American reacts to European benefits that American's don't have

[@pampelius1267]

The thing with parental leave for both parents is not just about incentivizing having kids. It also discourages employers from choosing men over women in the hiring process. If only women are expected or even allowed to take maternity leave, it's a greater financial risk for the company to hire a woman. If both parents are expected to take leave, suddenly the "risk" is more equal and companies can be less afraid of hiring women (or equally afraid of hiring men, depends how you see it).

[@midei]

Exactly. That's the main reason.

[@MarvinWestmaas]

And yet it's still not enough. Many managers will tell you they will hire a man over women if they don't know the particular woman won't want to get pregnant in the short to mid term. The leave a man get's is two weeks, at most, in the best circumstances. That's nothing compared to the time a women get's from their employers, even if things 'go well'. And if it's a difficult pregnancy, you can add months. It's sad but it's true. And in a way also understandable, they will have to pay a worker who's not adding to their revenue, for a longer time compared with hiring men. That's a big risk, even in an economy where women wages are already structurally lower as those of equally qualified men.

[@Mentholox]

@@MarvinWestmaas Did you read the text. A man has to take 96 days at least. Same as a woman. The remaining days can be devided as they see fit.

[@MarvinWestmaas]

@@Mentholox I was commenting on the original post. Lots of different countries in Europe, lots of different rules.

[@Mentholox]

@@MarvinWestmaas fair enough.

[@Dutchbelg3]

Putting a charge on plastic bags (also in Belgium and The Netherlands) is not intended to add to your shopping expenses but more to motivate people to bring their own re-usable bags !!

[@paulmilner8452]

in UK it was used as a stealth tax to save the environment.. which is hilarious now seen as uk has replaced plastic bags with paper bags.. yet paper bags are twice the cost ..... saving the environment is only making rich people richer due to these cons

[@paulmilner8452]

int he UK we are eagerly awaiting our next tax (the uk has taxes for almost everything) i'm thinking breathing oxygen tax lmao

[@Koen030NL]

@@paulmilner8452 Ye just taake your own bag and you save a bit of money and less impact on environment

[@paulmilner8452]

@@Koen030NL yes if only life was that simple ... when i go to work i don't bring a bag yet at work i might suddenly need or crave a food from supermarket and whilst there i will buy more goods ...... meaning i need another bag .... this is paper bags btw nothing to do with environment on plastic which was what was meant to be charged for ..... like i said another britsh con paper is biodegradable ..... supermarkets should provide bags for free like they used to do, the added cost is for profit not environment

[@Koen030NL]

@@paulmilner8452 Well, start taking a bag or backpack with you. And there are other bags (thats are not meant to be thrown away) that you can buy and re use that one. Its not that difficult. I hardly go out of the house without my backpack because of this reason. Its also convenient to always have a umbrella, sunglasses or powerbank with you.

[@wolfgangengel4835]

"Dads get a paid leave?" Shouldn't this be a basic thing everywhere?

[@Michaelcj-m2d]

Have in Spain 🇪🇸🇪🇺

[@sarahfrost9074]

We do in the uk too

[@DerAlteMann1974]

I think for USAmericans it's "bad socialism"

[@slake9727]

Canada too. Or one patent can take the entire 18 months.

[@istvangaluska]

It's good for the father of course. But it is also important that if both parents are guaranteed to leave after a birth, there is no incentive to favor men over women when hiring.

[@MiniaAr]

Just to confirm: Trains inside Luxembourg (the country) are also completely free and counted as a "public transport" on top of buses and tram (one single line). Commuters from neighbouring countries (France, Germany, Belgium) benefit from this as well as they now only have to pay the portion from their place of residence to the border, then it's free for them as well inside Luxembourg. Don't have to be a citizen of Luxembourg either, or even a resident. This means it's free for tourists as well.

[@ingrudmessenger1193]

It also really just makes sense tbh. I saw somebody do the maths for Berlin at least and overall it would just be cheaper to make it free than maintaining all the infrastructure to sell and check tickets.

[@gdok6088]

My daughter and son-in-law's are expecting their first baby here in the UK 🇬🇧 My daughter gets generous maternity leave, but what blew my mind is that her husband gets 18 weeks of paternity leave at full pay which he can take as one block or use in smaller blocks during the first year of the child's life + his usual 6 weeks of holiday leave at full pay. I am delighted things have improved since I was a new dad 34 years ago.

[@itsraining3000]

I was visiting the US this week, and I was speaking to my Uber driver (Nurse in pregnancy care) about the local laws. She told me that you have no right to abortion in that state and that she just had a case in which a baby was born without a head, but a functioning brain. It wasn't able to live, but there was no way to end the pregnancy. Hence, the baby was born, and the parents had to live through this experience, with having their baby born and then die within a few days. How's that humane? It's so horrible.

[@msalisha145]

This is also often the case in europian countries. we have a lot of good laws and benefits but abortion laws are still pretty bad. If you find out you baby is terminal of has a horrible disease and has a high chance to die and be in pain. You have to give birth anyway if its older then 6 weeks. I remember there was this woman that did an interview on tv in the Netherlands and she was 7 weeks pregnant, and they found out her baby had a bone disease making her babies bones break with every movement, the baby could feel pain, she was not allowed abortion.

[@Rcb0]

Couldnt they just get abortion in the next State?

[@msalisha145]

@@Rcb0 they did, they went to switzerland to get an abortion.

[@brittafrier2430]

@@msalisha145 What? The Netherlands Europe? Where you can get free abortion until 24th week? When was this tale of the woman you speek of? 1970?

[@tijgeke87]

@msalisha145 you can do it here until I believe 2 months orso into pregnancy its just the pill version that doesn't help beyond a week or two. Perhaps religion said she was not allowed unless it was in like 70,s

[@jenniferharrison8915]

26 weeks paid maternity leave in Australia, no plastic bags allowed, unwanted foods from supermarkets and restaurants are collected by charities and disbursed among the needy or cooked in local cut price, or free, cafes! More states are allowing assisted suicide, but conditions must be terminal! Organ donation options are voluntary, blood donation also! Public transport is cheap, clean, frequent and highly subsidised for the public's needs!

[@sunseeker9581]

Dont forget your healthcare which is pretty great and universal. I dont know about cost but its certainly cheaper than america.

[@bernadettelanders7306]

@@sunseeker9581 Aussie here, senior, ok I’m old lol. Fractured my ankle. Free Ambo to hospital. Free X-ray. Had to wait in bed in private room with a tv. Got free Moon Boot - cost me , oh yeah nothing, was all free😊

[@mirandahotspring4019]

@@bernadettelanders7306 Also in NZ. Get injured playing sport in the weekend and not only is all medical care free, but 80% of your wages are paid until you get better. The employer is encouraged to make up the other 20%. Free healthcare. Prescriptions were $5 an item regardless of cost but last year the Govt took that off so all prescriptions are now free. A couple of years ago I felt sick on the way to work, went to see my doctor, now with real abdominal pain. Was discharged from hospital three days later without my appendix. Cost? Nothing! Not a lot of people have private health insurance. The advantage if you do is a shorter wait for non urgent surgery. My dad got a hip replacement just before Christmas, all free of course, along with a free shower seat and raised toilet seat until he was fully recovered. We had a 10 cent charge on plastic supermarket bags, but now they're gone for good. Most supermarkets have free paper bags for fruit and veges. A reusable shopping bag costs 50 cents to $1 and if it gets damaged is replaced for free.

