Netflix Just Hit a Home Run!

[Ron Mexico]

Partly I get society and government helping kids. It is to our communal benefit to ensure all children have a basic education and to minimize poverty. One could argue it would be to our benefit to provide an advanced education as well. Without reproduction we would, of course, die out, so on some level it is also necessary that we have kids as a society. But I believe there should be no incentive or benefit of being married or having a family beyond the benefits of association (insurance, inheritance, etc.). There should be no tax credits or other monetary benefits simply for choosing to have kids. There should be no marriage benefit on your taxes for being married. I think these are discriminatory practices that simply would not be allowed in other facets of public life.

Funny, if you are married or have kids you get tax benefits singles and childless don't, yet I cannot have a business that excludes people based on their marital or family status. I cannot make hiring decisions based on that either as a business owner/manager. That is protected by law and I would get sued and fined. But the government sure can discriminate based on that status. It is ridiculous.

I do fully support education for kids and taxes going to that. I think more higher education should be paid for. All kids should be able to go to some sort of college, especially if they want to but cant afford to.

 

[Douchebag K]

A major problem I have with the American workplace is the lack of support around those who recently had a baby. Federal regulations require employers to retain employees during an unpaid period of 12 weeks after the birth or adoption. Many countries have much greater requirements for employers and results are more motivated workers while the business doesn't skip a beat. John Oliver recently ranted about this on his weekly HBO show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIhKAQX5izw

To the point, Netflix has made a similar change to their corporate culture.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/business/netflix-offers-expanded-maternity-and-paternity-leave.html?_r=0

Quote:
Netflix announced on Tuesday that it was starting an unlimited leave policy for new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth or adoption of a child.

As part of the new maternity and paternity policy, employees will receive their normal pay. They will be able to return to work part time or full time, and they may also return to work and then take additional time off, if needed.

This policy far exceeds typical such leave at corporations in the United States, where there are few federal policies aimed at working parents. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides employees at companies of a certain size 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

“Netflix’s continued success hinges on us competing for and keeping the most talented individuals in their field,” Tawni Cranz, chief talent officer at Netflix, said in a blog post on the company’s website.


I will forever be a Netflix customer. More businesses should take this route.

Let me guess .. you've not ever been a business owner/ employer ?? The sense of entitlement that someone should pay for your choices is astounding ..

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

It is your choice to have a kid, dont think employers and government need to give you anything because of it.

Most of the tax code is based around providing incentive to make certain choices. It's someone's choice to buy a home, should we not let them write off the mortgage interest? It's a choice for someone to donate to charity, should we not let them take this as an itemized deduction? There are many "Clean Energy" tax credits, should we not provide incentive for people to do this?

While I realize that people shouldn't need incentive to have children, I think the idea is that having children is expensive, far more expensive than any tax break they get. Taxpayers do benefit from children that are raised in households that have the financial resources to help turn them into productive adults. If you took those tax breaks away, a percentage of those children would end up in foster homes, juvenile detention centers, or living on the streets. You would end up paying more for taxes to take care of them in those circumstances than you ever would giving parents a minor tax break.

 

[Harambe]

Let me guess .. you've not ever been a business owner/ employer ?? The sense of entitlement that someone should pay for your choices is astounding ..

You're so taken advantage of. OMG, OMG, OMG, poor you.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

Let me guess .. you've not ever been a business owner/ employer ?? The sense of entitlement that someone should pay for your choices is astounding ..

I have been. I also have my MBA and a CPA license. Benefits and perks such as this attract talented people, which is the most important goal any business should have. What sense of entitlement are you perceiving here? Netflix did this as a strategic move that is going to put them in a better position to succeed! Do you actually think this will have any negative effect to their bottom-line? Of course not. Treating employees as if they have no life outside of work is becoming an outdated way to do business. Talented people want to go to organizations that understand this.

 

[Keefe]

Generally, once one returns from their paid leave, they have to work so long before being allowed to take another leave, or there are general limits to how many months one can take in a certain time period. 12 months. 18. And so on. The idea of having kid after kid and being paid to stay at home ad infinitum isn't just unlikely. With certainty, it's not happening.

 

[fishonjazz]

Generally, once one returns from their paid leave, they have to work so long before being allowed to take another leave, or there are general limits to how many months one can take in a certain time period. 12 months. 18. And so on. The idea of having kid after kid and being paid to stay at home ad infinitum isn't just unlikely. With certainty, it's not happening.

Would still be pretty sweet to work for a year and a half, then take a year off paid, then work for a year and a half, then take another year off paid.... Etc etc

 

[RandyForRubio]

Would still be pretty sweet to work for a year and a half, then take a year off paid, then work for a year and a half, then take another year off paid.... Etc etc

I would get bored and feel like a giant mooch, but that's just me. If somebody's paying me, then I'm gonna be earning that money.

