Gautam Mukunda wrote:
Now *that* is obscene.
Without commenting on my own salary, I would point out
that between the various taxes and government-mandated
deductions in my salary, I end up paying 42% to the
government. That's _before_ I deduct for my 401K and
things like that. I also live in Manhattan. Despite
the fact that I have _4_ roommates, my rent+utilities
exceeds $1300 per month.
You also have to eat most of your meals outside, which is probably more expensive than grocery shopping and cooking yourself. And those living expenses add up... do you get compensated for travel (both time and expense)? I certainly do not envy you your "work" hours being stuck at the office wearing your suit. I may have 60 hr weeks as well sometimes if I count my lunch 'breaks' and commuting time (average of 3 hrs a day) and home working time; I'm just glad I can finish my reports at home in my pj's, surrounded by my own home comforts. And then can take a day off to recover afterwards. I'm so lucky. :)
Been discussing this with my husband, over here in Netherland we also pay a lot of tax but have many benefits as well such as being able to deduct the interest on your mortgage from your taxes. Our pension is in part deducted from our gross salary and in part paid by our employer, and is much cheaper anyway than in the States (same goes for insurance). And our contracts tend to feature "13th month" extra pay and "vacation pay" (8% of your monthly salary paid out in May) and "travel compensation" and employer + governement sponsored childcare placing (which could be better, but we're making progress). Also you get government support for each child and tons of tax breaks for assorted issues. Being in the top end of the salary scale sucks over here (most rich people flee the restrictions), but being in the middle as we are it can be very beneficial indeed. :)
It's interesting, actually, the cultural differences. Over here personal time is sacred. Most Dutch people get about 5 weeks of vacation a year which they like to spend in far off places either travelling or skiiing or roasting on a beach (bit of a necessity as well in this drab and grey country). And they work exactly 40 (or 37, or 22, depending on your contract) hrs a week, preferably from 9.00-5.30 (not counting lunch), after which they go on to their personal affairs (sports or other clubs) far away from coworkers. Foreigners here complain about how hard it is to get to know people, as coworkers hardly every socialize outside work (and when they do, it's a work-related outing); you have to make friends in your own way in your own time. The funny part is the Dutch do get a lot done in their 8 exact hrs a day, foreign managers have said that their Dutch employees simply make sure they get their workload done before 5, which is unheard of in say Britain. Behold the positive side of this "personal time = sacred" philosophy. People work harder and more efficiently and our national production per capity is as high or higher than in countries where people routinely have to "work" 60 hr weeks to keep up with the coworkers who also stay late, etc...
Having said that, a lot of my coworkers seem to do very little indeed on any given day. I can only imagine what it must be like in other countries... ;)
on a 37 hr contract
meaning I work 41 hrs one week and 33 the next,
Ticia ',:)
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