Do you remember as a kid getting out of school for spring break — when you got a whole week off from homework and classes just for the heck of it?
For most American adults, spring break — or any extended time off just to relax — has become a distant memory.
Studies have shown that Americans are working more hours than ever before; a United Nations report released in 2001 found that Americans added nearly a full week to their work year during the 1990s.
Not only that, we average less holidays a year than other countries. India has 19; the United States has 10.
To help counterbalance our longer work year, we think more federal holidays need to be added to the calendar.
Let’s start with today, St. Patrick’s Day, the day everybody wears green and celebrates their Irish heritage (even when they’re not Irish). Or how about Flag Day? Halloween? The summer solstice?
Anything to give stressed-out American workers a day to spend with loved ones, a day to take care of themselves — a day to do nothing and not feel guilty.
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