Can you imagine receiving 6 to 12 months or more of paid time off to have a baby? (Mexican, Christmas)
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I'm not sure that's materialistic. Maybe we have just found ways to better enjoy life.
At one time TV was free.
There was a phone in the home, not in your pocket.
Games meant a deck of cards or a board game.
Organized sports for kids didn't cost an arm and leg.
There were no name brand sneakers, pants, shirts that one had to have.
Yes, we have become materialistic. We have gone from a producer nation to a consumer nation.
And those better ways to enjoy life now cost more, much more than lifestyles cost decades ago.
My point was that it is more than taxes that need to be counted.
Huh, so, according to this, the state-local tax burden is about .6% lower, and my other link states that federal income tax rates are also lower... I think someone may be peering into the past with rose colored glasses...
We just spend a lot more money on stuff, now. Two cars, more expensive cars, bigger house, cell phones, cable, etc, etc... Not to mention health care and retirement costs have gone up.
Your link only goes back to 1977. I was already out of high school by then, so it is not really germane to what I said. And as far as federal rates, as roadking says, it's not about nominal rates--effective rates are what matters.
As Annie and other argue, consumerism is a factor too. I don't deny that. But gov't is constantly trying to boost spending to promote 'stimulus.' Big gov't, and big business. All part and parcel of the same trend.
At one time TV was free.
There was a phone in the home, not in your pocket.
Games meant a deck of cards or a board game.
Organized sports for kids didn't cost an arm and leg.
There were no name brand sneakers, pants, shirts that one had to have.
Yes, we have become materialistic. We have gone from a producer nation to a consumer nation.
And those better ways to enjoy life now cost more, much more than lifestyles cost decades ago.
My point was that it is more than taxes that need to be counted.
TV is still free. If you decide that broadcast channels are not enough you can choose to add cable.
We still play board games and cards as do many of our friends in the same age group.
You take 4 weeks off or so to have the baby.....any time off longer than that.....it should be on your dime and you should plan ahead to make sure you have enough money to cover your expenses for the 3, 4, or 5 months you want to stay home.......and then only if your employer decides to allow you that time off. Or.....plan ahead and maybe quit your job until the kid goes to school, etc.
I have a sneaking suspicion you have never had a baby yourself. Most women are not medically cleared to go back to work until six weeks after delivery. The baby is completely unimmunized and vulnerable to infection acutally until they've fininsed their first seried of immunizations at 6 months. I like the sentence in bold; yes, we should all bow down to our employers.
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That means you may not be able to live in a great big house with two or three bathrooms, that means you may have to buy used cars instead of new, that means you buy cheap furniture instead of top of the line, the cheap carpet instead of top of the line, no dishwasher, no boats, no ATV's, maybe just one television and an antenna instead of cable. Whatever luxuries that you do not need......gone.
Thanks for all the advice on how to live. I can assure you I don't need it.
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My parents new home had a gravel driveway and a gravel floor in the attached garage until I was in junior high. The bathroom was tiled with plastic tiles until I was in high school, when they had the money to replace them with ceramic tiles. They cut corners to provide for the children THEY decided to have. They had used cars, 5 or 6 years old when they bought them, until after we were well out of school. ONE TV....yes, only ONE TV!
Big whoop! Sounds a lot like my parents.
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My parents watched what they wanted to watch on TV....if we didn't like it....too bad! I finally got my own TV when I was about 13, I bought it myself with money I saved from X-Mas, birthdays, and mowing neighbors yards. It was a 13" black and white Admiral. Then, and only then, did I get to watch what I wanted to watch.
They did without things that parents of today would never even THINK of doing without.
Again, big whoop! Now you have parenting advice as well?
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So, you married late....how is that MY problem? Married or not, if you knew you planned on marrying some day and having a child.....how about saving and investing your money for when that day finally does come? Did you really need that new outfit? That new winter coat? That "Oh so cute" pair of shoes? Those highlights in your hair? Or could you have saved that money to finance the life you dreamed of having someday instead?
Spell ASSUME.
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That's what I did. I did without all kinds of things my friends just had to have......because I wanted to have a happy, secure, retirement. And guess what? I am now sitting pretty while most of them are struggling financially.