 

[fishonjazz]

I would get bored and feel like a giant mooch, but that's just me. If somebody's paying me, then I'm gonna be earning that money.

Ya but people are different.
The policy would apply to people like you and lazy guys.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I would get bored and feel like a giant mooch, but that's just me. If somebody's paying me, then I'm gonna be earning that money.

You are earning that money by raising a child. You know, the things that eventually grow up and take over the Earth.

There are definitely long-term benefits of subsidizing someone to raise their child.

 

[fishonjazz]

I would get bored and feel like a giant mooch, but that's just me. If somebody's paying me, then I'm gonna be earning that money.

Also, when you take vacation and your company tries to pay you for it (pto) do you tell them to keep their money?

 

[RandyForRubio]

You are earning that money by raising a child. You know, the things that eventually grow up and take over the Earth.

There are definitely long-term benefits of subsidizing someone to raise their child.

So my employer should be required to pay me to raise my child, while I do no work for his/her business? I much prefer the idea that I work for somebody, which allows me to earn money so I can raise my child. Otherwise what are we teaching our kids? That it's ok to mooch?

As for the rest of what you said, while I know this isn't for everybody, my wife is going to stay at home and raise our kid while I work. I make $40k a year, which isn't exactly an astronomical amount. Yet somehow with no government help, we're still able to live just fine while saving money and not taking any loans out. Raising a kid isn't as expensive as some people make it out to be, it's easy to do it cheaply and right.

 

[RandyForRubio]

Also, when you take vacation and your company tries to pay you for it (pto) do you tell them to keep their money?

A two week vacation is just a tad different than a one year, but whatever.

Anyways, I'm on salary and the hours I work in the summer make up for if I take time off in the winter.

 

[fishonjazz]

As for the rest of what you said, while I know this isn't for everybody, my wife is going to stay at home and raise our kid while I work. I make $40k a year, which isn't exactly an astronomical amount. Yet somehow with no government help, we're still able to live just fine while saving money and not taking any loans out. Raising a kid isn't as expensive as some people make it out to be, it's easy to do it cheaply and right.

I wish my wife would allow me to simplify/minimize our lifestyle.

I make about the same money as you and could totally live off it just fine if the wife didn't want to keep up with the joneses.

So instead I work craploads of OT so I can make about 60,000 per year so we can pay for all the unnecessary crap. (To be fair, she does have a job too..... But she only works 25 hours per week)

 

[Nate505]

I honestly don't see the big deal here. They are a private business making a choice.

At least that's what I hear when businesses make choices that go against employees.

 

[LogGrad98]

I wish my wife would allow me to simplify/minimize our lifestyle.

I make about the same money as you and could totally live off it just fine if the wife didn't want to keep up with the joneses.

So instead I work craploads of OT so I can make about 60,000 per year so we can pay for all the unnecessary crap. (To be fair, she does have a job too..... But she only works 25 hours per week)

Most people above the poverty line in the US work for a lifestyle. You are not just keeping up with the Joneses...you are the Joneses.

fishonjonses

 

[franklin]

Partly I get society and government helping kids. It is to our communal benefit to ensure all children have a basic education and to minimize poverty. One could argue it would be to our benefit to provide an advanced education as well. Without reproduction we would, of course, die out, so on some level it is also necessary that we have kids as a society. But I believe there should be no incentive or benefit of being married or having a family beyond the benefits of association (insurance, inheritance, etc.). There should be no tax credits or other monetary benefits simply for choosing to have kids. There should be no marriage benefit on your taxes for being married. I think these are discriminatory practices that simply would not be allowed in other facets of public life.

Funny, if you are married or have kids you get tax benefits singles and childless don't, yet I cannot have a business that excludes people based on their marital or family status. I cannot make hiring decisions based on that either as a business owner/manager. That is protected by law and I would get sued and fined. But the government sure can discriminate based on that status. It is ridiculous.

There are always cases that slide through the cracks but for the most part the so-called "marriage penalty" (benefit) swings back and forth pretty close to zero benefit or deduction, based on your M status.

As for not using targeted tax programs, I think you have a terrible idea. First of all, we live in a two-income society. If you want to live in the decent side of town you have two incomes. In my opinion, it's not healthy for children, or society, to have no parent around for at least a part of the day, or to live in run down communities because that's all that one income can afford.

The child tax credit isn't all that strenuous, and like the EITC, paying it out is a helluva lot better than the welfare alternative. People are going to have a **** ton of kids whether they can afford them or not. $8,000 and some COBRA credits might be the difference between a father working full time and saying screw it, I'm putting my six chitlins on welfare.