try working in an unconventional job, one that is increasing across the country, but nicely slides right under most laws concerning employers' responsibilities toward their employees - petsitting. i've been doing this job for 7 years now, and i am considered a "contract worker", which means i have to file my taxes as a business owner (higher taxes). i get no health coverage, no guaranteed time off. that's right, i had to remind my boss last month that i needed time off occasionally to avoid total burnout. there are times i have no day off for weeks together. vacation? on some days have less than two hours at home that i am not asleep. i would LOVE a vacation mandate, not that i imagine it would apply to people in my situation. (don't bother with the preachy suggestions to just tell the boss i am taking time off. last time i had a need for that, she hired someone else and took clients away from me)

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Modern society has done its level best to enslave people. What I don't think most really understand is that not only is free time necessarry for good health and families, its also required for improving oneself in virtually any capacity. A job and its one-direction demands can only do so much for the individual. Beyond that point, there is a diminishing point of return. Personally, I get 2 weeks (just got to year #5 at my current employer for the third week as of '09...) off, and unlike the people who ascribe their personal worth to their job, I take every moment of vacation I get and NEVER check back in with work (via email or voicemail or personal contact of any kind) until after I return. I find if I don't take my vacation, I start literally breaking down. This is definitely not good for us in society. The Japanese believed it was an honorable death to die on the job only a few years back, and I fear us americans are headed in the same direction, and soon. Control of time is an old and very effective tactic to control people, and the republican ideal of working 20 hour days six days a week, like in the robber baron era (like now?) is working pretty effectively towards that end.

To me, my job is simply a means to an end. I don't love it or assign my personal worth to it, and what I do is NOT who I am. I never apoligize for that world view. Money can only really buy amusements. If you think working more and longer (and thus for less for most people) will bring you more happiness, you have a screw loose and need professional help. The people of this era need to wake up before they revert fully to the working conditions of the early 1900's.

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So nearly 8 weeks paid holiday a year. This was working for a private company and was not that exceptional.

When I heard of the typical number of days holidays Americans received I simply found it hard to believe.

I am talking about 20 years ago - and since then things have got tougher.

It's all part of the process of Globalisation.

The "Free" Market means that virtually everyone's jobs in the entire World are in competetion for the lowest cost.

Labour is simply a commodity. Whoever will do the job for the lowest cost will get it - maybe several thousand miles away in atrocious "chicken battery farm" working conditions.

So that's where we are now - and expect things to get considerably worse.

The protections built up by the Labour movement - Unions to give a fair balance between Capital and Labour have been trashed at the altar of Milton Friedman's Globalisation.

The effect is to bring humanity down to the very lowest common denominator - effectively turning 95% of thw World's population into slaves.

The only way forward I can see is to re-assert local control over local economies with local democracy.

Globalisation destroys local economies even at its point of origin.

"Hey Guys I have come up with this wonderful economic model that will make us all rich and powerful"

The problem is that it impoverished 95% - not just financially - but in every way - deskilling, demotivating, dumbing down, dehumanizing.

The future is 365 days unpaid leave together with starvation unless we change.

No one is immune - not even the guys in the casino many of who's bets have blown up in their faces

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Very important points, all. But here's another: We are stuck in a system desperate to "create" jobs, because while we've increased efficiency over the past 100 years, we all keep working as much or more. We willingly keep working that long because our materialistic culture has us wanting bigger houses, bigger TVs, cars that have all the luxuries of home, etc.

If we could agree to each work less, and accept an income that meets our needs if we consume a lot less, there would likely be enough jobs to go around.

The current system isn't making us happier. Working less would give us the time to pursue those things that really matter in life: laughing, loving and learning!

Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
www.growthbusters.com

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If we had national health care many of us who are more concerned with quality of life than with acquisition of more toys would be able to live on part-time wages and have more time to spend with our kids, our neighbors, in nature. Three ten-hour days would suit me just fine, I'd be both happier and more productive.

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In the 70's their was an energy and economic crisis which resulted in some energy intensive industries switching to a 3 day week.

You might have thought that output would significantly decline

But output actually increased.

We produced more working significantly less hours.

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People seem to need a tie to their workplace as a sign of their worth. Lugging around a laptop, cell phone and feeling the need to be on call 24/7, for many is a choice. When you've seen people fired or lost a job yourself it's clear that they can manage very well without you. Alot of it is habit but it does interfere with social life and marriage. Taking the 'equipment' on vacation is not healthy. I would be curious to know how much of the taking work home is demanded by the company vs. how much people do voluntarily. It is another form of running away. Thanks, ANNA

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We have a tendency to live to work, i.e. work to make enough money to buy all the things we crave rather than really need. We need to work to live, i.e. work enough to afford necessities, leaving enough spare time to enjoy life after we're done working, to include more time off so we can simply decompress and enjoy life.