[@bernadettelanders7306]

@@mirandahotspring4019 That’s absolutely wonderful. Sometimes because we have it so good.,we can tend to take it for granted - UNTIL we hear about American medical bills. I remember the first time I heard what they pay, what holiday pay they don’t get, their low wages etc etc , my jaw dropped. I had no idea. Gee we are lucky. Ah, another Kiwi 😊 My Kiwi friend popped in the other day, previously we’d be laughing about the pavlova. I finally had to surrender and give her the credit 😂, but she said, you’ve got the lamingtons. I said but I like Pav more. So we’ve decided to put a bit of pavlova on a lamington 😂

[@mirandahotspring4019]

@@bernadettelanders7306 Sounds like a good idea, But: The Oxford English Dictionary may have settled a long-running argument between Australia and New Zealand over who invented the pavlova. The dessert - meringue with fruit and cream - was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who visited both countries in the 1920s. Australians and New Zealanders agree on that, but not on who invented it. In its relaunched online edition, the OED says the first recorded pavlova recipe appeared in New Zealand in 1927.

[@Valfodr_jr]

The most striking thing about all these things is that none of them provide a short-term profit. And that is why they are totally out of the question to introduce in the USA!!!

[@franciscouderq1100]

Ah ah ah , good one

[@Spiklething]

In France, they have a law so that supermarkets cannot throw away food (which is a great law) and, as a comparison, in 2022 a woman in Arizona was arrested for feeding homeless people

[@TimBadger-w7d]

Americans😂😂😂😂😂

[@glambertini4709]

Oh you know the French government is not very concerned about the well-being of its homeless people. I'm going to teach you something particularly cynical that's happening right now. In anticipation of the Paris Olympics, neither the city of Paris nor the french government want tourists to see the true number of homeless and drug addicts in Paris. So what do they do? Find solutions and spend money to reduce the problem? No, they took over 3,500 homeless people and relocated them to the streets of another city 150km away (the mayor of this city is furious)!

[@bencze465]

I expct that makes a lot of people get sick from bad / old food... it's weird

[@miragrozeva5977]

The reason supermarkets don't give away expired food is because they would be legally liable for any person who gets food poisoning from it. Coincidentally the "Use by date" is the legal period during which the responsibility lies with the producer and not the re-seller.

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@bencze465 this is applied to food with no faults. Food needs to be before expiration date and if it is "best before" (like pasta, grains or so) it is not a case that they pull it out from warehouse 2 years after "best before date", then where is real problem? Such food is never bad and practically never old (I worked in tesco and in our country it seems that they have some form of benefit if they do not throw food into trash. I do not know details, but our store had contracts with nearby small zoo and jaeger/hunter association who take all old meat, fruit and vegetables and bread for their animals) Even trash was separated on site and contracted companies took glass, paper, plastics. I doubt that they did it from their will in tesco - waste management is under quite strict regulations in our country.

[@nolajoy7759]

Why would US people be in the streets for a charge on plastic bags but not for the safety of their children? Pretty messed up values. 😢

[@ryanwuzer]

well to be fair there are some people in the streets about that (I've been!) and I don't think they would be in the streets about plastic bags they would throw a fit on Facebook and tikytoky LOL I was exaggerating a bit but I do think people would be upset

[@suomenpresidentti]

Wtf, of course plastic bags cost. But I use them many times. Greetings From Finland. P. S. I GOT PAID FOR 3 YEARS AFTER EVERY CHILD. And stayed home. 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@annedunne4526]

​@@ryanwuzerIn Ireland they introduced a fee for single use plastic bags even earlier than the UK did. People had no problem with it, recognising that it's better for the environment. Instead people go to supermarkets with their " for life" bags and reuse them again and again. Maybe USAians need education on the danger of plastics to the planet.

[@TimBadger-w7d]

Americans😂😂😂😂

[@strikedn]

@@annedunne4526 Same as in Italy. It's been like that for years and I don't remember of people rioting in the streets..

[@ybrynecho2368]

The funny thing here is that you compare the US with Europe, but if you looked northward to your neighbouring country - Canada - you would find that a lot of the benefits and attitudes that are common in Europe are also similar or the same here in Canada.

[@stanislavbandur7355]

In Mexico, Cuba, ...... down to Tierra del Fuego (in fact in Antarctica it works too ;) )

[@cindz4618]

Good point

[@johnderrick2501]

In Spain you have to pay (about 15 cents) for each shop supplied plastic bag - result - people re-use plastic bags

[@diamantritter82]

it´s 25 cents here in Germany...even the ones made out of paper...( often more expensive )...to use them more than once

[@johnderrick2501]

@@diamantritter82 You guys are richer than us in Spain - so it probably works out even

[@gon3808]

In most of german supermarkets there're not even plastic bags available. They sell reusable fabric bags or paper bags. Most people use those reusable bags for years or they just put everything in their backpacks, purses, etc.

[@johnderrick2501]

@@gon3808 Sounds great

[@schnelma605]

In Germany, plastic bags with a wall thickness of 15 to 50 micrometers became illegal in 2022. The extremely thin ones for packing fruit/vegetables/baked goods and the thick reusable ones are still allowed

[@ralphbuurman4489]

My first child was born in 1991 in The Netherlands. Paternity leave back then was 2 days. My two other children were born in Sweden in the 2000’s. With both of them I took 9 months of paternity leave, after their mother first took 1 to 1,5 years of maternity leave. During this entire period we got about 450 paid days, and the rest was unpaid leave. As parents you get to decide how many days each week you want to be paid days. As one parent was always working full time we could afford to take less paid leave for the parent staying home, and instead prolonging the leave period. After this entire period they could walk and were ready to start pre-school in August, which is heavily subsidised and cheap. Breakfast, warm lunch, snacks, diapers, all included in the fee of about $200 a month for 2 children, 5 days a week for 8-9 hours.

[@MufuLP]

i think you misunderstood the swedish parental leave a bit, not both parents stay at home for over a year, they get a shared pool of 480 days and if both stay together at home they will stay at home for 240 days, or when they split it unevenly the mum might stay home for a year and the dad for 4 months for example

[@Asa...S]

90 days for mom, 90 days for dad, and 300 days to share as they please. " if both stay together at home they will stay at home for 240 days" No, both can't stay at home together for 240 days, you only get 30 so-called "double days" where both can stay at home together.

[@kjk8941]

I live in southern Germany. Two years ago, I travelled to Switzerland with my best friend and her husband to say goodbye to her. She was suffering from terminal ALS and was allowed to fall asleep peacefully instead of suffocating in agony. She was demonstrably ill and required evidence from several doctors, including a psychotherapist. I think that's standard. You can't just travel to Switzerland and say "Here I am and I would like to die."

[@eastfrisian_88]

A friend of my mom's also took advantage of it, she had terminal cancer, she suffered for many years, had dozen surgeries and despite medication suffered from excruciating pain. I believe there are associations in Switzerland that go down this path under very strict conditions. Unfortunately, my mother wasn't able to say goodbye in person, but an online meeting was held accompanied by a psychologist to say goodbye, my mom felt that this way of saying goodbye was planned and carried out with great dignity.

[@stephenlee5929]

Yea, I'm from UK. Our rules are quite extreme, It is illegal to assist a suicide, to the extent of travelling with a friend or relative to a Swiss clinic can be considered as assisting a suicide.

[@susanpearson-creativefibro]

It is so strange that as a nation of animal lovers we consider it a kindness to put an animal out of its misery. But to travel with a person would be breaking the law. I understand people have mixed feelings about allowing assisted suicide in the country, it is a big conversation. But this law is too extreme. Thankfully I have never been in the position of someone I love needing to make the decision to go.

