony is that UK is more like USA then any other European country as evidenced in this video by UK Mcdonalds workers having similar low salary as US ones.
Only Americans call McDonalds a restaurant.
You actually make me 😆.
It is officially. We might see it in a different way but the definition of a restaurant is "a place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are cooked and served on the premises" . And you may have doubts about the 'cooking' but officially it's a restaurant. But I get your thought, lol.
Officially it is. I remember decades ago when I had an interview at Maccas and I laughed when they said restaurant. To me its just maccas and is more of a fast food joint where as a restaurant is a place that seats its customers, has a waiter AND cook after youve ordered
@@jeringatai3156 never heard of fastfood restaurants?
I mean the definition of places like McDonald and Taco Bell etc is a Fast food *restaurant*.
But I get what you’re saying lol
"The best country in the world, according to a lot of people." According to a lot of Americans! No one else.🤣😂🤣
100% of Americans agree America is proven to be the greatest country in the world
Yeah Americans don’t seem to understand most of the world just laughs at them, Europe over America any day
Yeah, not a great country so quit coming here and freeloading. 🙄 it is the greatest so just stop with the crap….please.
@@matwatson7947 It's not the greatest or best, it's only the richest. Read a dictionary.
@@philipocallaghan it’s not even in the top 5 of the GDP Per Capita Index. Public debt is currently around 27 billion, hardly the richest country.
Is this a red pill moment? I am 64 old Brit, grew up in East and Central Africa. I have travelled around the world, with family, with the military and even as a poor backpacker. I spent 6 months in the US, and have friends and some family there. I love the USA... but, the American attitudes towards the outside world, their naivety around so much of their own country - is all pretty comical, if not rather depressing.
Do you truly not believe that EVERY country, and their people, has their own idiosyncrasies, thoughts, ideas and ideals?
If the country is really that bad, why are we the only country with Net Immigration Postive for over 63 straight years?
Must be doing something right
@@williamherman9065 He didn't say the country was bad, he said he loved it. The USA is _not_ the only country with net immigration, try Germany, France,UK, Australia etc. ( they're all countries that exist outside the USA in case you didn't know).
And, net immigration only proves you aren't the worst country. Your inability to read and process a simple, one paragraph comment says everything we need to know.
@@williamherman9065 Because America is shown to the rest of the world as the best place to live, which is false..
@@williamherman9065 But not a lot !!
William Herman You understand that people leave America too, yes? I have American friends who moved here who say they were never treated like a real person before but didn’t know it till they moved.
Don’t mistake your reputation with reality.
The irony here is that while you are discovering this for the first time these facts are freely known in the outside world. Very much like the film ‘the matrix’ most Americans choose to live in denial and ignorance and to mis-phrase a quote..’do you believe that is freedom your breathing now?’..
It's sorta like how North Koreans are told that they've got it better than everyone else.
@@abedrayton6188 Except Americans have free access to the internet. North Koreans are lucky to even have electricity and food let alone a computer. I think it is more of a willing blindness.
@@joandsarah77
It's a similarity, not a one-to-one comparison. The US uses propaganda and indoctrination differently, and its worst offenses are committed against people in other countries (though there are plenty against USians, too)
@@joandsarah77 It's not completely willing. Yes, we have access to the information. But you don't know what you don't know. If you are never given any reason to think that you should seek information from outside of your bubble, then it's really hard to ever actually do it. And America is designed to prevent people from thinking just that, so most people stay within the bubble.
True but also respect to Dude is due for taking on these videos which must be uncomfortable enough as they go against everything he has been taught, let alone doing it in public like this.
The American people as a whole should demand better from their government, unfortunately their representatives are too busy lining their own pockets
even the term "benefits" sounds hillarious to Europeans.
Exactly… 'Benefits' are what are paid to the unemployed, low paid workers, the sick and/or disabled, or those otherwise unable to live adequately on their income. In most jobs, benefits neither exist nor are necessary. - There may be perks provided by an employer, like a subsidised canteen, social club, gym, discounts on products and services, or even private medical insurance (to allow queue jumping for non urgent treatment/procedures)
It's dystopian, yes.
The did not All flea to America
No Denmark, Norway and France are not 3. World countries
First: I love you're genuine reaction. Many Americans are too stubborn to look over their country borders (or their education). You are not.
Let me blow your mind with another fact from Germany. My daughter was born 2-years ago, and 10 weeks before birth my wife (ingeneer) was taken out of duty by her gynecologist. PAID. Would have been too dangerous to work for her til birth. In Germany there is a term 'Mutterschutz', tranlated to english meaning 'protection of mother and child' normally 2 weeks off before birth and 6 weeks after. PAID. Which extended in this case because of her condition. But after this she took
MATERNAL LEAVE for 12 month. PAID. And after that I (icu nurse) took 3 month PATERNAL LEAVE. PAID.
Don't know why American people think this is bad or socialism.
Pst-> it's 6 weeks before the birth and 8 weeks after the birth and in the case of multiple births even 10 or 12 weeks;) The Maternity Protection Act regulates, among other things, the maximum daily working hours/ shift work, work with "hazardous" substances (even dealing with kindergarten children may be considered dangerous if not fully vaccinated). And much more.
Many larger companies also hand out extensive material on maternity protection and parental leave after submitting the medical certificate (= certificate or copy of the maternity pass).
Americans have a very different definition of socialism compared to any other country in my experience. They also appear to think it’s an absolute system rather than how we use it which is an “a bit here and there” kind of approach. If we had nothing but socialism it wouldn’t be good but that’s what they think it means.
@@ThePinkBinks Survey after survey has shown that most Americans would love social health care, proper gun control laws, and better worker conditions, but the system of governance (Many blocks in that system to prevent changes) in America makes it very hard to change things, even if the majority of Americans want something they find it very difficult to change laws or get things changed to what they would desire, it simply doesn't happen because of the way the system of Governance is constructed, that allows a few to have huge influence in preventing any change to the Status Co or blocking any new laws to improve things!
@@gerrywhelan5761 Unfortunately, politics in the US is supported and backed by big money and big business, and without legally set and enforced caps on campaign spending, the richest business sectors have undue influence by sponsoring (overtly or otherwise) candidates and parties who'll help them make big profits. The ordinary 'man in the street' has little influence, and what opinions he has to determine his vote, often come from broadcast 'information' paid for and promoted by wealthy campaign budgets funded by big business.
It's 6 weeks before birth, and 8 weeks after. I know, because I'm a mum of three daughters living in Germany.
I can't stop watching reactions to these kinds of videos lmao!
Watching Americans discover what socialism really is about makes my day everytime!
Well actually it's not about socialism, it's about social democracies, which is a somewhat different beast. It's like American can't see the difference.
@@brendanh8193 well tbh socialism is the ideological root of social democracies
What Americans need to understand is that there is a huge gap between socialism and marxist communism
@@brendanh8193 second tought is a socialist youtuber.
You are confusing socialism with social programs. You would not like true socialism much.
@@arthurkineard7356 sharing the means of production?
DudeSaysThings "it must suck living in Japan" - Japanese person - " It must suck living in the US "
And the rest of the world: the Japanese dude is right
I'm not Japanese but I thought it was weird lol Japanese work culture is bad but damn definitely not worse than the US for sure
@@MyvIsLove2 also the Japanese choose to do it, it’s not out of necessity like America! The Japanese are just naturally work orientated while Americans have to overwork themselves just to survive
japan catching strays 😅
Keep asking yourself questions even if you think they're stupid. You won't get an answer if you don't ask! Keep educating yourself about other countries and keep doing these reaction videos - they're so crucial to yourself and your fellow Americans 💪
Lots of thumbs up from Denmark 👍🥳
Absolutely! No one can know something until they are willing to accept their ignorance on the topic.
to answer the question about the full time cap: people can work more then the hours in the contract if they need to finish a project etc and it's considered overtime. In Romania at least (not sure about the rest of Europe), every hour of overtime is payed based on the contract but it's usually 2x the normal hourly pay. For me for example overtime in normal days is 2x and it's 3x for weekends and legal holidays. The employers usually avoid giving overtime unless absolutely necessary but legally they can. Also, they can't legally keep you at work more than 40hr/wk (8hr/day) without giving you overtime. They might try but if they fire you for refusing to stay overtime you can sue them and you usually win... Here at least, a full time contract is clearly defined as 8hr/day, no more no less, and a part time contract is 4hr/day. A lot of places you can usually leave early if you finish your work (at least in the office jobs). Some people stay overtime without pay because they want to work, or the are passionate or whatever but your boss can't legally MAKE you stay overtime. I hope this cleared it up xD.
absolutely true!!! keep you informed, educated!
