Should US workers be guaranteed more vacation time?

Yes

8 of 23

by Mondlicht

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Many people already get vacation, and most of these people are government employees. As someone who is paying taxes for these people, including those who work for the school district - to take many (paid) days off per year, I highly agree that the situation can only be fair if everybody else, government employee or not, also receive vacation and time-off. It is not fair for those who are paying into the system, to pay for everybody else's vacation and not receive any vacation time, and this doesn't even include paid vacations.

It is highly unethical and almost inhumane that there are people working the worst jobs out there, especially minimum wage jobs like fast-food and other jobs considered low-rate, who don't get time off, or, if they don't work holidays, must take the day off without any pay. It seems very unfair that those who work for big business or government, who already get good pay, benefits (and are probably paid for by their company), are also getting another extra bonus by getting paid vacation.

Does it seem fair or ethical that those who are taking the lowest pay for the hardest work are paying into a system where they see the least rewards? Perhaps someone will bring up the point that "nothing is fair," and believe you me, we have all hear that phrase - but you need to also question why it is that in our country, where we profess to be the "most free" people of the world, abuse our citizens at the lower rungs, and this includes the middle class since they are basically also suffering as well, and then place blame on them when they can't make ends meet, and not only that, but we place blame on them when they work jobs that we would rather not. Well, next time you stop at Starbucks or a fast-food joint, perhaps you will remember that these are the very people who are paying taxes to pay for your position and your vacation.

The citizens of our country ascribe to a very strange ideology born out of confusion. The founding fathers never wanted greed and "dog eat dog" to take over their initial ideals, but as you can see, those at the top have made the rules that we play by. Their rule is that you either sink or swim, and if you can't keep up, then you're a loser at the game. This is a cold, hard way to expect people to live by, and reflects a very Darwinian viewpoint about survival of the fittest. If survival of the fittest was actually played out completely, then brilliant people like Stephen Hawking (as an example of our modern age) wouldn't have made it this far and contributed to our society. Everyone on this planet, regardless of social status or economic status, rides on the coattails of creative artists and geniuses, or else the hard work of the people "at the bottom." For those die-hard fans of the sink or swim ethos, why not then take out all of the safety bars for those who would not be "tough" enough to survive in your dog eat dog world? Why not let all the brilliant artists, musicians, writers, and scientists who have contributed to your world just basically fend for themselves. Most have done so for hundreds of years out of sheer love of their craft, but a great many more have had to fight tooth and nail or else given up in their quest to give you what you deem respectable and worthy contributions to society.

In a related but slightly different sense, the same can be said of our lower-paid workers. Are you to benefit of their sufferings thricefold and also deny them any sense of fairness at the same time? Without a paid vacation? What makes you different because you have a briefcase? Work is work. The American people demand that everyone receive paid vacation, regardless of the type of employment held. Perhaps this might mean that those at the top would have to learn to share resources and money more, but, what is wrong with that? I see nothing at all wrong with this idea.

The question of vacation is that if there is to be any, it must include everyone, not just a select few or a certain "class" of employees. Nothing else would be ethical enough. This is the only way to be fair.

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