[@iriscollins7583]

​@@stephenlee5929My Aunt had a No Resuscitation order, having suffered with mild strokes for many years, never actually had a heart attack,her mother died in Australia having open heart surgery, so it was on the cards that my she would have the same problem. She was in her 80s when she had an heart attack. They honoured her wish.RIP.

[@peterfischer7084]

@stephenlee5929 In my book that's a human right violation. Is the UK still subject to the European Human Rights Court, following Brexit?

[@tinastyles9906]

I’ve been using reusable bags for years now. In the UK we’ve generally become accustomed to remembering to take them on a big shop.

[@solentbum]

The are always shopping bags in the boot of the family cars. One I use frequently is over 40 years old, and inherited from my mother in law!

[@juliaw151]

This.we have a really sturdy backpack for our milk and like lemonade etcetera. And then reusable bags for everything else.

[@lowri.williams]

I think this one's a great example of how we can adjust with time. When we (in Wales) introduced the charge, UK press went absolutely wild over it. It was a "tax on hard-working families", we were run by "dictators", etc etc. It was truly ridiculous but it sold papers. Now, a few years on, the rest of the UK has followed suit and it's a totally normal part of our lives. We're seeing it again now with the 20mph speed limit in built up areas in Wales, introduced this year. So much noise in the press and so many inaccuracies being reported as true (it's not a blanket speed limit, not even close). In time, we and the rest of the UK will adjust and there'll be a point down the line where we won't be able to imagine driving 30mph through a busy high street.

[@dutchman7623]

It is normal to go to the supermarket with a shopping bag. Besides that, your bicycle has panniers to store your stuff. And yes everything in plastic has a tax, to stimulate use of paper if possible. And even at a take away you bring a bag.

[@Joanne-t6j]

Australia has banned all single use plastics. At the shops you either take your own bags or buy sturdy paper bags made from recycled paper. Takeaway containers are cardboard, coffee/hot drinks are in paper cups or you can use your own “Keep Cup” and paper straws are back unless you have your own reusable straws. It took a bit of getting used to but I think it’s great. Oh, and you can’t buy disposable plastic plates, bowls, eating utensils or plastic cups any more.

[@paulanavarro030110]

In Spain we have 20 weeks of paid paternity leave. Just the same for moms. This was implemented to avoid male preference when applying for a job. Also, is great to have both parents at home with the newborn, so the mom doesn’t have to do all by herself. Also, the first 6 weeks are mandatory for both parents. The rest you can use it throughout the year. The government pays.

[@franhunne8929]

That, if done right, can be so helpful for mom to heal after what is a pretty demanding process on her body.

[@nuriafg6955]

isn't it still 16 weeks though? they said they were going to increase 4 more weeks but as far as I know it hasn't been approved yet. (they also said it was going to be 24 weeks like a couple of years ago and we're still stuck with 16 so I don't know if they are really going to make them be 20)

[@paulanavarro030110]

@@nuriafg6955 they approved it. They have until August to implement it. I’m pregnant due in September so I asked and that’s what I was told.

[@windshipping]

Just noticed today that it's 25 days in France now, and you can also take it if you're not the father, but lives together with the mother. You also keep all social rights, and obviously your job. Pretty recent apparently, 2013 law or something, I remembered it being like 5 days for fathers. Very nice.

[@sushi513]

​@@paulanavarro030110 I hope your pregnancy goes smoothly!

[@jason8966]

Re France and supermarkets, they have also regulations to not have big supermarkets in the city centres so that the local economy of small shops can flourish. Huge supermarkets are further away

[@miatj9366]

That should be implemented in Portugal. Unfortunately the traditional markets are dying in my country and I hate it.

[@flitsertheo]

Also the number of supermarkets in a certain area is limited (Belgium).

[@miatj9366]

@@flitsertheo I envy you guys. Where I leave supermarkets have been popping up like mushrooms in the most insane way. Just disgusting. Now I understand why. They can’t grow in France, Belgium or Germany, Portugal is welcoming their expansion. I love my country but sometimes I feel our politics are so blatantly stupid.

[@evannpalma2404]

La France et vraiment meilleur que l’États-Unis

[@miatj9366]

@@evannpalma2404 I’m not that sure. Every time I visit Paris I see less and less genuine French people. Where are the true parisienses? The true French people? Lost somewhere I guess…. The same in London, in Berlin or Munich. Really sad and scaring.

[@MS-hc1ei]

They don't force us to use the parental leave in Sweden :-) But those 96 days are not possible to "give away" to your partner. But yes, we have the possibility to stay at home with our kids for a really long time. Me and my husband adopted internationally. We chose to stay at home 6 months each. Our kid was almost three years old when we adopted! It was a great way for both of us to bond and get to know our child during a really sensitive part of the adoption process. One year later our kid was ready for Kindergarten/Preschool.

[@JvWet]

You zoning out after reading that parents had to take 96 days leave was awesome to see for us Europeans who are so used to this things😀

[@jenniferharrison8915]

Australia too! 😁

[@reesofraft4166]

now make him aware that those 96 / 480 days are PAID days off!

[@ACF42069]

Zoning out? It looks like he is trying his hardest not to cry when reading that

[@JvWet]

@@ACF42069 I know, but I didn't want to too on the nose😁

[@monicaahagland8995]

@@jenniferharrison8915It’s a bit different, parents in Swede are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave. Most countries in Europe are constantly adding parental days, I guess it’s same with Australia.

[@GreyMinerva]

Yeah, Norway has either 49 weeks paid parental leave at 100% pay, or 59 weeks at 80% pay, split into 15/19 weeks paid paternal leave, 15/19 weeks of paid maternal leave, and then they can split the remaining 16/18 weeks as the family sees fit. They can take alternating days off, do all the maternal leave at first and the paternal leave at the end, or even prolong it by doing half days if works best for their household. The Swedes have longer leave but less pay - the further you get into the parental leave, the lower the pay. It's fairly normal in both Sweden and Norway for children to enter daycare at around 1 year of age, although I know Norway has some financial support if you have/chose to stay at home with your child for another year which amounts to about $700 pr month or so, so some families choose to keep their child at home for another year, or at least until the daycare/kindergarten "year" starts in August. In Norway, you either get paid by the Social Services, or - if you work in a slightly larger business - your employer keeps paying your wages like normal and then get reimbursed by the Social Services.

[@Jamie_D]

"I live in America so pretty much none" funny but genuinely sad for them at the same time.

[@SiiriRebane]

i think you there might have at least one: this accessibility law or wossname. that all public buildings must be accessible by wheelchair and other disability equipment. or was it even all new buildings? theoretically it should be in EU as well but looks like there are loopholes.

[@valeriedjabri2222]

Same here, I'm feeling so sad for them to only believe it.

[@mascami]

But he lives in the land of the free with one who will make America great again and again and again. Pretty good though I think.

[@paulgreen758]

the fact that paid maternity and paternity blew you mind just shows how backward the States are, especially when Roe vs Wade was overturned

[@stanislavbandur7355]

Afghani girls have 90days along with Nigerian girls. Healthcare and working laws are reason why I do not consider USA as a civilized country even if people are great, wear nikees and have I-phones. But that government is kind of worse than medieval :(

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

30+ years ago, an Anglican and a Catholic charity got together and bought a refrigerated truck, and went around the restaurants and hotels in inner Vancouver, collecting unserved, prepared food. It was served next day to homeless and poor inner city residents.

