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LEISURE TIME. Timothy Egan, who spent time residing in beautiful Italy, does some comparative work on who lives better:
Americans spend nearly a third of their disposable income on good times, baby. But we can’t relax. Sorry — no time. Lunch averages 31 minutes. And the U.S. ranks dead last among 21 of the world’s richest countries when it comes to guaranteed days off, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.Most Americans don’t even use their allotted days of leisure. The Italians take 42 vacation days a year — No. 1 in the world. The average American takes 13.A quarter of Americans receive no vacation at all. And it’s not like we don’t need it: one in three are chronically overworked. We even work 100 hours a year more than the Japanese.President Bush has it figured out, with his month off at the ranch. But for a profile in clueless, Bush set the mark when he lauded as truly American some citizen who told him she had to work three jobs. Ain’t that something?It certainly is. There's no doubt that Americans are richer, and that our economy, as compared to the non-Nordic economies, is healthier and faster-growing. But there are costs. We make more because we work more. Because we take less time off. Because we don't spend a Summer month vacationing with three other families on the coast. We've certainly constructed a model better for generating societal wealth. But have we created a better society? I have my doubts. On the bright side, we put on some damn good fireworks displays. --Ezra Klein
