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September 2015 Moms
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Can anyone point out on a map where Estonia is? BIG VENT

v1wwov1wwo member
in September 2015 Moms
Or maybe Sweden?

Why am I asking about locations of two countries? Well they are two out of my many, many (all but two) countries that have paid maternity and/or paternity leave.

Sweden just passed a law where it REQUIRES fathers to take three months of paid daddy vacation! Because for them two months was not enough and they really don't know where to sick their government money. Also get this - Swedish government is concerned that too many dads are not spending enough time with their kids! This is what happens when a country does not play war like a little 5 year old. Free college education, everyone one gets a free bike, tree public transportation, minimum pay is $25 in the city, government helps you buy a car if its more then 5 years old,  cows eat grass and now this 3 month paternity leave!!!!

And let me not start about Estonia (and I bet 95% of Americans don't know on what continent Estonia is located at) that provides mothers two years of paid leave.  

Get your head out of your arse America! 

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Re: Can anyone point out on a map where Estonia is? BIG VENT

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  • sokomosokomo member
    Would be sooo nice to have free daycare, paid maternity leave for all new moms for at least the first six months, etc. etc. but yeah.. it's a give and take - someone always picks up the bill ;)
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  • v1wwov1wwo member
    Yes I am simplifying economics but you can't argue that US spent over 581.0 bn$ (3.3 gdp) last year on its military... China came in in second with only 129.4 bn$.
    Since the beginning America has been at some war, for over 90% of its existence. And wars are becoming more and more expansive. We don't need this. Especially the last 30/40 years of the Middle East war for some stupid oil. We just made an enemy that won't ever be defeated. (And don't you guys dear thing that I have something against our boys and girls in the military. Their lives matter and should not be thrown around mindlessly.)
    We could be putting that money in to health care, education, better jobs, technology. Yes, we are a big nation but the people of America are smart. We don't need some foreign oil we can figure things out. And it's really embarrassing to be one out of two countries in the world that does not provide paid maternity leave... Some super power we are.


    @hinkpink101 - but the public petting zoos in the city's parks makes it all better right? But yes I understand that nothing is free and I am truly sorry about your mom. But no countries medical system is perfect. My neighbor died from a heart attack while having a regular physical checkup about a month ago because his clinic did not have batteries in their defibrillator. I (and this is why I am also mad) just got hit with a $5,200 medical bill. And we have a "really" good private health insurance. So far I had to pay over $4,000.00 for this baby's health. I am scared to go to a doctor today. :(
    Nothing is free. Nothing.
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  • WDDCHWDDCH member
    Well I don't know much about geography and demographics, etc. But as an American I can say that I do wish we had better maternity/paternity leave laws and a higher minimum wage. If prices on food, gas and everything else continue to rise then there needs to be balance in how much people are getting paid.

    There's talk about raising min. wage, where I live, to $10 and get it to $15 by 2021. Even then that's barely enough for many families! I hate all the politics of business. Some people get paid a lot for very little work whereas the laborers, who are pulling the load and putting in the hours, can barely stay afloat. What about the American Dream? Who can pursue happiness when they can't even afford to be with their families because they have to work 2-3 jobs?!

    Sorry this post hit close to the heart today.
    Pregnancy Ticker
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  • Yiggle09Yiggle09 member
    I just signed a petition for NY to change legislature. To add a very small tax (2 or 3 dollars weekly) to paychecks to ensure paid maternity leave. Check with your local government there may be people trying to change things already and you can join to help out!
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  • FinalyFoundFinalyFound member
    Peony1982 said:
    If not for the might of the American military, we'd all be speaking German right now, and if you are Catholic or Jewish, you might not exist at all. So we can start there. Not to mention that I can't remember the last time I heard Jihad threatened against Estonia or Sweden

    Yes because no other countries were involved in WWII.....
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • bpv101283bpv101283 member
    Peony1982 said:

    If not for the might of the American military, we'd all be speaking German right now, and if you are Catholic or Jewish, you might not exist at all. So we can start there. Not to mention that I can't remember the last time I heard Jihad threatened against Estonia or Sweden

    Brainwashed.
    BabyFruit Ticker



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  • bpv101283bpv101283 member
    kristamarie&ryancarl said:

    Wow, I've never seen so much arrogance in a post on here like this one. Just like some of the others have stated, the grass is not always greener on the other side and nothing in life is free. I speak 2 different languages and have traveled the world and the US is by far the best place to live. Maybe you should move out of the US if you talk about us so badly.

    I've traveled all over Canada and Europe and spent about a month in Ireland. So never lived outside the U.S, but have some experience to compare. USA is not the best place to live unless you are super rich. Why tell people to just leave who want the standard of living for families to be better?
    BabyFruit Ticker



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  • Peony1982Peony1982 member
    edited June 2015
    FinalyFound said:
    Peony1982 said:
    If not for the might of the American military, we'd all be speaking German right now, and if you are Catholic or Jewish, you might not exist at all. So we can start there. Not to mention that I can't remember the last time I heard Jihad threatened against Estonia or Sweden

    Yes because no other countries were involved in WWII.....