[@alexandermarkhart1582]

Just a guick addition to the "have to take 96 days", it's mostly to not have the mother take all the parental leave but to split between both partners. Typically the mother takes more (or all) parental leave days and the man continues to work and as such employers get encouraged to hire/promote men, since they have a lower risk of missing prolonged time due to children. To combat that and promote equal pay/equal chances in the workplace males have to take at least some of the paternal time (in Germany there is a movement, it has to be split 50/50 for example, though it isn't a law yet) with the idea that men & women get treated more equaivally when it comes to promotions. So the "have to take 96 days" part isn't about forcing people to take their leave, its about splitting the time taken more evenly.

[@helloweener2007]

The idea of parental leave is to make it easier for people to get children. I don't kmnow who much the compensation in Sweden is but in Germany there is the loss of income bigger when you earn more. My brother in law stayed home with the first child necvause my sister was not very wll after this birth but did not take the leave for the 2nd because of the financial loss. When you have to take the leave, there mioght be people who will wage the loss of money more than having a child, which is against the idea of parental leave.

[@papillon5839]

Sometimes the woman earns more than the men, that's why the man stays at home. It was like that with my sister and her husband

[@alexandermarkhart1582]

@@helloweener2007 I would argue thats the part of the point of having to split the time. Women typically take more time off for family related matters and more often stop working altogether. So to avoid investing in a worker thats going to be "less" productive or quit anyway men get higher salaries to stay employed or get promoted, wich in turn leads to the men earning even more money and obviously being the working part of the relationship, since the financial loss if they stayed at home would be much greater, so the cycle starts again... So if you force the husband to generally take the same/similar time off as the mother you get rid of the reason why men get "better" jobs in the first place. Or rather you try to shrink the discrepancy between the two genders. As far as i know, there isn't really any country wich has equal pay at the moment.

[@helloweener2007]

@@alexandermarkhart1582 "I would argue thats the part of the point of having to split the time. Women typically take more time off for family related matters and more often stop working altogether." This is right but you also force families to lower their household income even when they don't won't it. "So if you force the husband to generally take the same/similar time off as the mother you get rid of the reason why men get "better" jobs in the first place." "As far as i know, there isn't really any country wich has equal pay at the moment." No you make the employer to take single man for the job. Had a girlfriend once, her mother owned a pharmacy. She had around 20 employees, mostly women and part time. One got pregnante and went on maternity leave. She had to hire another women, whioch is fine but after a few weeks she toild that she was pregnant too. You zhave ths cost for thois women too, you have to hiere a new substitute. This are all costs that men don't cause. And it is not done with forcing men out for 3 mnonths. Pregnancy can be very different. The wife of a friend was not able to work for the last 6 months of pregnancy. To much sickness, dizzyness, gestational diabetes. Yes, one reason for the diffrence in wages is part an dfull time. But another is: different jobs. There are many jobs in fields that can earn you much money that women don't like to do. Either because lack of physical abilities or they are not interested in the field: informatics and engnineering don't have much female students. And lots of jobs that require a some sort of higher degree are not paid over a union contract. These are jobs you have to bargain. Men are more competitive, in general. I know that there will be exceptions. In my friendzone there are 7 guys. We know each other since school and we are chilled with each other but when we play video or board games it is war, with banter and so on. Over the years allmost all got girlfriends / wifes that got also in our friendzone. But they just don't commit in such level in the competition when we play something against each other. Most of them are not very interested in technical stuff / informatics / computers. When they are the mean for women, it is absolutely clear clear why women are very rare in such good paid jobs. And this is the reality. my university mad only very technical subjects. maths, engineering, physics, informatics, chemistry. Chemistry was with the most women and they were less than 50%. This is one reason why women have less paid jobs in mean. And yes, it is also because they stay home more often. Somtimes it is because the father of the child earns more, sometimes because they want to stay home. Did it ever occured to you that there are woman who want this lifestyle? Being there fo4r the kids. And some have no other choice because they are single moms. I don't think that forcing men to stay home is the right way. And it is worse for the social secuirty accounts of the country. You have one person getting 5.000 EUR and paying in 2.500. And then you force him to stay home, you have to compensate him and a person with 2000 EUR and paying 1000 in works for him. Which is less paid in and more paid out at the end. Would be better to compensate the women more for the educational time.

[@marie-louisepalm9595]

From Sweden here, just one parent at a time can be home with the child. You can divide the days between you the way you want, exept for about three months. You get psid!

[@Asa...S]

Parents get 30 "double days" where they can use their parental days at the same time if they like.

[@Kari.F.]

Infants need time to bond with both parents. It has been proven to be beneficial for their mental health as they grow up. It's like with free education and universal health care: It pays for itself in the long run, often many times over. So why not invest in the population short term, when the long term financial gain is substantial? Every business person knows how smart it is to invest in the business to make it grow and make more money in the future. This is similar.

[@vodamark]

Also, the second parent gets an additional 10 days (not included in these 480) that they can use immediately when the baby is born, allowing both parents to be at home the first 2 weeks. And then those 30 overlapping days kick in...

[@90charmedndangerous]

Both get paid leave at the same time for the 2 first weeks that the baby is born

[@Dadadin]

@@Kari.F. "it pays for itself in the long run" we need to remember that! (not only on this case, but many other)

[@kennethpedersen47]

The 480 days are a shared pool. So each could take 240, or one could take 100 and the other 380. But one person can't take them all (since each had to take at least 96). Also, the employer isn't the one footing the bill, the government does that. Instead they often have to hire a temp in that period, so it's not quite "free" for them.

[@aphextwin5712]

In terms of space in landfills or CO2 emissions when waste is incinerated, plastic bags have a very low impact. But in regard to polluting the environment, their impact is much higher.

[@BigWhoopZH]

At the supermarkets all over Europe you can buy grocery bags made of textile or sturdy plastic which last for years.

[@michalkuban9888]

10:36 I don't even remember for how long the charge existed in Czech and Slovak republic, most of my life I think. While the cost is minimal, tons of people were used to bringing fabric bags, rucksacks etc. anyways. My family also recycles extra plastic bags (if we have to buy some in case there is some unexpected buy) or use them as trash can bags for communal waste.

[@ReptilesGeniales]

With our first baby I stayed home for 6 months and her dad for at least one year. With the second baby I stayed home for 2 month and her dad for 1,5 years. In Sweden 🇸🇪. And those 480 days you only have to “use” them on weekdays the weekends are excluded… they are paid by the government. Also both parents are allowed to stay home directly after birth, usually for a month. The mother may stay home at the end of her pregnancy too, if she wants.

[@Flirkann]

Re: unsold food, even if it's close to expiry, that's usually a Best Before rather than a "Thou Shalt Use By xxx", so if reasonably stored will still be fine for a few days after without issue. Often, freshly made products for the deli section will only have the time/date it was made/prepared stamped on it. So when the local support services/charities do their pick up, it's liable to be used before it genuinely needs tossing as long as it's stored adequately.

[@susannariera]

In Catalonia every girl/woman can get one free menstrual cup, reusable pants or reusable pads. You just go to the pharmacy and choose what you want (it's only one of them because they are reusable and can last for years). Good for our pockets and for the environment.

[@malpa2345]

It’s incredible how people stay in America tbh. Get out and life is a lot better

[@mondfee71]

How should they do it? Where would you put them? It's easy to say for you. The rich don't need to and the rest can't . It is expensive to go.