Knowledge is power.
Just imagine one company in America turns things on their back and gives all employees all the benefits Europe does. Every US person in poverty would scramble to get a job there and every rich person would condemn it.
that about sums up America's political system ,they put out feelers then add media influence and bam ,get everyone on side. People no longer think or research , just act on what they are told ,unfortunately the rest of the world seems now to follow suit . our media has been hijacked and politics corrupted ,and guess we are all to blame
There was a German company in the USA (it may have been BMW, I‘m not sure anymore) that wanted to open a new factory and implement all the institutions and benefits that are required under German law. That included a works committee and it‘s representation on the board. They actually ran into local state law, competitors lobbied against it and the employees were confused by the concept of direct participation in company management. They rolled it all back in the end. It just didn’t fit the culture.
@@asmodon just about sums up America they believe the propaganda from Aristocrats ,cause they refuse to come together ,unions are bought off and legistration gets put in place .
And the owner of that company will eventually have a mysterious airplane crash.
It's kind of the same with social healthcare tbf bud.
If one hospital offered socialised healthcare in America, most patients would opt for treatment at that hospital.
It's what happened in the UK when the nhs was introduced. The only doctors before this were all private, they opposed the idea, and were given a deadline to join the nhs workforce. Some joined with just 3 days left before rollout.
Upon rollout ALL the patients only attended nhs doctors and hospitals because why pay for something if you don't have to. Within a week, the private sector hold outs signed upto nhs workforce.
The private sector still exists in a very much diminished form in the UK, with super low premiums because they have to compete with a free service and turn a profit.
But it more or less killed the private sector (and its profits) in less less 24 hours, and thats probably the way it would go with an American company introducing fairer workers rights
I used to live in New York. I was hospitalized with a minor infection for 6 days. It cost me, $32,245. I now live in Canada. I was hospitalized for 3 weeks after a stroke. The cost? 0 dollars. If I still lived in the States I'd now be bankrupt.
I know what you mean I am in UK I spent 2weeks in hospital had multiple x-rays and got seen to by multiple specialist and had medication while there and cost me a grand total of £0.00 hate to think how in debt I would be if I was in the states
I would honestly ask myself for what I am even existing if I had to pay 30k for something I can't control
@@MyvIsLove2 For the most part our health is in our control, to a point. But there are other times that life just kicks you and we have to deal with it. I'm grateful I got the care, but I'm also grateful I had the money!!
I live in the UK and I had a major heart attack 5 years ago if that had happened in America I'd be either bankrupt, dead or both .
@@Shaneodell35 How much of your money is wasted on Insurance company’s vast expenses and profit.
Honestly, when I visited the thing that shocked me the most was cashiers standing for no reason.
Some of the things normal in the US just appear sadistic.
As a student I worked for an American-style coffee start-up chain, run by an American and a Canadian who thought McDonald's was a 'great model'. They refused to give me a stool to sit on when I was not busy and said I could use the time for 'cleaning'. I just brought a stool anyway. They threatened to fire me for it, but here in the Netherlands this can't happen. So I referred them to employment law. The delusional ideas these people had were amazing. It's no wonder they went out of business.
@@baronmeduse Yea, my reaction to some things Americans deal with would be to laugh in their face.
"You can't sit down"
"Of course I can sit down. Don't be silly."
"I'll fire you"
"No you won't.
Never had to deal with people like that luckily.
@@baronmeduse One single call to the Arbeidsinspectie (Labor Rules Enforcement Agency) would have solved this.
@@baronmeduse The same happened with Walmart.
@@dutchman7623 I did that. They're less and less trustworthy now though, being in the pocket of certain corporations and operating under a succession of right-wing governments.
15:10 My understanding in the UK is that the cap on the work week is about how many hours an employer can _require_ you to work. They can _ask_ you to work more (and you can offer to do more if you want) but they can't hold it against you if you say no. Any additional hours above what's specified in your original contract are also usually paid at one and a half times your usual hourly rate, sometimes more depending on the employer and the circumstances.
Exactly! Every overtime hour is paid more than regular hours. About the double.
In Germany the work protection law states that an employee can't work more than 8 hours per day 6 days a week average, so 48 hours a week. You can work up to 10 hours per day, but your 24 week average has to be at or below 8 hours per day. If you want to earn more, you need to get a better paying job.
@@Psi-Storm Oder Schwarzarbeit
Belgium: They also get taxed more if you make over time.
If you don't spend your one month yearly vacation outside of work while spending that money for that yearly vacation money you get taxed for that or have to return it. (Meaning that you're working 12months straight w.o break) only applicable to employees not entrepreneurs.
Usually employers will have scheduled cycle of who are in "mandatory" vacation as the business will be taxed/ fined if an employee works w.o vacation/ breaks.
I am an IT Consultant after I left the British Army (Royal Artillery) I was paid a day rate of £400 a day Mon-Fri if I had to do work on the weekend etc... that was £75 per hour I was working over time That was my last contract as an example
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are NOT thirld world countries, these countries are the the most developed countries in the world, and are always in the top of the list with the happiest people in the world.
You should not apologize for not having the knowledge about these countries.
The important thing is that you are open to learn! 👏
@@Lewtable
You are right, but i can’t imagine that was you thought i meant either?
Just because America as a country has a lot of wealth it does not mean that it’s citizens has a lot of wealth, are living happy and well balanced lives and are treated fairly!
The important thing is what you do with that wealth.
Looking at the evidence shows that America does not invest that wealth in it’s citizens, that’s for sure.
Compare that with the scandinavian countrys, the complete other way around.
Sorry but the wrong terms and if that got you confused.
Is that a widespread view? I thought third world were places in the world where access to clean water is difficult
Australian. Never heard the definition of 1st 2nd a sd 3rd world re USA, USSR, etc. It's always been presented as 1st world ie Developed nations, industrialised, higher standard of living, healthcare etc, higher per capita income. 3rd world as Undeveloped nations, subsistence agriculture, other agriculture, not industrialised, very low per capita income%. 2nd world nearly always described as Developing nations ie, agriculture plus industry, and income part way between 1st and 3rd world nations.
That does not mean people in 2nd and 3rd world countries are less intelligent, less wise etc, they just haven't had the opportunities people in 1st world countries have had.
@@PrincessGold1 That's pretty much what I heard as definitions.
Greetings from Switzerland.
I live in a third world country (South Africa) and we get at least 25 days paid leave vacation, three months maternity leave (paid) and that could be extended at half pay. We are prohibited to go to work if we are sick. Our work week is maximum 45 hours per week at full pay. If you work weekends or public holidays, you get 1.5 or double rates per hour. If you are required to work more, like doctors or fire fighters, you get paid days off.
I love you're genuine reaction...
As a french, I confirm the 5 Weeks paid vacation and parental leave
Yes, Denmark is a rich country.
It is one of the countries of northern Europe ( like Sweden, Norway, Finland ... )which are the most taxed but where the quality of life is very good.... In fact, they are in the TOP 10 for that in the World
In Sweden, a minimum of 5 weeks paid vacation, 16 months paid parental leave/child, paid sick days (unlimited), paid time off to care for a sick child,... and more billionaires per capita than the USA.
I am Danish and happy to pay my taxes. Not only parental leave and 5 weeks vacations, but FREE HEALTHCARE (not including dental work except for a few exceptions like cancer in the mouth which is the one I know for sure but we are working on it), children's check every 3 months for low income households, right to pension at 67 years old and for pensioners who only receive their pension and have no extra income or savings, help to pay rent and an extra check every year (US$ 2.600 this year before taxes). I just mentioned a few of the many benefits we have, all payed for through taxes. We pay high taxes but we get a whole lot back. And as you know, we are a very happy country. It seems to me, that the more taxes you pay, the happier you are, because you can see where your money goes and all the things you can get for that. Check the list over happy countries and you will see that there is a correlation 🇩🇰 🦢 🇩🇰
As a swiss, I agree. I am not saying we don't have issues and problems. But compared to the US, I am happy with our issues. Also, here business, unions and the broad public still works together to make it fair. We understand that we need to be able to compete with other markets, but we know that our workers are the biggest asset. from construction workers to nurses and doctors, from cleaners to scientists, in the end, all working together is the only way for us. And I think if you compare all the taxes in the US, nt just the federal ones, the americans pay more or less the same.. just with NO benefits
@@shanwyn We Swiss really can't talk for the rest of Europe. We are closer to the U.S. than to Europe. Medical depth is the second largerst reason for bankrupcy. We work too long and don't even habe medicare for all. We are one of only 2 countries in the world with sich a bad, predatory insurance system. We have to abolish private insurance. It's a expensive scam. We tread people that need help like criminals, we don't pay good retirments and we allow corruption in politics. Yes dark money is legal in our political system. We have to change a lot.
