Matt's objections to my arguments for forcing employers to offer more paid vacation to workers are fair ones. I can't really know the preferences of people who are not myself, and there are true economic tradeoffs in consciously lowering the amount of time people spend at work. That said, leaving the status quo in place is not striking a blow for individuals to follow their true preferences. Rather, it's allowing the preferences of employers and those who prefer income to leisure to triumph, which I'm also not for.
Luckily, there are alternate ways to test my hypothesis that people actually would appreciate more vacation. A major presidential candidate, possibly a Democratic nominee, could make a proposal for enforce three weeks paid vacation a major issue in the campaign. If this turned out to be popular, well, then we'd know it was popular, and accorded with the nation's preferences.
