I floated this idea once before: instead of celebrating just one measly day in honor of the working man, why can’t the most properous country in the world give all her workers two full weeks of paid time-off, say between Juneteenth and the Fourth of July? If necessary, we could move Columbus Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and/or MLK Day into that two-week window from 19 June to 4 July to ameliorate the financial consequences of my modest proposal. Is that too much to ask?



Our GDP makes me so happy. I can actually feel it in my bones, sort of like the weather. The quarters that our GDP exceeds Wall Street expecations, I bounce out of bed like a rabbit. But when the GDP lags — or auggh! falls into recession! — my belly hurts like a son-of-a-gun and I start thinking about how I can go out there and do my part to increase the GDP. Like giving an extra tip at the pizza shop.
I agree that GDP is, at best, a macro indicator of wealth, but all things being equal, isn’t it better to live in a place with a larger per capita GDP than a smaller one?