[@SiiriRebane]

@@mondfee71 i think i know at least one emigré from USA living in retirement in Estonia. i think he is kinda rich then. perhaps liked Wisconsin-like climate more than Florida 😅

[@paulmilner8452]

alot of them get fed propoganda about how great America is compared to the rest oft he world ...... for instance China is one of the cleanest modern countries in the world yet they get told it's a 3rd world all whilst avoiding Kensington Philadelphia, Shanghai compared to any American city is a luxury

[@andreashofer4442]

How? There i a wall now! Mexicans would pay for cheap US workers finishing it, but US is out of professional non wooden wall builders without Mexicans

[@paulmilner8452]

@@andreashofer4442 passports? i know they are rare in America but they allow you to travel .... visa however a different story but English speaking workers have a huge advantage on working abroad in alot of countries compared tos panish speaking etc

[@keroknight2989]

12:22 you can't help it but feel bad for seeing the sad look on his face when reading about the paternal leave. I know, I would feel the same and I'm not even a father. Love your videos! 🥲

[@MrSwedeProductions]

12:00 technically, the parents get 240 days each but you can transfer up to 180 to the other (usually the mother) but you have to use at least 60 days. You don't have to use all days in one go, the parents can save the days until the child is 12 and use days here and there. On top of that, the mother has a right to 7 weeks off before and 7 weeks after the birth. It is the govenrment that pays you (currently it's about $90 per day) That's why we have high taxes. Oh the perils of living in a 'socialist' country =)

[@DanielLundh]

LOL. When my son arrived I took 6 months off from IBM here in Sweden and they topped up my salary to 100% because I spent more than 3 months on parental leave (as a dad). The government pays you a big chunk of your salary but employers can (and should!) top it up. Oh, and dads get 10 days off at actual birth too, that first time can be rough, it helps if you can shoulder it together. And birth rates are tanking here despite this.

[@opfipip3711]

yeah, seems like the only thing that makes people want kids is: You will be completely miserable or just die when you get old, if you do not get enough kids to take care of you. AFAICT that is exactly the reason many people in absolute shitholes have *so* *many* *kids*. things that seemingly don't work at all: You'll get money! The state will pay for and take care off your kid most of the time! We'll try to minimize the disruption in your live! So very unpopular solution to dwindling birth rates here: Make the pension money you receive dependent on how many kids you have, and decouple it completely from the money paid in. (i.e. you pay you parents pension, and your kids will have to pay your pension. That means, should you decide not to have kids, you'd *need* to save half of the money you earn for retirement.)

[@johnderrick2501]

Spain has had presumed consent for organ donation (you can opt out) - and it's the biggest organ donor country in the EU

[@johnderrick2501]

I meant to say-has had for years- it still has the system

[@SiiriRebane]

@@johnderrick2501 er... what?

[@johnderrick2501]

@@SiiriRebane clarification ?

[@johnderrick2501]

@@SiiriRebane clarification ?

[@SiiriRebane]

@@johnderrick2501 yes, please. i do not understand what you mean, saying "has had for years- it still has the system"

[@herb6677]

your reaction to parental leave was not madness, but you were close to tears

[@ciberzombiegaming8207]

in lithuania its 52 *WEEKS* of *PAID* parental leave *with 100% pay* (an average of last 6 months pay), and then up to another 52 weeks paid leave with 80% pay

[@gabbymcclymont3563]

Scotlands Right to Roam, you can walk anywere ish not peoples gardens but all over the Highland. Look up the vlog about 3 push brc,ers who while roaming about met and talked to the king with no security. Thay were also staying in Bothys a old system of basic cottages people can use for shelter. SCOTLANDA Baby Box !!!!!!

[@eastfrisian_88]

German here. My boss has just come back from three months of paid parental leave, he became a father for the first time in December. In December he worked part-time at the company and the rest was covered by overtime, after the birth he went on leave until the end of December and was on parental leave from the beginning of January until the third week of March. The rest of his parental leave is being used by his wife, but he has kept an option for another three months of parental leave if necessary. I think that's great!

[@kikoempis]

Hi from PT! Right, so here it is still illegal to sell drugs of course. But you are free to use them. You just cannot be found to have a big quantity of any type of drug, just enought for up to 10 doses (or somethink alike), so it is considered as for personal use. Also here, the plastic bags, paper bags, any type of bags, in any type of store (supermarker, clothing store, book store, hardware, uber eats...), are paid for. Also any disposable food containers are taxed, and the disposable plastic cuttlery, cups, straws have been banned. You can't buy them anymore.

[@matusvittek1118]

In Slovakia, we have shared parental leave with a child to his age of 3 years. 6 months are paid with ~70% of sallary but not taxed, so i got the the same sum. The other 2,5 yesrs its like ~300eur/month. Both parents can take the 6 months for the child. I have been with my first son 6 months on paid leave, with my second, over a year. It was a great time.

[@Foersom_]

1:37 In Luxembourg public transportation is free for everyone, also for people from outisde Luxembourg. Around Luxembourg City and at some border town there are park and rides so you can park your car and use train and bus for free for rest of journey.

[@mikaelathunell2822]

About parental leave for dads: In Swedish the parents will together have a total of 390 days (1 year and 2 weeks) parental leave with 80% of their salary. Each parent •has• to take at least 45 days (or maybe 90, I'm not sure), and you're supposed to split the next 300 days even, but you can use them as you'd like between the two of you. Then you have 90 more days but with way less money. Dads also have the right to stay at home for 10 days right after the child is born so he can be there at the childbirth and take care of the child the first days of its life. And if you don't want to use all the rest 45-345 days when it's a new born, you can save the days and use it up til the child turns 12. Which means that, if you're saving some days, you don't have to use vacation days but use parental leave days to go in vacation when your child is 10 yo.

[@AndrewBellsWorld]

In Australia many of our state governments have actually banned single use plastic bags. Coles and Woolworths have actually now introduced paper bags.

[@pampelius1267]

I'm not sure but I don't think there's an age limit for assisted suicide. But you can't just show up at a clinic and be like "hey I wanna die, do you have time for me today or do I need to make an appointment?". It's meant for people with serious terminal conditions where there's no hope of ever getting better. Pretty sure you need a lot of doctor's evaluations etc, and I would be surprised if this isn't also available to 15 year-olds with horrible conditions that will never get better. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

[@wightwitch]

No you're right there's a whole process to go through. Dignitas do not take people who are 'weary of life' (I think that's their phrase.) But you also have to have multiple visits with doctors and psychiatrists before they even start any processes.

[@embreis2257]

a 15yr-old is not yet of legal age and cannot decide this on their own; a guardian is the one deciding such matters and in some cases a court might need to approve it. apart from that technicality, age doesn't seem to be an issue

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

7:00 Denmark introduced such charges back in 1994, Ireland in 2002. In 2007 France introduced a first ban for different kinds of plastic bags, which was extended in 2016 and 2022; Italy introduced such a ban in 2011. Germany banned in 2020 plastic bags which a thickness between 15 and 50 micrometers, but even decades before all supermarkets charged for plastic bags (same in Austria and some other countries), and most do it nowadays also for paperbags. Only (most) clothes shops did before 2020 issue plastic bags without charging.

[@AMK29106]

12:16 when he said each parent has to use at least 96 days since they can share the days he meant that 1 parent can’t take all the days and that the other partner takes at least 96 days out of 480

[@alanpotter8680]

2:56 Based on my experience as a restaurant owner in Athens, Greece, the main reason for the ban on giving leftover food to people, is mostly to avoid any food poisoning, since it's supposed to be old and unsanitary. We estimate our menu on daily basis, depending on the day of the week, is it a holiday, etc... and when it comes to fresh seafood (we are a seafood restaurant mostly), you need to purchase for that day only what you think you will sell. None of the leftovers can be sold the next day. I just give away the leftover food the same day to friends or take some home. I guess the situation is very different with supermarkets. They throw away packed goods that are near expiration date. That's just bad practice. Even stuff like yogurt are good for probably a week or more after the final date. It's a fermenting product. What will happen? Ferment some more?

