Hurricane Ida was as fearsome as predicted, with more than a million in Louisiana without electricity, but, as of this morning, there has been only one person reported killed, by a falling tree. This number will no doubt increase as the search begins, but Hurricane Katrina had 1833 deaths.
The good news of the day is that some doubt has been cast on the Israeli report that vaccine immunity is waning, maybe dropping to as low as 39% from the original mid-nineties. While there is no doubt that more vaccinated people are today getting sick from the Delta-variant, that could well be because they are taking more chances through travel and so on, and the actual immunity might still be quite high. In any case, these individuals who do get sick, all tend to live with mostly mild symptoms. There is a growing sense that booster shots might not be necessary at this time, and the more sensible policy would be to first vaccinate the world, invoke more vaccine mandates and accelerate the FDA study of vaccines for children.
Do people in the U.S. or China work harder? It is reported that we are the most overworked developed nation in the world!
- In 1960 only 20% of mothers worked. Today, 70% of children live in households where both mom and dad work, although only 75% of women work full time. 86% of males and 67% of females work more than 40 hours/week.
- The U.S. is the ONLY country without a national paid parental leave benefit. It is 20 weeks in Europe and 12 weeks almost anywhere else.
- There is no federal law requiring paid sick days in the U.S. The ONLY industrialized country.
- 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week. We do not.
- Americans work more hours/year (number indicates how many more):
- Japan: 137
- UK: 260
- France: 499
- Vacation?
- U.S. 13 days/year
- Canada/Japan: 20
- France/Finland: 30
Read that article for more info.
What about China? I guess it is not a developed country, for:
- Chinese work long hours
- Referred to as 996 or a 72 hour work week from 9AM to 9PM six days/week.
- This is the norm!
- China with 46.3 hours/week and the USA at 34.4 hours/week.
- More anecdotal, but in one company, if you don't answer your company cell phone once, that's okay. The second time will get you a $7 fine. If you don't reply to a WeChat app, the fine is $15. You can be fired for not responding to this app. Meetings are sometimes called for 10PM.
- Tech giant Huawei currently under fire in the U.S. boasts that employees volunteer to work past 10PM. Yeah, but at the expense of being fired if you don't?
- Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma said that to be able to work 12-hours a day was a huge bliss.
World Population Review ranked the countries with the most number of hours worked per year:
- #1 Mexico (41.3 hours/week)
- #2 Costa Rica (40.8)
- #3 South Korea (38.3)
- #10 USA (34.3)
- #25 Switzerland (30.0)
- #37 Germany (26)
No mention of China. As shown earlier was China at 46.3 hours/week, making it #1 by quite a bit.
Vivian Wang of the New York Times recently had an article entitled: 12-hour days, six days a week. Another way of saying 996. If you can read that article, she says that workers are dying.
- Some companies are reacting by saying okay to go home at 6PM...but only on Wednesdays.
- The reason why companies require long hours is because of the extreme competition for any high tech job.
- Labor unions? Want to go to jail?
Here are a few other noteworthy differences between the USA and China:
- It’s illegal for children in China to play video games after 10 p.m. Facial-recognition software aims to enforce that rule.
- School?
- In China, September to mid-July, with summer spent studying for entrance exams.
- The school day runs from 7:30AM to 5PM with a 2-hour lunch break.
- High school not required.
- U.S.....you know.
- The USA dominates in any list of best universities:
- China's Tsinghua University is #28 in the top 40 as their only entry.
- China has a billion-plus more people than the U.S., but we have about the same geographical area. However, you can debate which country has more land. Arguments can be made for both.
Roast pork has to be on any list of worst foods to eat. However, I like it and here is how a Chinese restaurant makes this delicacy.
Have you noticed that China can build things very quickly? Here is an example of a ten-story building constructed in one day:
Well, it actually took 28 hours and 45 minutes. The Bailong Elevator in Zhangjiajie National Forest, the tallest in the world at more than a thousand feet:
Why was it even built? Apparently as a service to visitors. Has a $21 roundtrip fee. One more....is this real?
Yes, a DV LED display on the corner of an urban shopping plaza in Chengdu.
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