Yes we aren't the U.S., but we aren't close to civilized nations.
No, buisness and politicans don't Make it fair. They are working against the public. You are the same as these brainwashed Americans. It's so sad.
All the workers you listed, we don't pay well and overwork them, especialy nurses.
Don't spread these lies.
16:55 "It must suck to live in these places in Japan" Why do you think that? It sucks to live in the USA - life in all of the listed countries is way better than in the USA. In the USA you not only have to worry about the topics mentioned in this video, it is also one of the least save countries in the world because of sky high crime rates, including a staggering amount of murders because of the crazy lack of gun control. Here's one example: In 2021 19,200 people in the USA where murdered. In Germany we had 220 murders in 2021. Most US americans will say "yeah but we also have a larger population" which is of course true: The US population (332 million) is roughly 4 times as large as the German population (83 million). This means that if the rates per capita where the same the USA would have had about 880 - 900 murders, not 19,200. And that doesn't even cover all the people dying in gun related deaths that are not murders - for example in 2020 24,292 people committed sucicide with a gun, and on top of that there's several thousand people who where killed by accident involving guns. Japan had 854 cases of murder in 2021 btw. which is a way better rate than in the USA (Japan has 126 million inhabitants)
Of course Norway and Denmark are not third world countries! Norway is the country with the highest income per capita in the world, and also one of the countries with the highest living standards.
He is just listing some countries from different places including a few third world (or developing) countries.
I wanted to respond to this, but i wanted to know, why he thinks that living in Japan sucks, when in reality Japan is way, way better place to live than the US, why would someone think that Japan is bad?
@@hidajetsejdic4270 IGNORANCE! BAYVILLE NY!
@@hidajetsejdic4270: He was being sarcastic.
@@jeschinstad
No, he was not! He even admitted on another video, that he just “heard stories” how Japan sucks… Did you watch this video at all? It’s clear that the dude just didn’t know, he was not joking or being sarcastic.. he sincerely thought Japan sucks.
@@hidajetsejdic4270: I watched the video directly before responding. It is pretty clear to me that he isn't very well informed about other countries. I am a Norwegian and he asked if Denmark and Norway are third-world countries. He concluded we weren't, which is correct, but he wasn't confident. That wasn't an attempt at humor or sarcasm, it was a seeker of knowledge admitting his ignorance, which I embrace and support.
When he speaks about Japan, he's simply trying to come up with an example of a country that is not as bad compared to America as he has been taught to believe. I might've said, «yeah, it must suck to be unemployed in Norway, where you are guaranteed a home and a livable income». He just didn't have enough knowledge to complete his sarcasm - which is why sarcasm should be used sparingly.
I often ridicule willful ignorance, but I never make fun of the ignorance of someone who is trying to learn. It would be evil to push a baby who's trying to learn how to walk, right? I think it extends through our lifetimes.
Please ask as many "stupid" questions as you wish. You want to learn and this is the way to do!! Glad to see that you want to learn!
When American politicians really try to help ordinary people they will be called socialist or communist.
Becaus thats what socialism f@cking accually means, helping people xD
Swede here! I really feel for you guys. I've watched so many reaction videos of this kind and the shock so many of you react with when hearing how America actually compares to the rest of the civilised world, is a little heartbreaking.
BUT!
With you and others doing these videos, showing YOUR reactions and experiences and spreading them on UA-cam and other places, means that YOU ARE SPREADING KNOWLEDGE!
This is GOOD! You are helping your fellow Americans to become aware of how you deserve better and that the current state of things isn't written in stone. So please, spread this on! Yours and others reactions can be the thing that makes other young people see the absolute bullshit you're unnecessarily being forced through!
You are sitting right there reacting and by showing it, helping to spread awareness and I so, SO hope for your generation to become the actual labor rights movement your country so desperately need.
No nature law says it has to be this bad. Don't despair! Keep being the change for good!
Love from Sweden (and btw. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland are some of the richest countries with highest living standards and low poverty rate IN THE WORLD!)
Hi from Finland, the worlds happiest country on earth, many years in a row. 😄 What's up Sweden! ☺️
@@annina134 Hei! :D Wishing we were as happy as you, lovely neighbor!
@@denelva all the best to you too, good neighbour! :) Ha det så bra!
22:45
"You telling me that third world countries can find the means to give people paid leave to spend time with their kids but the richest country in the world can't ?"
well, the richest country can find the means , but to quote the late great George Carlin: the owners of america don't want to provide the means.
go and check out Gerorge Carlin's "owners of America" routine
Danmark here.
If I get paid 22 $ an hour and pay 50% tax I still have 11$ i my pocket,
and then have have payed for healtinsurence + education +social security +roads +trains and all sorts af infrastructure.
Not only for my self but also for everybody els.
So mayby the naighbors kids can be doctors an safe my life one day,
insted of robbing me and sell crack to my kids.
So after paying this "huge" tax I still have more money than a us-worker get payed before tax.
And then you have to pay for all the other things.
You were right - Denmark and Norway are not 3world countrys, but it seems usa is.
There are states in us where people have a shorter life than Bangladesh.
I will never set foot on us soil, and I do not bye american produks if I can avoid it.
Aussie worker here. Your comment about "Doesn't a capped work week mean that workers can't work more?"...no...it means that when you work more than the cap you get paid "overtime rates". If I go over my 38hr work week then I get paid time and a half for the 1st 2hrs overtime and then double time after that...calculated per shift. So on Monday's shift I work 3hrs overtime I get time and a half for the first 2hrs and double time for the third. If I work an hour overtime on the Wednesday then the calculations start over and I get time and a half for that hour. These rates are higher on public holidays up to double time and a half. I get 6 weeks paid leave every year for the first 10yrs. After 10yrs I get a bonus 12 weeks (called long service leave) in a lump sum and I then accrue an additional 3 weeks per year for "long service". So when that gets calculated at a yearly rate I accrue 9 weeks leave per year after 10yrs service. I have been in the same job for 24 years and I currently have approximately 1400hrs leave in my leave bank. Meaning I could go on a vacation for 36 weeks on full pay. Parental leave in Australia is 9months for the mother post birth and 3 months for the father.
It's great that so many american youtubers are doing these reactions and talking about it! I hope other americans are watching and not just people from the rest of the world. And ignore the haters, atleast you are educating yourself. good on ya
Dude, Norway is among the richest countrys in the world, you really need to check out more videos about Europa and the way things are done here :-)
Ever been to the US? It is mind boggling what they know about Europe, let alone other areas.
Should have seen the face of the Customs Officer that asked me if I wanted to stay longer than the six weeks vacation I had and I answered "No way!". Made it up with him by saying their National Parks were beautiful.
(The only thing they did not create themselves.)
Here in Australia, I get 4 weeks holiday every year, I get an extra 17 1/2% extra (called leave loading) if I work for the same company for 10 years I get 3 months off, paid (called long service leave) Parental leave here is 18 weeks. Minimum wage is $20 per hour. The work week is 38 hours after that you get overtime rates 1 1/2 extra pay. Work public holidays double time. Plus we have health care that is paid in our taxes I think it's about 2% of our wages. I can literally (and do) go to a doctor and pay nothing. As a result hardly anybody tips here, there's no need we get a decent wage. So yeah, America is the best country on the planet, yeah, no.
damn that even puts Germany here into a bad light LOL you go, australia
4 weeks (20 days) are mandatory by the EU. It is funny how my uncle who went to the USA in early 90s has fewer days after 30 years of work (in the same company) than I had since day one. It is always hilarious how my family talks about something great in their work place (for example, one of my cousins has 'a lot of paid leave' - 20 days) or country in general while it is pretty low bar here.
Haha America hell yeah 😃
Im in Australia to working in construction and i also get 26 days rdo ontop of annual leave and get paid to live comfortably and only work 40hrs a week. Love Australia 🇦🇺
Also Aussie, I fully agree just one point. It is the working week that is 38 hours not the working day.