[@UtamagUta]

3:06 some foods literally cannot be donated (vegetables, fresh meat). Those are usually sold to methane producing facilities

[@_JoyceArt]

The free public transport in Luxembourg is awesome, and you don’t need to be a citizen of Luxembourg. Especially great if you’re out on the town and drinking, because the buses still run later in the night. So it’s also safer. The first time I got to use it, it felt illegal. In the Netherlands you also need to opt out, in regards to donorship. And we just need to pay a small amount for single use plastics. If I order food for takeout, or ask for a bag in a shop, I get charged 0,25 per plastic item.

[@wightwitch]

The carrier bag fee comes from research that shows if you add 5p for using plastic bags people are more likely to bring their own. However, if you offer a 5p discount people don't really change their behaviour.

[@nelltheretrogamer]

About grocery stores donating extra food to charity: here in Finland, there has recently been some discussion about this because often, because of strict laws about food safety, it is not possible. If something is already past its "use before" date, then it cannot even be given away. If there is even a slight theoretical risk that something might cause food poisoning because it is too old, it cannot be even given away anymore. Grocery stores here give some of their food to charity but I don't know how much it currently is. Some time ago there was a fire in a shopping center and although it didn't cause much damage, they lost electricity for several days. There's a grocery store in that building and of course all their refrigerators and freezers stopped working because they didn't have extra power sources for such a long time. They gave away some of the stuff but I think that they had to pay to have most of it destroyed, because it simply isn't legal to give away frozen goods that have melted. Parental leave in Finland is 320 working days (meaning that Sundays and other holidays are in addition to that). Parents can decide how they want to divide the leave between themselves. In addition, there is a pregnancy leave that usually starts 30 days before the estimated due date of the baby.

[@ElsaDewitt]

0 plastic bags at stores where I live....we bring our own reusable bags when shopping

[@tristanridley1601]

Anyone who doesn't get paid paternity leave should be angry. Your family NEEDS YOU for those early months. But... They also need your income. Too many fathers have to make that hard choice. In Canada fathers get paid out of government-run employment insurance, premiums mandatory on each paycheque.

[@dd-di3mz]

Public transport is free for everyone, I only know of two exceptions. First you have to stay in the country, you can't get on a train in Luxembourg and go to Germany for free. The journey is free until you cross the border. If you take the train further across the border, you will need to buy a ticket. Second exception: You cannot use the first class compartments unless the staff opens the doors to everyone.

[@olgahein4384]

In Germany, 'assisted suicide' is called Sterbehilfe (decease aid). Assisted suicide is one of 4 possible ways to do so, like giving the person the means to commit suicide (the other 3 are active aid, passive aid and indirect aid). It's a highly discussed topic here, cause sometimes it's hard to tell what the person who dies really wanted. It is technically not illegal here, but only for passive aid actually. Every other kind is not really regulated and is decided by case to case. It used to be completely illegal till a few years ago, but technically goes against several of our most important laws - like 'human dignity is invaluable' or the basic right to make your own choices about your life and well, death. Also, there is no active law that forces german supermarkets to not throw away leftover produce. But most supermarkets are applying measures to prevent that (cause in Germany, having waist costs money). The most common measure is give a 30% discount to food that is close to expiration date, usually between 3 days prior and the actual date. They get a fat red sticker and in some supermarkets designated corners in the selection. Also, my local Edeka (a bit more sophisticated grocery store) has a corner behind the check-outs, more like a wall: it has racks filled with fresh produce like veggies and fruits and salad, that can not be sold anymore. Usually produce that didn't get sold the day before, for veggies up to 3 days old stuff. It's entirely free. Everyone can just come in and grab whatever they want from there, however much they want and take it home. I love this concept. You often see retired people grab something quickly and leave, also popular with students. I think they introduced it after 'containering' became a hot topic, in my university town. Lastly: Germany is not really progressive with laws nowadays, but here is something i consider progressive for NOT having a law. Breaking out of prison and running away from the police is not punishable by law. If the police wants to arrest you and you turn around and run away, you will not be punished for that (whatever they wanted to arrest you for is unchanged though). If you break out of prison, it can not be punished and cannot have any influence on your sentence or on your situation in prison once you get caught. Of course, every other crime you commit while doing so will be added (e.g. property damage, theft, speeding, injuring someone, etc) if it happened.

[@lozinozz7567]

Once upon a time in Australia, packs of eggs with broken ones would be repacked into no name cartons and sold at the cheapest price. Then my company decided it didn’t want to pay staff to do this and they were throwing them in the bin. Recently they were made to ‘donate’ all damaged pack to charities so they advertise this like crazy. They also donate food but not until it’s out of date. Companies loved the ban on plastic bags because they can now charge you for them but the amount of plastic used to transport stock has increased……..

[@whitecompany18]

England🇬🇧 I take my own bags shopping and ride my sassy lady shopper push bike there daily .. I'd say it's to save the environment...But I'm just poor 😄👍

[@Gazer75]

All plastic bags at grocery stores have had a price for decades in Norway. They actually increased it last year.

[@martinm8991]

In the EU each year September 22nd is the "day without cars" - in most countries You can ride public transport just presenting a drivers license (or vehicle registration) instead of the bus ticket.

[@Vikholm]

The 96 days you NEED to use in Sweden isn't a mandatory leave :D It's just that the other days can be transferred to the other parent. But 96 has to be kept. It's the state that pays the "föräldrapenning" (parent pay) and it's 80% of your normal income or a maximum of 1218 SEK per day (rought $115) You can submit 7 days each week, but your days will be used up quicker. For my kids (2 of em) I took out 2 weeks right when they were born and then for 2 summers straight I used 60 days (plus 20 vacation days) to have a relaxing summer with the family. The rest of my days were "donated" to my kids mom. Also, if you get sick on a day when you're on parental leave you can "pause" your leave and get the same payout in the form of a sick pay instead. Same with vacation days in Sweden. If you get sick while on vacay, call it in, save X amounts of vacation days for later.

[@arekzawistowski2609]

11:00 for me it doesn't matter. It is just easy to do thing. I like to carry my groceries in bag packs and multi-use bags if i buy more i carry bags in my backpack)

[@gamingtonight1526]

Supermarkets in the UK will sell you a "bag for life", for around 18c, which means when the bag wears out, or gets a hole, etc, the supermarket will change it for a new bag for free. They will then recycle the old bag and make it into a new "bag for life"! Plastic bags account for 40% of all plastic collected from Oceans only!

[@AG_247]

Number one garbage item found on the coast is food wrappers, then cigarette butts, plastic bottles, bottle caps and then plastic bags.. But the micro plastic in the ocean is on another level: Just some numbers here, from which sources they come from: #1 Synthetic textile (35%, from washing machines mostly). #2 car tires (28%) #3 city dust (24%) #4 road markings (7%)

[@timithius]

With regard to plastic bags, I thought they were mostly out of use. I guess I assumed that, because that's how it is where I live. I'm in Montreal, Quebec. Many years ago they started charging for them, as incentive to bring your own. Now in most establishments, they just don't exist. You can buy a reusable cloth bag, or you bring your own. Even at the Dollarama. 🙂 Having never been in a Walmart, though i can't speak for them.

