Our No Vacation Nation

**maxx** · August-18-11, 04:26 PM

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6532472.shtml

We're just so hard-working we don't need no paid vacations or parental leave. The rest of the developed world thinks we're nuts.

**Ray1936** · August-18-11, 05:43 PM

Well, to each his own, but in over a half-century of working, I've never missed a vacation. It was always a family thing, with our two boys until they were off on their own. We get together today and laugh like hyenas occasionally over memories of vacations past.

The time we flipped the canoe.

The time I played bear after sunset and scared the daylights out of them.

The driftwood we picked up on the shore of Lake Superior and tied to the bumper to bring home.

The time we crossed the Mississippi and I intercommed to the boys in the camper in back of what was taking place, and the response, "Not now, Dad, we're watching Gilligan's Island".

Stopping near White River, Ontario, to take in a view, and #1 son running down the adjacent hill because he found some abandoned telegraph insulators for his Mom's collection.

Going through I-70 in Kansas City for the first time, and being amazed to find ourselves passing the Royal's ball park just 50 feet from the center field waterfall.

Camping out at a beach camp ground near Daytona Beach and all four of us getting our toes nipped by crabs while wading in the Atlantic. And, Oh, how we laughed at that bee sting I got in St. Augustine!

California. Disneyland. Long Beach and the Queen Mary. Going through Cajon Pass and me telling the kids "We're now on the San Andreas Fault". #2 son saying, "Well, when is the earthquake?"

And, so many years back, Marge and me, on our honeymoon vacation in 1958, crossing Big Mac in it's first year of operation, and days lounging at Taquamenon Falls.

Vacations. My life has been fruitful for them.

**jackie5275** · August-18-11, 05:52 PM

I worked with a woman who immigrated from Romania. While I was pregnant, she asked how much time I would take off after the baby was born. I told her I had 2 months worth of vacation time I was going to use. She questioned why I was using my vacation time. I told her I afford to take off unpaid time. She was shocked at this statement. She told me that in Romania women get a full year, PAID of time off after having a baby.

Steve bennet · August-18-11, 05:59 PM

My family in Toronto thinks we are nuts for how little vacation time we get here [[they are also shocked you have to be 21 to drink).

Americans are nuts. This country is ass-backwards in a lot of areas.

I say work as little as possible in life, working sucks [[unless you do something you love and get paid, different story).

I could never understand those people who brag about working 10 years without a single sick day. If I'm allowed 10 sick days per year, I'm taking 7-8, even if I'm not sick.

**oladub** · August-18-11, 07:09 PM

I think the Postal Service still allows up to 22 days a year of vacation days providing more vacation instead of more pay with seniority. There might be other government jobs with lots of vacation days. School teachers, for instance have some pretty good time blocks of vacation time. If that doesn't work, one can be a self-employed artist, or something, to allow for extended vacations. Some construction guys expect to draw unemployment for a couple of winter months annually. I knew guys on lake freighters who spent a couple of months in Mexico every winter living like kings. It seems to me, that if vacation time is a priority, there already exist a number of career path options to that end.

**vetalalumni** · August-18-11, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by oladub

I think the Postal Service still allows up to 22 days a year of vacation days providing more vacation instead of more pay with seniority. There might be other government jobs with lots of vacation days. School teachers, for instance have some pretty good time blocks of vacation time. If that doesn't work, one can be a self-employed artist, or something, to allow for extended vacations. Some construction guys expect to draw unemployment for a couple of winter months annually. I knew guys on lake freighters who spent a couple of months in Mexico every winter living like kings. It seems to me, that if vacation time is a priority, there already exist a number of career path options to that end.

A Teacher is typically under contract to work about 185 days annually. They are compensated at about 75% of their salary while school is in session, and the remaining 25% that was withheld is subsequently paid out over the summer months. Without interest of course. This is NOT vacation pay.

