Labor Day is a celebration of the social and economic contributions of workers. Taxes on the remaining 364 days make this day irrelevent.
On the subway home last week, the man in the seat beside me noted he finally had work after 16 months. He does prayer circles for people who are unemployed. "It isn't the money so much," he said, "as the lack of purpose. The aimlessness of it all." I gave him the names of about a half-dozen folks to add to his circle that night.
My own work takes me well past the 40 hour mark most weeks; vacations feel brutal because there is always so much work to do before you leave. Upon return, the inbox is stacked higher than before. This is why I rarely take more than three days off in a row. Indeed, there is a lot of chest-thumping among the office about how many days workers 'lose' because they do not have time to take them.
My boss and her boss and her boss all say--be grateful you have a job. True. I am grateful--just wish I didn't also have two other folks' jobs to do as well.
Every morning on the way to my office I pass folks in heavy coats pushing carts loaded up with bags, bottles, blankets. They look hungry, and not just for food.
Here is to hope our country finds a better economic balance. Happy Labor Day. Peace...
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