But it's tough. With wages flat, the cost of living going up, and more and more pressure to "succeed," which in many people's minds equates to showing off or "affluenza," there are simply too many pressures--whether internal or external--acting, and they are working, along with globalization and corporate profit-taking, to prevent meaningful change.

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I am most definitely NOT a workaholic. My job isn't who I am; it's just a means to an end. And I believe my time is as important as, or even more important, than my money.

I don't want to work one hour longer than is necessary in order to adequately support myself. To this end, I'm willing to accept a lower standard of living in order keep as much of my time for my own purposes instead of that of an employer. I want my time now to enjoy, instead of waiting until retirement when my energy level and health may not be at the level it is now. Indeed, there is no guarantee I'll even live that long.

To workaholics I'd ask, what good is all that extra money if you're too tired to enjoy it and always at work, anyway?

Like the majority of Americans, I don't work in an intrinsically rewarding or creative job. My job means nothing more to me than a source of money to support myself with. I do a good job when I'm there, but I'm simply not going to invest any more of myself than is necessarily earning a living.

Indeed, more employers these days are offering fewer or no benefits: less paid sick leave, less paid vacation time, etc. Many employers think they "own" an employee 24/7; expecting an employee to always be on call, changing their work schedules any time without notice, and that they can dictate a employee's behavior off the clock in their private lives -- random drug tests typically indicate off-time drug/alcohol use, not whether an employee is intoxicated/high on the clock, employers have fired people for adultery, to cite a few examples. They don't invest in us, so why should we invest any more than necessary in them?

More jobs are also going from 8 hour days to 10 and 12 hour schedules. Our ancestors who worked hard to get the 40 hour week are no doubt whirling in their graves to see a creeping return to the sunup to sundown schedule of the 19th century. As for me, I wouldn't accept a job with these hours -- it's bad for one's health to live this far out of the work/leisure/rest balance. I've had to accept making less money that I might otherwise, but the gain in time is worth it.

My current job offers no paid vacation whatsoever. But when I had jobs that did, I made sure to take every day allotted to me. But even now, I still take an unpaid day off here and there, tacked onto a weekend. Of course, I'm stuck taking the hit of a day's pay lost, but the time gained outweighs the money lost.

After all, no one ever said on their death beds that they wished they'd spent more time at the office.

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We will soon be a socialist country with no reason to work hard so, we might as well start getting acclimated to our new role as surfs.

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As the owner of three small businesses almost in dire straits in this economy (especially the two real estate-related ones), I can tell you that if it became law that I had to offer paid vacation, I'd either go out of business or have to cut jobs. NO WAY could I afford to pay people to not work and still stay solvent, most of us in small businesses are already on the edge. I haven't paid MYSELF in two years now...luckily my spouse supports me as I try to grow my companies, but I make damn well sure my employees get their pay. Shit, I am looking at possible bankruptcy as it is. No lie, and one friend of mine just closed his, and another told me today that he's filing Chapter eleven. Americans have a really misguided notion that all business owners are rich, but most of us are pretty poor. "Pay yourself first" doesn't work in small business. Believe me, I'd LOVE to offer paid vacation, but, it's just not an option. And let's not even get started on company-sponsored health insurance.

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Let's not forget about those who work multiple part-time jobs - in reality they work just as much as full-time workers, if not more. But because they work less than 40 hours/week at each employer, they are not eligible for any paid time off or benefits.

The first time I landed a job that offered paid vacation time, I took it at my earliest opportunity. And I always take it each year. I will never take it for granted, but I can't understand people who have vacation time and would let 2, 3, 4 years go by without taking one. Whatever is going on at work will continue without you. Take some time off if you can, people! And it doesn't even have to be some fancy vacation - just some time to reconnect with loved ones, hanging out with friends, doing a bit of the things you love to do but never had the time...it really does make a big difference. Plus you'll have something to look forward to each year.

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We would be paid sufficiently and worked only so much. But the Owning Class will never permit their "lowers" to do any such thing.

To solve the problem you cannot keep allowing the Owning Class to be the Deciders.. they're emotionally and morally bankrupt. Kick the owning class to the curb and start over without them.

Only way it'll ever happen. I bet a whole beer on that.