    Who ended it? In Japan anyway. Give the Russians the win for Battle of Berlin and Hitler's suicide. However if you honestly think that the war was being won before the U.S. Stepped in, you've never studied history.
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  • krisrasmussenkrisrasmussen member
    bpv101283 said:
    Wow, I've never seen so much arrogance in a post on here like this one. Just like some of the others have stated, the grass is not always greener on the other side and nothing in life is free. I speak 2 different languages and have traveled the world and the US is by far the best place to live. Maybe you should move out of the US if you talk about us so badly.
    I've traveled all over Canada and Europe and spent about a month in Ireland. So never lived outside the U.S, but have some experience to compare. USA is not the best place to live unless you are super rich. Why tell people to just leave who want the standard of living for families to be better?
    I am telling her to leave because she is bashing the US.  It sounds like she wants to leave anyway because she doesn't like it in the US.  I don't understand why you think you have to be rich to like living in the US? I am nothing near being rich and I like it here. 
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  • FinalyFoundFinalyFound member
    bpv101283 said:
    If not for the might of the American military, we'd all be speaking German right now, and if you are Catholic or Jewish, you might not exist at all. So we can start there. Not to mention that I can't remember the last time I heard Jihad threatened against Estonia or Sweden
    Brainwashed.

    No, she just knows the Hollywood version of history and WWII.... Because everything in Hollywood is 100% fact.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • Peony1982Peony1982 member
    bpv101283 said:
    Wow, I've never seen so much arrogance in a post on here like this one. Just like some of the others have stated, the grass is not always greener on the other side and nothing in life is free. I speak 2 different languages and have traveled the world and the US is by far the best place to live. Maybe you should move out of the US if you talk about us so badly.
    I've traveled all over Canada and Europe and spent about a month in Ireland. So never lived outside the U.S, but have some experience to compare. USA is not the best place to live unless you are super rich. Why tell people to just leave who want the standard of living for families to be better?

    Because we're allowed to have the opinion that socialism is not better for families... Does that really need to be clarified?
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  • krisrasmussenkrisrasmussen member
    edited June 2015

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  • rholbrook7rholbrook7 member
    I do believe that the U.S. Could have a better policy on pregnancy, but no country is perfect. If you don't like it, find a way to change it. Start a petition. Every state has a petition to get a tax, like a pp stated, that would help pay for maternity leave.
    What annoys me about the original post is the mindless bitching, yet you're not doing anything to help the situation. If you want something done, YOU have to get the ball rolling. That's the beauty of living in the US. That we, as citizens, actually have the power to change what we don't like about our country. But it's up to us, otherwise the government WILL walk all over us. In other countries, you can't say anything. You can't criticize the gov't. So stop bitching, and DO something about it.
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  • v1wwov1wwo member
    If I didn't care I would not even mindlessly bitch. I would just sit on my ass all day and drink this koolaid. Lol. I get out there and I do speak out for workers rights, human rights, environment. It's just hard sometimes and life does bring people down.
    Yes I am bashing on America because I want change. I want people here to live better and our government to be smarter. Is that wrong? Am I the enemy? If people did not speak out we would not have equal women rights or people of color would be still (sadly they still are) discriminated/segregated agents.
    My husband and I work really hard to get in to the middle class and we fight to stay in it. But this fight is getting harder.
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  • Yiggle09Yiggle09 member
    During one of my classes for my bachelors we had to compare the US with another country for healthcare etc. This led me to learn that the USA; when ranked against the entire world for maternity leave is 3rd from the bottom. Every single country except for two is above us! That is what I believe the original poster meant- we need reform. 
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  • ElleMF728ElleMF728 member

    I want to also point out that the maternal and fetal mortality rates are MUCH more complicated than they appear, it definitely isn't as easy as "their healthcare is better".  What counts as a live birth varies from country to country.  The US follows WHO standards that state that any sign of life counts as a live birth, not all countries do.  Some countries specify that the fetus needs to be a certain length or weight to be included in their live birth statistics.  

    Not to mention that most of the countries are not as culturally or racially diverse as the US, we also have a much higher rate of preterm birth, teenage birth, multiple births, births by mothers who smoke, do drugs, are obese etc. All of these increase the chance of premature birth and complications.   A huge part of the reason for the US's higher infant mortality rate is its much higher rate of preterm births.  



    Yiggle09 said:
    During one of my classes for my bachelors we had to compare the US with another country for healthcare etc. This led me to learn that the USA; when ranked against the entire world for maternity leave is 3rd from the bottom. Every single country except for two is above us! That is what I believe the original poster meant- we need reform. 

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