And erm, how is that bad exactly ? I see this thread and read more about people being "concerned" that this is somehow bad, but in reality they all want the same privileges. I guess in Europe it is a matter of culture and progress - we had many struggles about these rights, and now get these well deserved benefits. That does not mean all is simple here, as it does come at a price: we pay 52% tax. So one should net that out and it will probably be a much similar equation : you simply pay for your holidays with the extra income we pay as tax.
Additionally, although GP indicated in NL you can be sick as long as you like, after 6 weeks they will start nagging and you will eventually (after a year or so) become unemployed to a level of income that could be 70% of the minimum wage (which is about 9 euros/hour), depending on your illness. Next to that more and more people in The Netherlands are so called 'flexible workers', that get paid a little bit more but lose all these benefits (no paid leave, no sick leave) - that is becoming a real issue in e.g. the labour intensive jobs like construction and healthcare. So maybe we are not as well of as an average American may think :)