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Nobody forces us to keep all our lights on
subscribe to shit we don't read
pay $100/mo for cable
use two cellphones (or even one)
commute way too far
buy toxic plastic crap from china
get the latest gizmo
eat out more than at home
live in a place too big or too far
or overcharge our credit cards.
KEEP YOUR OVERHEAD LOW. Now lower it some more.
Now quit trying to keep up with the Ramirezes and wait for the good times to roll in. (You will need to get rid of twelve of your {on average} thirteen credit cards.)
For people who don't abuse credit and are simply trying to make ends meet, it's not your fault and you're probably not reading this anyway.
I work as little as possible and people hate me for it. They resent that I am willing to live without all the garbage they feel they need to have.
My sister has 20-30,000 dollars tied up in compact discs but is flat broke.
I know that I'm being very un-American. And that is the problem.

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It's worth a shot.

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whenever you hear "PRODUCTIVITY" being quoted by Democrats or REPUBLICANS...

Just remember what they're REALLY SAYING.

PRODUCTIVITY is a measurement of HOW HARD YOU CAN BE WORKED & FOR HOW LONG... in RETURN FOR LESS & LESS.

Think about it, don't be snowed.



Spread Love, not corporate dependence...

BlueBerry Pick'n
can be found @
ThisCanadian
~~~
"... tolerance of intolerance is cowardice..." ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
"We, two, form a Multitude" ~ Ovid.
"Violence can only be concealed by a Lie, & the Lie can only be maintained by Violence." ... "Any man, who has once proclaimed Violence as his Method, is inevitably forced to take the Lie as his Principle" – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
~~~
"Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"

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For a while now, I've been thinking that the obvious problem or solution or issue is that workers need to start calculating their efforts not in TIME so much as effort or ergs, or some sort of measurement of effort/time/energy/stress. Employers are allowed x number of ergs a day. And maybe it is mandatory for all levels from the president to the VP to the mailroom. Difficult to calculate, but I think we need to move in that direction.

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1 202 456 1111 TELL BUSH YOU DON'T WANT HIM TO STEAL THE ELECTION.

that's the nightmare. Here's the cold reality.

Swing state Colorado. Before this election, two Republican secretaries of state purged 19.4 percent of the entire voter roll. One in five voters. Pfft!

Swing state New Mexico. One in nine voters in this year's Democratic caucus found their names missing from the state-provided voter registries. And not just any voters. County by county, the number of voters disappeared was in direct proportion to the nonwhite population. Gore won the state by 366 votes; Kerry lost it by only 5,900. Despite reassurances that all has been fixed for Tuesday, Democrats lost from the list in February told me they're still "disappeared" from the lists this week.

Swing state Indiana. In this year's primary, ten nuns were turned away from the polls because of the state's new voter ID law. They had drivers' licenses, but being in their 80s and 90s, they'd let their licenses expire. Cute. But what isn't cute is this: 566,000 registered voters in that state don't have the ID required to vote. Most are racial minorities, the very elderly and first-time voters; that is, Obama voters. Twenty-three other states have new, vote-snatching ID requirements.

Swing state Florida. Despite a lawsuit battle waged by the Brennan Center for Justice, the state's Republican apparatchiks are attempting to block the votes of 85,000 new registrants, forcing them to pass through a new "verification" process. Funny thing: verification applies only to those who signed up in voter drives (mostly black), but not to voters registering at motor vehicle offices (mostly white).



Here's an ugly little secret about American democracy: We don't count all the votes. In 2004, based on the data from the US Elections Assistance Commission, 3,006,080 votes were not counted: "spoiled," unreadable and blank ballots; "provisional" ballots rejected; mail-in ballots disqualified.

This Tuesday, it will be worse. Much worse.

That's what I found while traveling the nation over the last year for BBC Television and Rolling Stone Magazine, working with voting rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This we guarantee: there will be far more votes disappeared by Tuesday night than the three million lost in 2004. A six-million vote swipe, quite likely, shifts 4 percent of the ballots, within the margin of error of the tightest polls.

Begin with this harsh statistic: since the last election, more than ten million voters have been purged from the nation's vote registries. And that's just the start of the steal.

If the noncount were random, it wouldn't matter. But it's not random. A US Civil Rights Commission analysis shows that the chance a black voter's ballot will "spoil" or be blank is 900 percent higher than a white voter's.

Does that mean the election's stolen and you should forget voting and just go back to bed for four years? Hell, no. It means you vote and vote smart, learn how to pry their filthy little hands off your ballot (there's a link at the end). From Robert Kennedy Jr.

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I have not had a vacation for nine years. My employer can't afford to give us any. I work for the Oil and Gas industry.
In that time, I have lost a family through divorce, and had two heart attacks. I had a quadruple by pass surgery on my heart.
All I did wrong was work. I am still working. Right now, my plan is to die on the job. I am 54. Work is all I have left.
I am living the American dream. I will not hold my breath for O'bama to do anything different. I lost my first marriage when Clinton was in office and that is when I had my first chest pains. The reason? I worked. I am still living the Reagan Revolution. I don't think the Reagan Revolution will die before I do.

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