I'm quite impressed!
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Fertility problems? How is that MY problem or anyone elses? You don't start having the fertility treatments until you can afford to pay for them AND the child you are hoping for. If you can't afford it on your own, guess what? You shouldn't have a child.....period. Society doesn't OWE you a child. You are not ENTITLED to have a child. Sometimes you just can't have everything you ever wanted in life. That's how life works.
What do you do once the child is born? Again.....how is that MY problem or anyone elses? You decided to have a child.....YOU take care of it.
I'm self righteous? That may very well be. But I will tell you one thing I never was. I was never ENTITLED.
Paid maternity leave...I'll go you one better. When I grew up in the 60's & 70's neither my mom nor any of my friends' moms had jobs. In essence not pregnancy leave, but motherhood leave. We were not wealthy; we (and my friends) were all middle class. Now that taxes are so high, along with housing prices (due to liberal government polices such as 'smart growth') two paychecks are required. One to pay for your stuff, and the other to pay for your taxes.
A policy of mandatory paid leave just digs the hole deeper.
Anyway I don't know why we have to have all these subsidies for child bearing. Econ 101--if you subsidize something, you will get more of it:
See bolded- Just isn't true. Two jobs truly aren't needed if people would cut back on their "stuff" and learn the real difference between necessities and wants
See bolded- Just isn't true. Two jobs truly aren't needed if people would cut back on their "stuff" and learn the real difference between necessities and wants
I think it would depend upon where you live as well, though. We picked my current location because we wanted my daughter to go to the very best schools. The downside of that is the cost of living in this location. It is quite expensive and if both my husband and I didn't work, we would not be able to afford to live here. So yes, it is about choices but in this day and age, cost of living must be factored into the equation.
I have a sneaking suspicion you have never had a baby yourself. Most women are not medically cleared to go back to work until six weeks after delivery. The baby is completely unimmunized and vulnerable to infection acutally until they've fininsed their first seried of immunizations at 6 months. I like the sentence in bold; yes, we should all bow down to our employers.
Thanks for all the advice on how to live. I can assure you I don't need it.
Big whoop! Sounds a lot like my parents.
Again, big whoop! Now you have parenting advice as well?
Spell ASSUME.
I'm quite impressed!
Yes, you're self-righteous! Give it a rest.
I can't even tell if you are being serious or purposely rediculous...that's just how crazy your posts read.
What are you asking? Do you think you should get to do whatever you want whenever you want and be paid to do it? That people should be given stuff/money/etc for having a baby? What is your point? I'm seriously asking...you mock other posters and ask a lot of questions but don't seem to have much to say.
I can't even tell if you are being serious or purposely rediculous...that's just how crazy your posts read.
What are you asking? Do you think you should get to do whatever you want whenever you want and be paid to do it?
That people should be given stuff/money/etc for having a baby? What is your point?
I'm seriously asking...you mock other posters and ask a lot of questions but don't seem to have much to say.
Well, of course I think everyone should get handouts for having a baby! At least a free crib, carseat and a year's supply of diapers. I'm a "liberal" on this board; I believe in handouts, no personal repsonsibilty, I'm lazy, what else? I would still like to know what all these people saying "you have to plan for a baby" (as if most people, and all liberals, do not) think should happen after the baby is born.
Perhaps I did indulge myself in a little mockery. I'm really not interested in someone's life history fom prior to 1953, and how they/their parents did everything right and if everyone just lived exactly like them there would be no issue here. I never said it was anyone else's problem that I got married at 31, and we decided to start a family sooner rather than later. I never asked for anyone's help with our infertility problems, let alone asked the PP who ranted at me about it. My insurance paid for most of it. Isn't that just horrible, that insurance will pay for something so useless as infertility treatments. I also did not spend my single days in "riotous living"; it's a little hard to save a lot of money on a nurse's salary, especially a starting salary.
I am not crazy, I'm just curious. And I'm not giving any hints, either. I'd like to hear it. The kid is here, you "planned" for him/her; you have money saved to tide you over while you're not working (obviously speaking to the mother here), you run off and get sterilized, adopt the kid out, then what?
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 12-11-2011 at 12:48 PM..
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