NYTimes Article on “Shrinking Vacations” Doesn’t Work

The Left has long enjoyed pushing the idea that Americans are overworked, underpaid, and in need of vacation. The latest article of this type will no doubt be cited by liberals as proof of some problem in the economy requiring govt intervention. Ironically, the article cites two examples that don’t exactly support the headline. The first– the fact that PriceWaterhouseCoopers completely shuts down operations 15 days a year for companywide vacation, and the second example of our "shrinking vacations": a public school teacher WHO GETS THE ENTIRE SUMMER OFF.

“I thought I would take at least five days off and go somewhere, but I couldn’t find the time,” said Tina Yang, who teaches first grade at Fruit Ridge Elementary School in Sacramento. She has the summers off, but her days are filled with catch-up work, conferences and projects, she said.

“I realize I just go to work and then home, work and then home — it’s no way to live,” Ms. Yang said.

That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read in a serious publication. AGAIN, SHE GETS THE ENTIRE SUMMER OFF. I seriously think this New York Times reporter needs a vacation.

No doubt, many Americans are opting to earn more money than take time off (incomes are growing). But the real problem is the relentless growth in local, state, and federal taxation. Higher taxes mean we’ve all got to work harder to provide the same standard of living. If Americans are forced to work too hard, its because we’re supporting a massive welfare class of tens of millions of grant-takers, rent-seekers, and earmarkers. So how about cutting government spending and the corresponding tax burden in half so we could all take two months off every year?