@@gabrielstrong2186 oops, yeah I stuffed that up
yes in France, you can stay 3 years at home with your kids (from the second one). And for twins which was my case, it's 36 weeks (12 before birth and 22 after)
To make it a bit clearer for you. During the 1950's the world was struggling from world war two, the US was not. The US then became a magnet for workers skilled and unskilled for a vast majority of Europeans, African and Asians to have a decent life. It was labelled the 'brain drain' those that were highly educated left to live in the US. To stop the 'brain drain' and losing workers to the US, some countries decided to offer MORE than the US did. This created many governments to keep workers with great benefits, such as paid holidays and maternity leave. This did two things stopped the Europeans leaving for the US and kept workers in their countries. Today Europe is now the preferred destination for economic migrants and asylum seekers because it has better rights than the US does. The US still retains its power over US citizens because US citizens are told never leave, never ever leave, ever, because its greatest country on earth, and in reality its not. When a country has to resort to saying its the best country on earth, its a lie.
There's much more to it than that. The brain drain is only part of the story and only had a minimal effect. Not that many went to the USA from Europe as the USA invested massively in Europe's reconstruction and profited from it dramatically. You massively overestimate how big the brain drain was. Western Europe even had to import workers in the 50s and 60s.
What is much, much more important is that in the 50s America had the "red scare" where anyone even remotely showing socialist or communist sympathies was prosecuted and jailed as a traitor and spy. Socialist became synonymous with communist in the USA and the entire leftist political spectrum was wiped out. The USA hasn't had any sort of leftist political party or political influence since the 50s. Even the current "leftist socialist" Bernie Sanders would be considered a moderate left leaning centrist here in Europe.
In Europe on the other hand, we literally bordered the Soviet Union and had communism in our doorstep. And while communism had many flaws, workers being treated with respect and respecting their rights resonated much more here because of that. Every country in Europe had a socialist party and often even a flat out communist party. And since all European countries have multi-party parliamentary democracies that often form multi-party coalition governments, the influence of socialist parties was very large here. And that's not even talking about organised unions in Europe.
Socialist parties often were and still are the majority in a coalition government in European countries, and steered policy quite heavily in Europe. Whereas in the USA, any sort of leftist politics has been abscent since the 1950s. In the USA you can vote centrist-right (democrat), or extreme right (republican). That's it. There is no left. As I said, even Bernie is "only" a left-centrist and even that is too leftist for the USA to get elected. Literally everything Bernie Sanders proposes (no student debt, cheap education, universal healthcare, workers rights, and so on), every western European democratic country has had since the 1950s-60s.
US wasn't affected - it was only in the war for 2 years.
Well, also these other countries have a much different culture. In Italy I know that the idea of culturally slaving yourself to a job would be absurd. Very few Italians would tolerate living like that. They want to be able to enjoy their lives and their families and their food. A lot of Europe also has universal healthcare and sees education and health as key to not just their country's work and economy, but also their culture and enjoyment of life. There's a much greater culture of universality and helping each other. You can see it even with simple things like wearing masks or not. The US has been groomed to have this libertarian rah rah freedom and capitalist mindset and so it's much harder to get them to understand the benefits of doing things as a collective to make all your lives easier.
@@johanwittens7712 a fair point and it's still relevant the US isn't the promised land. But the WW2 was a sea change for Europe to reevaluate it's politics, it's future and stability. The US did not have internal issues as Europe did. Give that McCarthyism did for several decades control the internal narritive of socialist politics as either corrupt and expensive. Today the US have media that uses bad examples of democratic socialist countries in dire economic trouble. Venezuela and Cuba still get used to demonize socialists movement. The US will over decades move towards a more European model. But if you want that now then move to Europe.
Most European countries already had social benefits before the war . (In Prussia first health insurance 1845/ In German Empire 1883 = 13 weeks sick pay/50%).
4 weeks maternity leave since 1891.
During the 50/60/70s labor was sought everywhere in Europe. This led to strong unions, but the realization of the need to protect the worker came in the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century. (Political motives have supported this)
As a retired small business owner, I can tell you that when you work for yourself, you never get a day off if you want to succeed. I had five employees, and my pay was lower than theirs considered as an hourly wage. I made more money each week because I worked eighty hour weeks, which included weekends. This absolutely killed my family life. In this country if you work for a wage you're screwed, if you work for yourself, you're screwed, and if you do illegal stuff for money, you really get screwed. This is something the US really needs to fix
This is the problem in America, everybody is killing themselves chasing the American dream. I honestly hope things will get better for you.
Yeah, I’m very sorry but honestly you had no way to win, not in America. It’s so sad that most young people in America will find that same truth after working their lives away!
@@jennifermcdonald5432 Hopefully things are changing somewhat with the increased availability of the Internet, and knowledge, and awareness about these things. It's easy to be pessimistic, but I'm of the opinion that as years go by, more and more people will be aware of this and try to fix it.
@@badwulff I very much hope so!
I was just passing through my feed and I clicked on your video. I live in Sweden and we have 5 weeks of vacation every year, paid.
480 paid days to share between the mother and father in paternity leave.
Unlimited sick leave. If you are sick stay home and see a doctor. We pay max 122 dollars a year for hospital or a doctors office so if you need a doctor after that is payed it free for that year. Medicine is max 244 dollars for a year than it's free for a year. Insulin is always free!
We have 1 billionaire for every 250 000 ppl. Fairy many with a population of only 10 million people.
I think Michael Moore did a series of docos about other countries compared to the USA. One of them was about education and lifestyle differences. It was really amazing seeing how some European countries value their workforce with time off and how many days and hours a week they must work.
It's a video I've seen many Americans react to and the realisation of how bad a life Americans actually have is pretty shocking.
The wages and holiday situation is scandalous in America.
Your legal system is a joke.
Your healthcare is shockingly bad.
The wages mentioned here, are ... i don't know, i am a bit suspicious to how he got to $22 for a McD worker in denmark. In germany it's $11 and i somehow doubt that they pay twice as much just a few hours north of us.
@@TheAlja last time I checked Denmark had a minimum wage of 17€. Mind you, that's a couple years back. So yes, it's a realistic number
@@TheAlja if they didt pay the workers that, there woundlt be a MCD in denmark at all, MCD learned that the hard way, when all danish unions nearly destroyed McD
50 States behaving like 50 separate countries! - The Former United States of America!
15:30 It's called then overtime and is paid on top of regular hours usually on higher rate and depending of your contract it's usually voluntary
Because in “other countries”, we are respected as HUMAN BEINGS with a life and a soul - not Human robots able to be manipulated by greed hungry companies who care diddly squat about the people they USE as a workforce.
The USA - Where having a Gun is a Right, and Healthcare is a Priviledge!
It's honestly really scary, imagine being a mom in America, ruin your body in labor and not get a single day of. Crazy!!! It's just crazy!!!!
You are pretty grown up for such a young boy. I am really impressed. It's maybe a hard shock for you, but see it that way : your eyes get opened up early and you have a lot of time to do something with this information. Now imagine all the Americans who believe with patience how great their country is for their entire life. They don't even have a chance to change something cause they don't even know that other possibilities exist.
I always find it strange when I hear on american movies that parents need to save for a college fund to put their kids through college. In scotland university is free.
there is such thing as community collage but you still have to pay for supplies most my friends who are going or went to collage got scholarships
@@DudeSaysThings Fun fact in Denmark we are paid to go to college
@Lennart Andersson GB Sending love and happiness back at you [ big brother LOL ]
Now that insane to me
@@michaeledwards9358 the UK taxpayer doesn't pay Scottish universities etc. The Scottish government budgets for these things. That's one of the benefits of not voting tory
Shout out to all the people giving me info about there lives in other countries really interesting reading ur comments
Also I know Denmark and Norway are not 3rd world country's i got a bad habit of mixing words up especially when I'm focused on something
Germany here..hello!
You know, health insurance is mandatory here.
Even if you are unemployed.
There is some untruth spilled from some youtubers(americans) that getting appointments with specialists is difficult.
Well, not true.If you need one you will.
The vacationtime here is great.
My american hubby started a new job last year and got 33 days. If he plan wisely he will have 45 days.
It's payed vacation and he works 30 hours a week.
I find the so called american dream a nightmare because what many fail to see is that you need a sh*tload of money in the us to life a good live(having money to call an ambulance-free in europe) instead of an Uber.
But if you don't know any different i understand why this sounds outlandish for us americans.
See, these prejuduce that eg McDonalds is only for people who can't do better is wrong here.
In my hometown a fairly well-known indian-german actor is a manager at McDonalds when he has no acting jobs..that's clever because he is health insured, unemploymend and retierement insured.
So i think that is not bad😊
The Euro is worth slightly more than th US Dollar. The current exchange rate is roughly €1 = $1.05
@@Codex7777 true..still life in Europe is better due to certain rules and regulations.