This is in contrast to most professional Americans who work about 250 days a year [[50 weeks X 5 days) and get two additional weeks of PAID vacation.

**ghettopalmetto** · August-18-11, 09:46 PM

Originally Posted by jackie5275

I worked with a woman who immigrated from Romania. While I was pregnant, she asked how much time I would take off after the baby was born. I told her I had 2 months worth of vacation time I was going to use. She questioned why I was using my vacation time. I told her I afford to take off unpaid time. She was shocked at this statement. She told me that in Romania women get a full year, PAID of time off after having a baby.

Well, that's just socialism!

We have to keep working so we can impose our "family values" on everyone else!

**oladub** · August-18-11, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by vetalalumni

A Teacher is typically under contract to work about 185 days annually. They are compensated at about 75% of their salary while school is in session, and the remaining 25% that was withheld is subsequently paid out over the summer months. Without interest of course. This is NOT vacation pay.

This is in contrast to most professional Americans who work about 250 days a year [[50 weeks X 5 days) and get two additional weeks of PAID vacation.

Semantics. That's pretty much how vacation pay works whether it is called vacation pay or not. Teachers, using your numbers, work 185 days of a 260 weekday world

. The pay they earned in 185 days is equally spread over 260 days. Those of us who work 250 days spread the money earned over 260 possible work days. We don't get interest on our accrued vacation pay either.

I would prefer more options so more of us could spread fewer weeks of earnings over the entire year understanding, of course, that it would mean fewer dollars per week. Better yet, the Good Fairy could pay us the same amount of money for working fewer weeks. Maybe corporate executives could share some of their pay although the Good Fairy possibility is more plausible.

lit joe · August-19-11, 11:24 AM

Or you can rum against Obama he's been on vacation since Jan. 20th of 2009.

**Gistok** · August-19-11, 11:39 AM

Oladub... you've been posting some very good posts recently... but that silly good fairy comment set you back....

**oladub** · August-19-11, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Oladub... you've been posting some very good posts recently... but that silly good fairy comment set you back....

Thank you but allow me to tell you a story. When I was seven, I snuck into my parents' closet in the hopes of finding an unwrapped Christmas present. I did. In the back of the shelf was a box with a Marx electric train. On Christmas, I received it 'from Santa'. I realized then and there that there was no Santa. As soon as I got back to school after break, I informed the other students of my discovery. This resulted in a scene by the drinking fountain in which a number of students were yelling at me that I was wrong and worse. I had no reason to back down of course. It didn't end there. My Father informed me that the Principal had called and said he had received calls[[plural) from other parents asking him to do something so he called my parents to pass along the other parents' concerns. I extrapolated and reasoned to believe that the Good Fairy and Easter Bunny were frauds too. I must be mellowing to even have considered that extra free benefits from the Easter Bunny are more plausible than from corporate executives. Short of those entities coming through with freebies, there is a negative correlation between pay and paid vacation time.

**Papasito** · August-19-11, 01:22 PM

The economy is so bad that, I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. A picture is now only worth 200 words. They renamed Wall Street " Wal-Mart Street "Finally, I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck!!

**rb336** · August-19-11, 01:23 PM

More about teachers..

Many systems REQUIRE teachers to take, at their own expense, college courses. When can they take them? summer. How many hours do teachers take of their own time [[after work hours) to grade papers and prepare lesson plans? I know I averaged 2-4 extra unpaid hours every day

**maxx** · August-19-11, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

Well, that's just socialism!

We have to keep working so we can impose our "family values" on everyone else!

It's a lesson from China. People who are scraping a living together everyday don't have time or energy to organize a protest.

**laphoque** · August-20-11, 07:45 AM

There's been an organization trying to pass a paid vacation law in the US for a while now. http://www.timeday.org/

One of the factors that leads to our lower life expectancy here in the US is the additional stress from our crazy work hours. A living wage would go a long way to remedy this as well. It sucks having to work overtime to get a decent check. Thirty to forty hours should be enough.