Student debt has reached crisis proportions in this country -- 41 million Americans are burdened with student debt. Student debt has surpassed credit card debt and is now the second-largest source of personal indebtedness in this country.
People who graduated in 2014 with student debt owed an average of $30,000 each. That's unsustainable, and unforgivable.
College tuition is free in Germany, even for citizens of other countries. It's also free in Denmark, Norway Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, and Mexico. If they can do it, why can't we? Why do we accept a situation where hundreds of thousands of qualified people are unable to go to college because their families don't have enough money?
Paid Family Leave
We are the only major nation in the world that doesn't guarantee paid time off for new parents. Of 182 nations that do provide paid leave, more than half guarantee at least 14 weeks off.
In Great Britain, new mothers get 40 weeks of paid leave. 70 percent of countries offer paid leave to new fathers as well. Dads get two weeks of paid leave in Great Britain, Denmark, and Austria.
We are a nation that prides itself on its dedication to family values. Why can't we ensure that new parents have time to bond with their children?
Sick Leave
Even when working Americans face a serious disease like cancer, they have no guarantee of paid sick leave.
The average worker in other developed countries is guaranteed paid sick leave for long-term cancer treatment, for periods that range from 22 days in Canada to 44 days in Germany and 50 days in Norway.
We are the only one of 22 wealthy nations that does not guarantee some type of paid sick leave. When will we join the rest of the world in ensuring that ailing workers can get well without going broke?
Paid Vacation
We are the only advanced economy, and one of only 13 nations in the entire world, that doesn't guarantee workers a paid vacation. Workers in France get an entire month of paid time off every year. Scandinavian workers are guaranteed 25 paid vacation days per year. In Germany the figure is 20 days, and Japan and Canada each guarantee 10 paid vacation days per year.
It's common (although not guaranteed) for higher-paid American workers to get some vacation time. But half of all low-wage workers in this country get no paid time off at all.
Overwork
Americans are overworked in other ways, too. Despite huge increases in productivity over the last 100 years, Americans continue to work some of the longest hours on earth. Vast majorities of working people (85.8 percent of men and 66.5 percent of women) work more than 40 hours per week. Compare that to a country like Norway, where only 23 percent of males and 8 percent of females work more than 40 hours per week.
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