Good on you for wanting to inform yourself and educate others. The more you learn about the world outside the USA the more you can make informed opinions of how you want to live your life. Here in the UK as part of Europe we Europeans have slways looked outwardly to others countries in Europe and far beyond as we do travel extensively to the Far East/Australasian continent/ South America and of course the USA. Travel broadens the mind!
In Denmark we have no minimum wage the reason McDonald pays fair wages is bacause we have strong Unions and yes we pay a lot in tax but 9 out of 10 danes will tell you that we gladly pay it because of what we get
it's so nice to watch your journey of discovering the world that we are living in, outside of the 'American bubble'
Guarantee 99% of Americans completely reject this.
1:50 This comment on what you said a few months ago means that you've opened your eyes for different views. That is huge actually. Keep up the good work! 👍
Watching a person's eyes open can be just as interesting as seeing them laugh, cry or get scared.
Getting called in to work when you handed in your vactation and had it approved that day!? I can't even imagine something like this happening. I would quit on the spot and see if i could sue (i propably could)
No problem it's unreasonable behaviour by employer, almost certainly costructive dismissal and tribunal would find for you.
Well, that can happen in Germany, BUT the employer needs a really good reason. Factory is on fire reasons, returning the vacation day with options to take the vacation, AND pay for all incured costs.
You have books a flight and a hotel? The company now has to burden the cost.
Not to mention the hot water your company is in, if it breaks up your only option for a 2+ week vacation this year.
As a Brit, I feel the need to lay out some basic facts so...
Children under 16 are not legally allowed to work in a full-time position, but they are able to work for a limited number of hours from the age of 13.
But then at aged 16, you get a National Insurance Number (NINO = SS ID) and can get a full-time job and pay taxes on it.
Then we need to discuss minimum wage (it's officially called National Living Wage, which is the minimum wage that the average person needs to live a good life on), it varies based on your age ...
Living Wage. Pay Rate in GBP/Hr(as of April 2022).
Apprenticeship. 4.81.
16 - 17 y/o. 4.81.
18 - 20 y/o. 6.83.
21 - 22 y/o. 9.18.
23 y/o +. 9.50.
There is no legal minimum when deciding what is working full-time hours, where it is up to an individual employer to decide what is classed as a full or part-time contract. However, typically, a full-time worker in the UK will work 35 to 40 hours per week. But the breakdown of a 40 hour work week is usually a 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday schedule but for each 6 hour shift you get a mandated 15 minute break (but most places give you a half hour lunch break).
Then there's the issue of income tax, in the UK we pay 1 tax bill to the central government on our income. This is usually handled through a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, how PAYE works is that the company you work for knows how many hours you are contracted and how many hours you are billing on your timesheet. So the company tells HMRC (our IRS) how much you earn, HMRC calculates your taxes and asks the company to pay that ... and no worker who is NOT self-employed ever has to worry about filing income tax, for the self-employed there is a simple and FREE HMRC self-declaration website that they type in their identifiers (name, address, business registration number, NINO), their income and expenses - and then the HMRC calculate the person's taxes for FREE (no b/s "processing fees") and then takes payment by bank transfer.
Our income taxes are fairly simple to calculate and understand, in that how much Income Tax you pay in each tax year depends on:
1. how much of your income is above your Personal Allowance.
2. how much of your income falls within each tax band.
So what this means is that EVERYONE (from Queen Elizabeth to a lowly peasant like me) has a non-taxable personal allowance of £12,570 per year, we all pay no income tax on this. If you have a spouse who doesn't have paid employment, then their allowance is applied to your income and you pay no tax on the first £25, 140 of your income.
But the basic income tax brackets are as follows: -
Band Taxable income Tax rate
Personal Allowance Anything under £12,570 0%
Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20%
Higher rate £50,271 to £150,000 40%
Additional rate Anything over £150,000 45%
So for example, let's say you earn £200, 000 per year then your tax bill will be: -
0% tax on the first £12,570 = So £200, 000 - £12,570 = £187, 430 of taxable income.
Then you pay 20% of £50,270, that's £4,054
Leaving you with an income of £137, 160 that you have yet to pay taxes on, this falls into the Higher Rate (40%) bracket ... £187, 430 - £50,270 = £137, 160
Then you 40% of £137, 160, which is £54, 864.
Your cumulative taxes are: -
£4,054 (20% of £50,270) + £54, 864 (40% of £137, 160) = £58, 918 (this is the total figure you will pay in income tax, but if you're NOT self-employed then you never see this money as it's automatically deducted every month from your pay cheque).
Meaning that after taxes, your £200, 000 per year income is £145, 136 ... you get to keep 72.56800% of your initial income because your total income tax was a mere 27.432% on your £200, 000 per year income.
Then let's talk about annual leave, almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ (or 28 days) of paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave) upon commencement of working at a company.
This includes agency workers, workers with irregular hours & workers on zero-hours contracts. And an employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave.
However, for part-time workers, their leave may be calculated as a pro-rata percentage.
Full-time is taken to be 40hours/week, so if you work 20hours/week you get 50% annual leave ... but generally, most companies just give everyone bank holidays (unless it's the service industry or an essential job [AKA the emergency services or care work]).
As to sick leave, employees can take time off work if they’re ill.
They need to give their employer proof if they’re ill for more than 7 days, this proof is a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) - and is obtained from their General Practitioner (AKA Family Doctor's Office). Fit notes are FREE if the employee has been ill for more than 7 days when they ask for one, although the doctor might charge a fee if they ask for the fit note earlier than the 7th day.
Employers cannot force employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave.
Employees who are off work sick for more than 4 weeks may uninterrupted be considered long-term sick. However, there are no limits to the number of times you can apply for sick leave in a year (as long as you're not actively taking the Micky and going off sick every Monday morning and every Friday afternoon as well as for Glastonbury)!
All workplaces have to offer a pension scheme in which they match contributions (for every £ you put in they have to match this), but you also get the state pension if you pay taxes.
Parental leave is unpaid. You’re entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday. Although most places pay it out of holiday or sick leave and also pay for someone to do your job while you're off. And they can't fire you for going on parental leave either.
The UK has some cushy employment laws at the moment ...
At the moment, but post-Brexshit and with an extremely neoliberalist Tory govt ...
Soon Tiny Tommy gonna be back down 't pit and Lil' Suzy gonna be working 100 hours per week in a cramped & unsafe factory because Boris Johnson's real name is Ebenezer Scrooge and he only cares about the bottom line for industrialists!
Thank you, Cal H. for your useful information. As a Brit, a big thank you to the NHS. Literally, a life-saver.
@@gazinessex2 you're welcome to the info, I learned this stuff when putting together 2 courses (an "Intro to Employment" course that was aimed at a bunch of 16 - 21 Y/Os, and a Basic UK Civics course that's aimed primarily at non-British citizens living in the UK)...
and yeah, as someone who is very clumsy (Damn you, Autism!) and has a hydrocephalic brother... I really appreciate our NHS, I just wish our government did!
In some countries like France, it is ILLEGAL to send any type of work email to employees outside of work hours, because workers are meant to enjoy their time outside work. Additionally, I heard about one American guy working in a Scandinavian country (I forget which one he said he lived in) and how his boss took away his work computer and all his paperwork and ordered him to take time off from work. The boss told him that he was genuinely concerned for his mental health and told him to not return to work until he had fun and was well rested. That says a lot about how low the US is compaired to other countries, lol.
im an american and believe me. its true. the government want slaves for low paying wages. you cant afford rent let alone owning a house.
If you look up one of the tiktok compilations about Americans Living Abroad Tell Me One Time You Realised America Really Messed You Up, this happened to a dude working in the Netherlands. The boss literally took aways his computer and phone and told him to go away for three weeks!
22 dollars are 22 dollars no matter what the exchange rate is.
18:12 If you look at Germany from the outside, you see big businesses. But the truth is: Most of the German GDP is created by small and middle-sized companies. Behind every Mercedes, there are countless small companies making parts. And all of them can afford to pay correctly and provide all the mandated benefits. Because they have to, if they can't, they don't have a business but sugar plantation.
Americans have confused "taking care of eachother" with communism 😂
I'm from Texas, USA. As a teenager there was BBC World News (British) and NHK News (Japan). Half an hour news shows. They talked about countries and issues in a more thoughtful way. How another country's news affect another country(ies).
It was always strange how US news programs were very USA-centric. About 90% of the news about the US and how so-and-so country(ies) are "not as great as the US." Anywhere from culture practices, education, treatment of people, "hopes and dreams," etc.
