Surviving the down economy heads the list on the agenda of most business owners, work-a-day stiffs and politicians.
[img]565|left|||no_popup[/img]
Taking a summer vacation is the last thing on their minds.
But for a handful of lawmakers, like Florida Democratic Representative Alan Grayson, mandating paid leisure time is a top priority.
Grayson’s passion for vacation shouldn’t come as a surprise. He hails from Orlando, which is not just home to the NBA runners-up Magic, but is the No. 1 theme park destination on the planet.
Grayson is a co-sponsor of the Paid Vacation Act. Under this proposal, companies with more than a hundred workers would have to give everyone they've employed for more than a year a week's paid vacation.
With summer just around the corner, recent statistics show that an estimated 30 million American workers are not given any paid vacation leave by their employer. Despite the current economic turmoil, several members of Congress, including Grayson, think that mandated leisure time is simply good business.
Staying Home in Orange County
Each year, domestic travel generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and accounts for thousands of permanent and summer jobs nationwide. For thousands of communities struggling to stay afloat because of the decline in tax revenues, travel dollars are an essential component of their local economy.
The U.S. Travel Assn. is forecasting a 2.5 percent drop in summer vacation expenditures by Americans. The association is predicting that most Americans will not only spend less but stay closer to home.
The recession is having a definite impact vacation plans. In an unscientific poll of Orange County business owners, 85 percent said that because of economic pressures, they will take little or no vacation this summer. Of those who do manage to take a break from their companies, 90 percent said they will check in — e-mails, voice mails or phone in — while away.
[img]566|left|||no_popup[/img]
Florida’s Grayson is not the only member of Congress who thinks that taking a vacation is good for the economy.
Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John Ensign (R-NV) have introduced the “Travel Promotion Act of 2009” (S. 1023). A similar bill is expected to be launched soon in the House of Representatives.
In a joint press release, the Democrat Dorgan and his Republican colleague Ensign contend that their legislation will stimulate U.S. economic growth, create thousands of new American jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities across the country.
Uptick in Productivity Is Claimed
Grayson’s bill is meeting stiff resistance from groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In sharp contrast, the legislative effort by Dorgan and Ensign has garnered significant support from the business community.
Supporters of the paid vacation bill point to study after study that has shown workers who go on vacations are more productive when they return. Proponents of the legislation also argue that workers who take vacations are statistically less prone to sickness, resulting in a net savings on health costs and loss-time due to illness.
Among industrial countries, the U.S. is the only one not to mandate paid vacation leave. Fulltime workers in much of Europe typically take seven to eight weeks of vacation and holidays each year — that’s double the American average for fulltime workers. The United States is the only developed country that does not mandate either paid vacations or compensated sick days.
Americans now work more every year, on average, than workers in any other industrialized country. (We’re in a virtual tie with New Zealand.) With women working longer hours each year, the average annual work time for a married couple is growing steadily. Many psychologists are worried that family time — including the crucial bonding experience of vacations — has suffered.
With the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the flurry of economic legislation pouring out of Capitol Hill, it’s no surprise that members of the business community are feeling a little overwhelmed. As a result, vacation is the last thing on the minds of most CEOs and business owners.
At the very moment when thousands of Americans are worried about losing their jobs, even labor activists have backed away from supporting this mandate.
It makes you wonder where Congressman Grayson and his co-sponsors will be taking their paid vacations this summer.
In California, where unemployment is approaching 12 percent, we’ll gladly welcome their vacation dollars.
John Cohn is a senior partner in the Globe West Financial Group, based in West Los Angeles. He may be contacted at www.globewestfinancial.com