[@JenniferRussell-qw2co]

You can take 'soft plastics', such as the kind you would get at takeaways, to a recycling bin at supermarkets. I haven't used a plastic bag for groceries, etc., for years. 😊

[@eglekiik]

14 days paid vacation days to use only for fathers around the due date and paid maternity leave (goverment pays it ) for 1.5 years in Estonia. .(mother and father can share it one at the time after the baby is 6 months old..so its easier to get back to work for mothers also) Employer is obligated to provide you the same or equal job when you return in that time frame + Local goverment is obligated to have a spot in kindergarden/daycare for your kid after you kid is 1.5 years old + it is harder to fire an employee with a kid under the age of 3. Also..you can stay at home for another 1.5 years for no-paid maternity leave to spend it with your kid.. if you can afford it :)

[@billy-bo_]

It's Heaven to have you daily! ❤

[@johnp8131]

I recieved specific paid "Paternity Leave" from the British military when my wife gave birth to our son. Back in 1990!

[@Sc4v3r]

In Germany, parental leave is up to three years (most common is 2 years). And mom and dad can split it as they want to. And you can take the years up to the day before the child's 9th birthday (applies to the first 2 years, the employer must agree to the 3rd year).

[@lowri.williams]

It's worth mentioning that there was huge criticism of the carrier bag charge when it was introduced in Wales. Not so much from within Wales itself but from the wider UK / English press. They thought we were absolutely crazy and run by dictators. You couldn't go a day without some morning TV show or another doing a call in debating what us weirdos were doing next door. It was such a bizarre time. I say this because, years on, the rest of the UK now has the same charge and it's a totally normal part of life. We adjusted. Positive change takes time. There'll always be noisy resistance from people who are scared of change.

[@JonInCanada1]

In Canada, we have Medical Assisted Suicide, it's called MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) and became law in 2016; it should be note it cannot be accessed by foreigners. As for charging for single use bags, it's been a thing for awhile here and there was some whining, but now it's common practice to have re-usable. Like Ireland, plastic bag pollution dropped significantly here as well. Paternal Leave (paid) can range from 15 (initial leave) to 40 weeks depending on the situation/province. Maternity Leave (paid) can go as high as 50 weeks (initial 15 weeks, with additional 35 weeks) again dependent on each case. I can't imagine how any modern country could deny any kind of paid leave for new parents, it's so counter-intuitive.

[@petersmiling9494]

The Deutschlandticket (lit. 'Germany ticket') is a subscription public transport ticket for all local public transport, valid in the whole of Germany, that costs 49 euros per month. The German federation (Bund) and the federal states (Länder) initially participate in the financing with 1.5 billion euros per year until 2025.

[@azminek7154]

Here most stores replaced single use plastic bags with biodegradable single use plastic bags. They still cost money, roughly the equivalent of 4 (US) cents for the small ones meant for vegetables, pastry, nuts and similar small items and around the equivalent of 12 (US) cents for bigger and stronger bags meant to carry a full grocery. And there are paper bags that are generally free for the small items and cost about the same for the grocery bags as the biodegradable plastic.

[@Demonsteel87]

Just to clarify on parental leave in Sweden; it's not 480 days each. It's 480 days shared for both parents, and they can allocate it however they want (split evenly, majority for mother, or majority of father). 96 days is reserves for each parent, though. That means that the mother can't take the entirety of the 480 days themselves, they could--at most--take 385 days, since 96 of those are reserved for the father and can't be used by the mother. It's up to the parents how they want to divide them, but what they tend to do is that the mother takes at least the first half (if not the full year), while the father takes 2-4 weeks off when the baby is born to help out initially and do some bonding. Then when the mother goes back to work, the father takes their paternity leave. That's how parents tend to do it in my experience, but again, it varies. It's 480 days per child, with the exception of twins. Then it's 480+180 days. Not sure how it's handled for triplets to be honest, I would assume 480+360?

[@Aria9391]

Oh Ryan here @12:24 you look almost heartbroken or considering getting into a plane to Sweden lol! In Spain, we currently have 16 weeks of paid leave for both parents, which is about to be turned into 20 weeks apparently, and the first 4 weeks also must be used. I am also jealous of Sweden.

[@aquariusmarika]

With the plastic bags - it´s not about getting some money from people for those bags, it´s about making people reuse them, bring their own bags etc. In our stores in the Czech Republic, you bring your own - often some better durable bag - or you have to buy a bag at the cashier.....plastic, paper or some better one. You have options.

[@ritalino7323]

In Portugal we have a 28 utility days leave for dads and about 6 months for mums (I think) also after going back to work you have the right to a nursing schedule where you go from 8h/day work for 6h. This year we also passe the law that parents have the right to a full month payed leave with the death of a child and 15 days for abortion (I think)

[@nahiag]

In Sweden you had to pay close to 1 USD per each plastic bag. Even before the tax you had to pay for plastic bags and then it was about 10-20 cents. The tax had been repealed because it was very punitive.

[@gingerstratman3153]

My husband managed grocery stores for 22 years. In the beginning of his career all the departments would gather everything with a short date and it was delivered to the homeless shelters or food banks. The hot food was put into containers and handed out at closing. Then the sue happy bullsh!t started. His company had settle a law suit because they received an item that was 2 days out of date at the food bank. Since it was donated by the store he got sued because she claimed that pancake mix made her son sick. The store stopped all donations and put a lock on the dumpster for liability reasons. So sad 😢

[@ctriis]

Plastic bags are $0.40 each in most grocery store chains in Norway, in large part due to extra taxes put on them in recent years. There was a half-assed push of transitioning to using paper bags instead when the price went up but it didn't take. We do recycle a very high portion of plastic bottles though (and beverage cans), in excess of 95% of all that is sold. Mainly because of long standing legislation and regulation requiring any point of sale business to accept collection of them and packaging it for transportation to a recycling plant. + consumers are also incentivized to take part in the process by having a kind of "temporary tax" on bottles and beverage cans. You pay for the recycling when you buy the beverage ($0.20 or $0.30 depending on size) but you get that money back when you deliver the empty bottle/can to the recycle collection machines at the point of sale business.

[@micade2518]

re: France's steps towards not wasting food, every food store or supermarket must propose their unsold fresh foods that are on the eve of their expiration date, at a discounted price. On the latest International Women's Rights Day (March 8), France wrote the Right to Abortion (that was legalized in 1975) in its Constitution. re: Legalization of euthanasia, which is currently being discussed in France's Parliament, it's obvious, Ryan, that it is and will be granted to desperate cases of incurable diseases, and is/will be closely monitored. It's not just a random right "to commit suicide". re: the environment, in France again, watch this clever move towards reducing the amount of trash generated by fast food chains, notably: "Why McDonald's Is Better in Europe" - fern Note that it's just one application of the EU's fight against highly polluting single-use plastic straws, wrappings, cutlery, etc. re: public transport, ever since the first world-wide oil crisis in 1973, 50% of commuters' public transport costs are paid by their employers. Low-income senior citizens get totally free public transports within their city/region, and discounted rates on the national railway network.

[@ragnarls]

Just to give you some actual ideas of how the parental leave works in a European country, obviously varies between countries. But as it is amazing in general, it always comes with some caveats, as everything. In Iceland where I live, the parents get 6 months each, but you can "donate" 6 weeks of that to your partner. Now the payment is 80% of your salary for the last 12 months before the baby is born, up to a maximum of 600.000 ISK ($4300) before tax. This leaves you with (roughly) a maximum of 447.000 ISK after tax or $3200. This sounds great, but the average monthly salary in Iceland in 2022 was 745.000, which means you will have to take a paycut of at least 85.000 ISK ($610) after tax assuming you have the average salary. Which maybe doesn't sound that bad, but given the housing costs and interest rate of loans in Iceland is currently hovering between 10.5% and 11.5%, it can be very difficult for many people, especially for those with above average salaries that have more expensive homes, and therefore cannot afford the reduction in pay. Now as for who actually pays for the parental leaves. In Iceland there is a special tax on every salary, that the employer has to pay (you never see it). Currently this tax is 6.35%, and is used to cover parental leaves, unemployment benefits and other salary insurances, f.e. if a company goes bankrupt, this will cover up to 3 months of salaries for the employees. All in all its great, but as with everything, its not perfect, and on reddit people usually only highlight the positive parts.