Then there's the PBS Newshour and Amanpour also broadcasted on PUBLIC television, the same channel as Sesame Street and Masterpiece. I discovered these U.S. news programs in my 18+ years. They are actually informative and thoughtful U.S.A. pieces.
After watching reaction videos about U.S. people in the other countries and reading people's comments, my perspective has been widened even more.
Thank you for this video. You're thinking and "not being entertaining" gets to me. Very humble.
-Peace
Having a legally binding maximum hours working week doesn't mean you can't work over those hours, it simply means that a company can't force you to work more than those hours. An employee can still choose to work over those hours if they so wish but it also mandates that the worker has to be paid time and a half or double time.
As well as creating a better work/life balance for the employees, this also means that it's better for the employer to employ two full time people at a decent hourly rate than one full time person who does a lot of over time at time and a half or double time with all the potential associated health issues that might emerge over time. This creates a much better balanced economy.
I once went to work on Good Friday (urgent contract needed completing), I was paid double time and had time off in lieu (TOIL) as well the following Tuesday. I was asked to do this rather than being forced so I volunteered as I had no plans for that day anyway. I later on worked flexi-time with bracketed start and finish times. I could go in 30 minutes early, take the minimum 30 minute lunch break and finish 30 minutes late to build up TOIL. This TOIL allowed me to have for example, Fridays off, Mondays off or both or if enough was built up a whole working week. There were limits on what you could accumulate and how much you could tack onto other days of paid time off but they were still generous terms.
As well as lieu days, there are legal regulations on how many hours you can work without a break, and how many hours that break must be, as well as how many consecutive days you can work without a day's break, and how many days before a longer break is mandated.
He (the guy from Second Thought) refers to Ethiopia (African cotinent), Madagascar (African continent) and Afghanistan (Asia) as "third world countries". The others are developed countries (like France, Denmark and pretty much most Europen countries as well as Japan (Asia) which he mentioned earlier. When he mentions "countries that we bombed into oblivion" he obviously refera to Afghanistan.
The guy from Second Thought is actor David Cross. I've enjoyed his roles in "Just Shoot Me" and Arrested Development".
Right there.... your...."Afghanistan can offer 90 days maternity leave a country where we're told women have no rights" please refer to the overturning of Roe Vs Wade...
Working week hours. The laws usually stipulate how many hours the employer can make you work, you can exceed this by choice.
To answer your question about working more hours, we are actually paid overtime at x1.5 time normal hour and double wage on holidays ( law in Canada).
Where are all the Americans objecting to this video? There doesn't appear to be too many videos on UA-cam of citizens of other countries having their eyes opened. All countries in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) have issues but it seems America has rather more then the others. Nice to see you checking statements on some of the videos. Its sad to see your reaction when all the statements are factual and true.
Really enjoying your videos, well done and thank you..
The Afghanistan example is old information as the withdrawal of foreign currency which was propping up the country and the Taliban confining all women to the home means there is no longer need for parental leave.
I'm a Brit, so believe me when I say that we have our own problems to deal with... but the US ?
A few decades ago - when I was in my 20's - the US was seen as the place to be, the 'Land of Opportunity'. Now, I thank my lucky stars that I never emigrated... the US seems hell-bent on heading towards civil-war. That's not to say that the UK is much better... from an economic standpoint it's much worse since BREXIT... but it's the same insular-view, that disregards the rest of the world that's to blame.
I'm not sure where we're headed, but until people start thinking in global-terms and viewing all global-citizens the same, we're bu99ered.
I knew that some of these things were terrible for Americans and could never understand why they are so patriotic! They just don’t realise how the rest of the world are so much better off.
15:15 I can only speak for the UK, though assume this is common across the rest of Europe too. Your working week is capped, any hours you work over this would be overtime, for which you are paid. Overtime pay increases if the hours are unsociable, a rest day or national holiday.
However, not all are entitled to overtime. If you work a salaried job, depending on how conscientious you are, you work each day until your job is done and what remains can be done tomorrow and so on. Most employers can be flexible.
The important thing to remember is law. Law protects the employer and as importantly, the employee. Employment rights are enshrined in law.
Yes, this is an important distinction; while the Working Hour Directive limits employees to 48 hours required work, this is averaged over 3 months and many contracts for professional staff will have terms such as "37.5 hours per week or such time as required to complete the scheduled tasks" with the understanding that an all-night session to prepare a tender document will be balanced by shorter hours elsewhere. When I worked as an engineer these terms were common because jobs were unpredictable--sometimes it just wasn't practical to 'down tools' at 5pm and go home if you were at the opposite end of the country and 30m up a transmission tower with half an hour required to complete a job that had been delayed by snow (been there, done that).
When I later became Service Team manager I tried my best both to balance hours and to schedule jobs so my team ended up close to home on a Friday (or at least had an early finish for those working in other countries).
@@MrPaulMorris That's super informative Paul, thank you very much. Have a good day.
Same in Germany
Please don't call yourself a fool or dumb ass , that's not true. I see an open minded , wonderful human being.!!!
About the workweek question, when I lived in Germany my workweek was 40 hours, if I worked more I could either get it paid (which isn't great because tax cuts are high) or just stay at home for the extra hours.
Cap the length of the work week:
It doesn't mean that is the maximum number of hours you can work per week. Any work done over this point has to be classed as overtime, with increased pay.
16:13 Not sure why the UK's 8 public holidays aren't included in the graph. You still get paid. Maybe the graph maker didn't want to make the UK look good. lol 🤔
EDIT: And if your employers ask if you'd like to work one or more of them, they pay you time-and-a-half, or double time, if you say yes.
I work for Sainsburys, there is no option of "Would you like to WORK a bank holiday?" - You're expected to WORK the bank holiday. The same goes for most of us in the retail sector. If you want the day off you gotta book it... in advance... months in advance and it counts towards your holiday entitlement!!! Thats prob why the graph showed what it did. Either unpaid leave if boss allows or if paid, counts towards the minimum holiday pay requirement.
@@CrazyInWeston Since I started work in the mid 80's, Bank Holidays have always been optional and well-paid if worked, in my experience. If the retail sector is being Americanised, maybe it's time the unions stepped things up a bit. I'm all for decent employment rights and benefits for _all_ workers.
From the uk, the work hours cap is varied, i work 37.5 hours a week contracted but can easily do 50 if i wanted to, there isn't a limit on how much you can choose to work but there is a limit on what a company can force you to do
The point with McDonald's paying in USA/UK is that in the UK you can actually afford to live with that amount (working full time) and if you can't - you apply for what's called Universal Credit (benefits scheme) that tops it up and/or pays your rent to bring it to minimum living standard. Even if USA pays more, the cost of living is disproportionately higher so that gap is not closed.
Wages have to be measured not in a vacuum but how proportional they are to the living cost. It doesn't matter if you get $100 an hour, that's not a lot if say the rent is like 50 grand a month (hyperexaggerrated example obviously but just to show my point)
Also - healthcare and other vital services are free in the UK (and even moreso in EU as even UK lags behind in many sectors) so that wage goes a much longer way even if it's smaller.
Also Norway pays a lot more because it's also more expensive to live there. But at least you get paid proportionally. In the USA wages are stagnant and don't get increased along with the living cost. 10% increase? Yay... Guess you can get 2 tins of canned tuna instead of one 😂
10% of shit wage is still a shit wage. To bring it up to standard it has to be increased by 150% AS A MINIMUM!
Only Americans say America is the best country in the world.
It was great to see somebody not just believing what you are told but looking into what other countries do. I am from New Zealand, so here are some facts for you about living here. Minimum wage is $21.60 per hour regardless of job. I work as a road worker and i get over $30 per hour. If i work over 8 hours OR 40 hours in a 7 day time, this goes to 1.5 times my wage. I also get 25 paid days off + 11 statuary holidays (Christmas day, Easter etc) + 10 days sick leave. If i wan to work on one of these days, i must be paid 1.5 my hourly rate AND get a paid day off for when i choose it. So 46 paid work days off or 2 months of the year to take when WE want to, not when the employer asks. Also there is 6 months paid parental and 6 months non-paid and the employer must hold your position for you. Oh - free health care as well so not a bad place to live.
You mentioned 10 days sick leave. What happens if you are sick longer?
