Vacation for everyone

Take Back Your Time is putting together an initiative for Washington state that would require employers to give full-time employees a minimum amount of paid time off. They just did a survey last month on the subject; sixty percent of voters polled said they'd support a law that guaranteed 10 or more paid days off a year. This really isn't a revolutionary idea. As TBYT's website says:

Unlike 127 other countries, the U.S. has no minimum paid-leave law. Australians have four weeks off by law, the Europeans four and five weeks. The Japanese two weeks. We have zero. The lack of annual leave standards means many Americans never get time off, says "No Vacation Nation," a recent report by the Center for Economic Policy Research.

We're the richest damn country in the world (though that may not hold out for long). I would like to think we can afford to give ourselves some time off.

Actually, I'm not sure we can afford not to. Time away from the hustle and bustle lets you unwind and de-stress - there's some proof that taking your vacation time can bring down your risk of death and heart disease. It's also bound to reduce one's chances of other stress-related problems like reduced disease immunity, anxiety and depression. Happy and healthy workers are productive workers. So remember folks: vacation is good for profits and good for your health.