[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] I think um
[speaker001:] uh actually I'm uh fairly pleased with the benefits that we have at the uh working for a large corporation and for me there's absolutely no question what's the most important benefit
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] I think it's health care it's what I think everybody would say that
[speaker002:] oh and then if you try to get it outside of your uh corporation you're gonna pay an arm and a leg
[speaker001:] right belonging to a group is the belonging to a health group is probably the most important protection you can have after you
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] um so the um sometimes I think it's more important than salary
[speaker002:] uh do you also get dental
[speaker001:] yes and um I don't know if I would rank that second but um since I have three boys uh it it can turn out to be important you know in a in a given year dental can dental expenses can really kill you
[speaker002:] oh I know now my husband is with uh Northwest Airlines and he gets uh you know the full health and dental and uh we have four children and what you pay just to have teeth cleaned is outrageous
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and I don't know how people that don't have it can afford it
[speaker001:] right it's uh
[speaker002:] or maybe they don't
[speaker001:] right uh and then uh if the cleaning doesn't get you the orthodontics will
[speaker002:] that's right that's right
[speaker001:] uh I guess that would be up there uh I'm not sure if I would rank uh how I would rank that next to say compared to retirement or uh um um pre tax savings was another thing that I think is a a great a great benefit when I
[speaker002:] uh-huh right
[speaker001:] and I really I think it's really something that the uh the government ought to encourage more because uh there are all these complaints about how we're not a saving country and where the average savings rate is something like four percent in this country and fifteen percent in uh Germany and Japan
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] well it's a lot easier to to save it when you don't get your hands on it first
[speaker001:] right when you have the when you have the uh the economy to scale and everything that a large corporation has and you can uh offer some incentive and if the government goes along by not taxing it when you put it aside you can really build up uh the savings and the that you wouldn't otherwise do and
[speaker002:] right uh what about what about uh lesser uh benefits perhaps for you but for for the women in the in the uh corporation for example uh oh
[speaker001:] leave
[speaker002:] yeah do they have even have do they have father leaves or anything like that
[speaker001:] you know I I don't think so yet they may have uh just plain parental leave which either one can take uh I their uh I know their maternity leave is on the order of six weeks which I think is too short
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh
[speaker002:] oh I do too
[speaker001:] uh uh I really think that we need to get into the mold where we talk about years rather than months or weeks
[speaker002:] oh I think I think it's just a crying shame uh for a mother to have to go back to work at six weeks
[speaker001:] right and and uh
[speaker002:] she isn't recovered and uh the infant needs her desperately at that point and time
[speaker001:] there  there ought to be uh uh some compromise that could where uh where the person would be guaranteed a uh career type position but not necessarily a continuation of exactly the same position uh in exchange for a longer period of time
[speaker002:] um-hum right I agree
[speaker001:] it's uh it's so important to families then and uh and yet anybody whose gotten far enough to get a good salary is really reluctant to give that up
[speaker002:] oh sure especially in this day and age you don't want to start over again anywhere
[speaker001:] um  that yeah you're right I think you've put your finger on the one benefit that I that I would most like to see uh changed um the uh parental leave
[speaker002:] well I think they're at they're coming they've come a long way um at least some companies
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] some of them uh my girlfriend in particular that works for a a rental car agency and uh as manager and uh they have a very very poor leave policy and uh I just don't know how how women do it particularly single parents who don't have the support at the other end
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] they do it by shortchanging their kids there no other way
[speaker002:] that's right that's exactly right
[speaker001:] I mean uh unless they're part of some extended family which is unlikely um with people moving as much
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and uh they're just it's just a terrible choice you shouldn't have to make it uh
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] right and uh
[speaker002:] one of the benefits we get of course is travel
[speaker001:] oh right boy would I like to have that
[speaker002:] it's wonderful the only trouble is that you can afford to go anywhere but you can't afford to stay once you get there
[speaker001:] yeah oh listen I have friends in a lot of different cities if you'd just fly me there I'll take care of that
[speaker002:] that's right you have to have an awful lot of fun just just getting there is has to be half the fun
[speaker001:] right so and uh I guess the uh the idea