@@PeTer-xd8nx You can either take leave time or without pay - whatever suits. They do stack so i currently have 34 sick days
@@ianmurphy9096 Thanks. It's different in Germany: you get 6 weeks /100% from the company, then for 18 months 70% of the last salary from the health insurance ( due to tax differences it's almost 100%). After that you can get 70% unemployment benefit for 18 months. If you are still sick, you have the possibility to retire. The amount of the pension is then calculated as if you had worked until 67.
Every country thinks their county is the best in the world. But also aware enough to know everyone else thinks that too. Americans seem to think it only applies to them, it’s a delusion
I'm in the UK. I've retired now but I used to work a 41 hour week. I could work overtime if I wanted to and there was a need for an extra body, but I had to volunteer to work the overtime, I couldn't be pressurised into doing it
It can be forced on you and usually is if you work in something like the Ambulance Service.
@@melbeasley9762 Yes but they usually get a choice of being compensated or get extra days off proportional to what extra they've worked. Not sure about the UK but in most of EU extra time gets payed more than regular work time. In my country for ex. if you work extra hours during the workday or in weekends the pay is double. But also you can't just choose to come in on Saturday for ex., there has to be a real need but also they can't force you except in critical jobs like ambulance or fire depts. and even in those they have to show there was real pressure on those emergency systems.
@@marian-gabriel9518 I was in the Ambulance Service. They will still send you out on a call even if you've only a minute left on your shift, though usually the crew taking over will be in early for you but I remember a colleague working 17 hours straight.
@@melbeasley9762 You mean without any form of compensation for the extra work?!?!
@@marian-gabriel9518 No, I think it was probably time and 1/4, but may have been time 1/2. Actually finishing on time was a bit like the meal break. Practically non existant.
America has that crazy positivity about how they're the best. If that boundless energy was put into making it so, I don't think it would take too long.
the fact that in the United States there is no payment for parental leave. will make many workers all over the world heartbroken. because all countries even the poorest countries in Africa guarantee an average of 14 weeks with 100% paid parental leave. and developed countries in Europe have an average of 52 weeks of 100% paid parental leave.
At least in Germany the wage while on leave is paid by the state, so the only cost the employer has during the time, is the obligation to keep the job open for when the new parent returns.
@@Psi-Storm and the state is paid for by people's taxes. but in the united states they don't like their taxes to help the poor and it's better to use it for the military. to facilitate resource expansion for US companies
Let’s not forget it costs them roughly 10,000 in medical costs to even have a child in the first place cause they don’t have free healthcare.
It is an eye opener that in some ways the US treat their female population worse than Afganistan.
Most of the rest of the world looks at the United States and thinks "Damn, it must suck living there!".
8:06 The figure is a converted rate from Danish Krone INTO USD so its right they get $22 per hour.
If you want to work over your contracted hours in the UK it's called "Overtime"
So, if you WANT to work more than your contracted hours, you can. Contracted hours are not a con 😂
People in the UK are generally aware of their rights including the many Europeans working here as it is obligatory for companies to advise them in writing when joining the Hours/Pay structures, holiday, pension and health coverage. So even where English is their second language other workers often discuss what rights a new employee should have. However I am sure some 'cowboy' smaller companies try to rip off their employees but will get slayed by Employment Tribunals quite easily if they break the law. The Employment laws here are quite robust and really protects our rights here and in Europe generally. Again this is a result of longterm Socialism...looking after society as a whole rather than longterm Capitalism which looks after the elite/rich and leaves the rest to struggle!
Oh dear, the UK BREXIT Poor people
The European work hours law is you can't work more than an average of 48 hours a week averaged over an 11 week period. Which means you can can put in very long hours when it's needed but effectively have to be given that time back to meet the average. There are no restrictions on getting a second job. Those are just the figures for any one job.
I must say, really digging the channel man, and enjoying the reaction videos. Found myself getting into these as of recent and it's always enjoyable to learn someone else in a different part of the world's perspective.
The work week hours 'cap' that's mentioned in the video is only the maximum that an employer can enforce as part of the contract with the employee - overtime can still be worked if offered by an employer and if the employee wants to do this, and is generally paid at a higher rate than the standard hourly rate (e.g. if you make £10.00/hour and do an hours overtime at 1.5x, you'll be paid £15.00 for that hour). Of course, the pay rate for overtime varies per employer, however.
I'm German and never was in the US, but I learned a lot about the US through TV and UA-cam.
One day I saw a UA-cam Video from an American who was new in Europe he described that he was in the center of a German city and noticed two boys aged 6 or 7 coming around the corner. To my surprise he expected an adult to follow coming around the corner every second. That way I learned, that in the "land of the free" children are not free.
Here in Germany, it is absolutely normal for young children to roam on their own in public spaces and use public transport like buses, trams, the tube, and local trains.
And no, we don't have those yellow school buses like you in the US because it doesn't make any sense here. After all, we have a good public transport system. So here young children learn how to use public transport on their own, and to school, they walk or use a bike and those with longer distances to school get a permanent ticket for public transport. And of course, the bus might not go directly to the school so they might have to change trams, trains, or buses. And those tickets are often valid nationwide, so theoretically they could explore the entire country on weekends and holidays with regional trains. (The public transport ticket (Deutschland-Ticket) is not valid on long-distance trains like InterCity (IC) and InterCityExpress (ICE)).
Another thing is, as you already noticed, the medical system.
In Germany usually all people have compulsory health insurance, which also includes close family members (children and spouse), and costs around 15 to 16 % of your income depending on the insurance company. You have the choice between probably 50 and 150 insurance companies, which by law all have to pay for all treatments specified by law. Depending on the insurance company you might get extras like courses for health, losing weight, or sports courses.
Around half of the 15 to 16% gets deducted from your salary, and the other half has to be paid by your employer by law. Unemployment insurance, pension insurance, and long-term care insurance are also mandatory and have to be deducted from the salary with 50% and the other half has to be paid by the employer by law. Only the income tax is deducted from your salary completely, so the salary you get is your net income with all duties already being paid.
By the way, the prices you see in shops or restaurants also include taxes. (Only the bottle and can deposit or the deposit for multi-use takeaway food packaging or multi-use coffee cups comes on top because that's the money you get refunded by returning the empty bottles, cans, cups, or packaging.) And the tip in the restaurant is not a necessary part of the payment, because waiters get a real wage like al workers and the laws for minimum wage apply there, too. Therefore, some people don't give tips, give the change as a tip, or give not more than 10%.
But back to the health topic:
Ambulances are free
Doctor visits are free (including specialists)
For hospitals, you pay a co-payment of 10 Euro per day (which might perhaps cover the cost of the three meals you get), beds, and all treatments and surgeries are free.
At the pharmacy, your usual co-payment is 5 Euro, depending on the total price of the medicine your co-payment may rise up to the maximum of 10 Euro.
If you are ill and shouldn't work, you get a notice from the doctor, and you will get full payment for six weeks, if you are ill longer than that, the health insurance will pay for another 78 weeks (around one and a half years), but they might reduce the payment to 70% of your salary.
Your vacation entitlement is four weeks by law, but usually, you get more than five weeks. Six weeks or some days more are not unusual. And a difference to the US, where you can ask to get your vacation days, in Germany you are obliged by law to take your vacation days completely, you are not allowed to waive any, since vacation is mandatory to recreate yourself. If you get ill during vacation, you need a doctor's notice to get the lost vacation days back that you lost by illness. And the law says that you have to take at least two weeks of your vacation entitlement coherent. And the employer is not allowed to contact you during vacation, except in a real emergency.
If you have a high salary, very much above the average, you may decide to be released from the compulsory health insurance system and take a "private" insurance company.
That means, you get invoices for everything, have to pay those, and request a refund from the insurance.
I personally don't recommend this, since the insurance might
- refuse to refund certain treatments
- will definitely increase the insurance rate with your increasing age, and you might get a problem if you are a pensioner (because you can't return to the compulsory system)
- and your family members are not covered and might need separate health insurance.
If you are a woman and give life to a child, you can get paid parental leave. Though I'm not sure about the exact regulations, it is at least one year, and you can give some of your months to your husband to share the parental leave time, for both parents, the rule by law is that they return to the exact working place which they left. The Employer has to reserve those positions by law for the parents.
The parents get a monthly payment from the federal government of 300 Euros per child from birth to the 18th birthday, up to the 21st birthday if the child is unemployed, and up to the 25th birthday if the child is in education at a university or professional education at a company.
Schools are free, and Universities are almost free, you might have to pay an amount usually between 50 and 300 Euro per semester since every state has its own rules.
Other things I learned are that in some states like Florida, they are not teaching the real history anymore, but a fantasy history where slaves got vocational training in some sort of holiday camp to prepare them for future job careers.