[@carolweideman1905]

I live in France and you have to pay for your bags at the stores. The cost is around 1 euro a bag. They have bags you can purchase that are canvas, and burlap that can be used over and over. I have about 6 and one bag that is insulated for frozen food. I have been using my bags going on for 10 years.

[@natveneziano853]

Last year Malta did the same for busses (the only form of public transport that people use, other than taxis or private vehicles) for residents and citizens with a bus card. The single use - it is normal plastic/disposable bags are charged. It is done pretty much anywhere in EU. The charge is 0.15-2Euro depending what type of bag it is. In Bulgaria we have 1 year of 80-100% pay (from employer, it depends which company you work for and what % benefit they offer) maternity leave for mothers, 1 year with minimum wage by choice and you can take a third year without a pay, if you wish to do so. Also fathers can do it. And we can go back to work if one of the grandparents takes over in a specific program for assistance - you can still receive half of your maternity leave money and work full time at the same time. But don't quote me if this is for year 1 or 2, I am unsure exactly. Unfortunately due to this, many employers still steer away from hiring women in reproductive age which MAY OR MAY NOT get pregnant at some point. There is a law, that if you pass probation and you get your employer notified by submitting a notice via the accountant, they don't have a legal right to fire you for no reason (you are covered as a pregnant woman). All women also use a 45 day 'sick' leave which is a rest leave for every pregnant woman, and is separate from the maternity leave. Basically this means that if you don't show until month 3(wait until risk of miscarriage is lower), you notify in the beginning of 4th month, the employer is stuck by finding a replacement/secondment for your position in just less than 3 months (barely). And some women are on bed rest, which can be allowed by her GP and GYNAE, so basically she may notify the employer and if it is a risky pregnancy, she may not even work for more than she wants and just get the leave based on the doctor's recommendations and have another 6 months of staying home while being pregnant (that is also very conditional - like if you have to stand up all the time and you have risky pregnancy, or if you do hard manual work like lifting things or just working long hours - if they can't accommodate you at all, you can ask the doctor to help you out so you don't have issues and potentially lose the pregnancy).

[@bearofthunder]

One of the main arguments that are used to defend the extensive paternal leave in Scandinavia is the emotional bonding between father and child. Research shows that this has a lot of benefits for the whole family. It was also an argument to encourage more children and larger families, but this last goal have not really worked as hoped.

[@HH-hd7nd]

3:11 Nope. It is actually more expensive to through the stuff away because the markets have to pay for the disposal. When donating it the charities come and pick the stuff up for free.

[@j.pa.k1976]

I just looked up the current rules here in Denmark: "A mother is entitled to absence 4 weeks before the expected birth, 14 weeks after the birth and then 32 weeks of parental leave. A father/co-mother has the right to absence 2 weeks after the birth, and then 32 weeks of parental leave." When our sons were born in 99, 01, and 02, my husband got 2 weeks of paternity leave and was teased for taking those 2 weeks by older colleagues. If I'd been on the job market, I'd have gotten 6 months maternity leave. I can't remember if we were entitled to any leave before the expected birth. I did something very un-Danish and became a homemaker for a number of years. Most people use reusable bags here in Denmark now. I pay 4,5 -5,75 Danish kroner in most supermarkets, if I've forgotten my reusable bag. The last time I checked the prices. I pay with Google Wallet (I used to use the Danish MobilePay app. I'm on android) on my phone and don't ask for a print out of my receipt, so I don't really notice.

[@Fujoshi13]

In Quebec, Canada we don't have plastic bags in grocery store anymore. Paper bags are 10 cents. No more plastic bags in Walmart either. If we don't have our reusable bags we have to buy a reusable bag for a dollar. In Canada Paternity leave is 5 weeks and they call it " Daddy Days" and maternity is 12 to 18 months.

[@mattymcnally]

The bag charge don't include takeaway but most shops do what they call a bag for life so instead of chucking a broken bag you take it to the shop for free replacement and some small newsagents will still give a bag for free but it also incentives you to keep it and re-use the bag

[@1983simi]

In my country there's up to 36 months paternity leave for either mom or dad (or they can also decide to split it between each other). Before birth the mom mandatorily stays at home 6 weeks and 8 weeks after birth, at full salary, mind. I have good friends who just got their first child last year. She earns considerably more than him and his work requires him to make a long commute every day, so having him take the parental leave was a very easy choice. On top of that they have the good fortune that her job allows her to work from home office, so it's a win-win all around. He, a 6.6ft tall guy, very proudly and dedicatedly takes care of 80% of the child care at home, while she (a 5.6ft woman) gets to keep her career but also breastfeed her child and have a lot of quality time daily with the little one too. Even for Germany, they were very very fortunate to be able to arrange it all like this, but in the US it would have been all but impossible. I never met relaxed young parents like that. They're very lucky. And yeah they haven't decided yet just how long he'll be a stay-at-home dad, but technically he can take up to 3 years of parental leave, the first 12 months of which he'll get 65-67% of his salary, after that it would be about half the amount, but it depends on the individual situation, so many people opt to go back to work month 13-36 at least part-time.

[@carolineskipper6976]

Take out food here in the UK now usually comes in paper bags and cardboard boxes, not plastic carriers. The culture over the last decade has changed considerably. Most people now take their own re-usable bags to do big supermarket shops as a matter of course, and everyone knows if you drop into a shop for an unplanned purchase you will be paying for the bag. We used to all have THAT cupboard in our kitchen that was stuffed with carrier bags we'd brought stuff home in - nowadays, it's all half a dozen reusable 'Bags for Life' (you buy these from the supermarket, and if they wear out the supermarket replaces them for free- they last years!). 'Taking a trip to Switzerland' is in fact now a euphamism, certainly in the UK, for those who are terminally ill preparing to take advantage of the assisted suicide laws there. Obviously- context is all. People still go on normal holidays and trips to Switzerland too!

[@tramper42]

9:28 „(assisted Suicide)… what, if the involved people are not in a good state of mind?“ good question, I wondered that, when I hear to which people weapons are sold worldwide including US.

[@bellshooter]

In the UK ALL grocery chains will sale flash products close to expiry, and let Charities pick uo on-date produce for donation. Every supermarket will offer multi-use bags for groceries foe less than 50c so you can not get single use bags. Assisted suicide is VERY controlled for mental state and circumstance, only people with a real reason, pain/personal state/ suffering are allowed.

[@marvahinspace]

in some countries the single use plastic in fruit and veggie area costs 0.05€, in some those are still free,, plastic shopping bags are 0.30€. takeout is usually delivered/given in paper bags. My country has 1.5 years of 100% paid parental leave that both parents can share (but usually women only have this), it's kind of mandatory, no daycare/nursery takes under 1.5y olds. also women have 14 weeks of maternity leave and fathers 4 weeks paternity leave.

[@SuviMatinaro]

In Finland maternity leave is 30 days before due date and 75 days after birth. Then starts parental leave that lasts up to when the child is 3 years old. You cant lose your job during that time. Paternity leave is 54 days. First 3 weeks the father can have at the same time as mom, the rest he can have when mom goes to work. The parental leave can be freely devided between the parents. There are many families where mom goes to work when baby stops breastfeeding and dad stays home for the rest of the time. The paternity and maternity leave portions are a prosentage of your salary, the parental leave is supported by the government.