Our educational system here takes a huge emphasis on everything around WWII, and often classes visit Nazi concentration camps.
The same applies to nature.
Normally, humans as well as animals get different sexual orientations by birth. How can that be a political topic, it's been the way of nature for thousands of years? Are US politicians stupid? Didn't they learn in history for example, that Roman Emperor/Cesar Elagabalus was a transgender and insisted on being a woman though he was born as a boy?
And why does Ron DeSantis have a "Don't say gay bill"?. Since people are born with their sexual orientation, they can't be successfully persuaded to become LGBTQ+ nor can conversion therapy be successful. You can force people to pretend they changed, but a real change is as possible as to force somebody to change his/her eye color or his/her blood type.
Children should be told at the age of three that people are born with different sexual orientations so that they can comfortably discover their own orientation without thinking they are a sort of teratism, which might lead to psychic diseases or suicidal tendencies.
The same applies to global warming. The "greenhouse effect" was discovered 200 years ago by one of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Revolution leaders, mathematician and scientist Prof. Joseph Fourier. It has been checked and approved by hundreds of thousands of scientists all over the world.
How can this be a political discussion topic 200 years later? How stupid can people be? (Or should I ask how so many people can be bribed by the fossil fuel industry?)
I wish Americans ooen their eyes finally.Here in Germany we have everything that the Americans don't.Free healthcare,minimum of 30 days paid vacation,security in everyday life,no guns,50 weeks parental leave and so on....Americans are not free,infact they live in fear and unsecurity.There isno American dream,it's a myth you leaders want you to believe.I wish this changes in the future,but i would never choose to live in the usa thats for sure....
we have minimum 22 days vacation, my man... pls don't tell false stats
@@MyvIsLove2 You're right mate.I was talking about me personly,just put the sentence in the wrong way.But,the fact is people in my surrounding do have mainly 30 days off.
Ive got 30-32 Vacay days for this year. Must be different from company to company 🤔
i worked part time in Scotland a few years back , less than 20 hours and i was given 4 weeks vacation right from the start .
11:25 it's even more true than a lot of people seem to realize. Because of money in politics the rich and large corporations get what they want, but the voters do not.
In the US it's basically impossible to run a political campaign without large donor money.
Money in politics in modern times has been legal since the 1970s in the US.
Although I don`t at present know the figure, it is actually illegal in the UK for anyone to spend more than a small amount on electioneering .The figure spent has to be declared and accounted for .
Dude, you are a good Dude. (so sayeth this old punk) Please, watch more of this chanel's content. (not for me, or your audience, but for yourself, and thus by extention us all) And when you've had your mind blown by them, proceed to the podcast they host with two other youtubers. It's worth the watch and certainly worth the listen.
Stay stubborn, stay strong, and stay awesome, Dude. You and folk like you are the sliver lining to the storm clouds that have gathered since the 80's. You give an oldhead hope, thank you for that.
Appreciate it 🙏
You don't fire a politician, they just don't get voted in. Sounds good, right? The problem is that in America the politician that has more money behind them wins 90% of the time, so in the end it is not really the voters, but the rich and corporations that decide which politician gets elected, and you can guess what kind of politician those people are.
Denmark and Norway are examples of countries which are way more advanced than the USA. He's just listing a few countries of different categories.
Hey young fella! Glad you are putting yourself out there/here 👍
Your best education about the REAL outside world, is here in the comments section! 💡💡
People don't generally dislike Americans, but the boasting about how "you are the greatest country country in the world" is always amusing but tiresome.
Especially when most of you know nothing about outside of your borders.
That's not your/s fault, it's the education system you were given.
It's a very big world out there mate! Go find it 👍🛫🌏
PS America is not the land of the free. Not when women don't have a say about their own bodies and kids can't go to school safely. 😢😢👎
Basic human rights.
Canadian here. I had 52 weeks of maternity leave. Minimum wage is 15.00 an hour
In most european countrys you are allowed to work longer hours, if you want. But you will be payed overtime (in Sweden that is usually worth 2x your normal salary, with some variations). The company can under certain conditions order you to work overtime, but that is worth even more than normal overtime. And there is in most cases a cap on how many hours of overtime (normal / Ordered) that you can work in a year. Where I work I think it is max 200 hours in a year total. Plus you need to get 11 hours of rest in between work shifts.
The thing about the paid days off, those are mandatory in most Countries here, as in you HAVE to take those paid days off, even if you dont have a holiday planned or anything at some point EVERY year you MUST take that amount of paid days off.
Like a lot of people, I always heard that America was "The land of the free", which is breath-taking when you hear of the freedoms that people get in most other countries.
Imagine you (wherever you are) moved to the US. Imagine yourselves asking these questions:
"What do you mean I have to work for a year just to get paid leave?"
"What do you mean I don't have access to healthcare as a basic human right?"
"What do you mean if I get ill, I could go bankrupt and lose my home?"
"What do you mean if I have a baby, I'm expected to go straight back to work or lose money?"
It's just insane.
What is interesting there is the comment near the end of the video where you said your mum wasn''t where she expected to be because she was delayed by 15 years looking after you. That is such a sad analysis. Said like that, it's almost as if having a child is an inconvenience, or a delay if you will of reaching her goal (wealth?) - and I think that speaks volumes. Surely a more balanced approach would be raise a family and be comfortable, than childless and rich? Though of course, everyone should be free to make their choice.
Oh, and to answer your question about the hours cap. WORKERS have the right to work more hours if they wish. COMPANIES cannot mandate their employees to work more than this limit, so it empowers the workers, not the corporations, like it should be.
At least you're free to be slaughtered by a gun wielding moron whilst nothing is going to be done to stop the carnage.
In Italy, if you have a full-time contract, you work 8 hours a day for a total of 40 hours a week. The employer may require the worker to carry out additional services not exceeding 25% of the agreed weekly hours, with an increase of 15% on the hourly wage.
The worker can refuse to carry out additional work if he has work, health, family or professional training needs.
Why would it suck living in Japan? Curious statement. Well done looking at the reality which is truly staggering and tbh much of the rest of the world laughs at how exploited the US is with its workers but can’t believe it’s actually accepted. Madness
As somebody who has actually lived in Japan, I can certainly give reasons why it sucks (and also a few reasons why it's awesome). However I don't think the video guy really knows why he said this.
Honestly that's just what I always heard/been told I got zero real experience
I would say I laugh, I think it's sad/take pity on people in the US. Even worse for the homeless and especially the homeless veterans. That shit is messed up.
Well I like Japan as much as the next guy, and as a foreigner it's more bearable to live in Japan, but there are some caveats that come with it, especially in its bureaucracy and work, more so in work for ethnically Japanese.
It's usually very slow, appointments take long times, translation usually isn't easy, and a lot of things even about owning a home, especially as a foreigner, can be difficult.
That does not mean every foeigner has a bad experience living in Japan, and there's plenty of good, but the Japanese culture, as nice as it is, has some very strong pecularities that will strike you as convoluted or regressive when actually living there.
@@DudeSaysThings 🤣🤣🤣I love how you are so excited about learning! I’m 67 and the USA has been hard on me financially and with no healthcare for decades. We put money in politicians pockets and they give us nothing!
You are not stupid. Remember that, please. You (and quite a lot of others) are just waking up. It makes you think and that can be a blessing.
Haha tbh I can be stupid sometimes but I appreciate that 🙏
It's like watching Idiocracy in real life.
I just want to highlight an error in regards to 0 paid holidays in the UK. That's not true, we're paid for Christmas Day and Easter. Everywhere is closed Christmas Day (except emergency services of course), so everyone goes home for Christmas Day itself. If we work religious bank holidays, like Easter, although there's no statuary right to pay employees more, depending on the company, you can earn one and a half or double.
There is a reason why nearly nobody outside the US calls it "the greatest country in the world" anymore. These times are loooooooong gone.
1920's America had it quite good for sure😂
Your question about capped hours, in Australia, the full time work week is 38 hours. You can work more hours than that if you wish. Your employer may offer you overtime, or you may take a second job. If you get overtime, for each hour you work over 38 hours, you get paid 1.5 times your normal hourly rate for the first few hours of overtime, then you go onto double time, which is 2 times your regular hourly rate. It's usually cheaper for employers to not offer overtime and just employ someone else for the extra hours, but as I said, you can always work a second job.
I just discovered this kind of thing but one of my fav genres of UA-cam videos right now is Americans having their mind blown by what the outside world is really like. I mean, it’s not even great where I am, but the USA is next level terrible for workers.