Overworked Americans give back vacation days -- all except George Bush, that is

A recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive for Expedia.com revealed that Americans are expected to leave more than 421 million vacation days unused in 2005 – an average of three vacation days for every employed U.S. adult:

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for Expedia.com, surveyed working adults in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands as well as the United States. When it comes to vacation deprivation, however, Americans lead the world.

First of all, the survey found that U.S. workers receive fewer vacation days (12 on average) than workers in any of the other countries surveyed, and Americans are more likely to work over 40 hours a week (35 percent). The United States tied with Canada for giving back to employers the most vacation days per person (3 days on average).

The value of vacation days that Americans are expected to leave unused in 2005 is estimated at nearly $54 billion.

Overall, almost a third (31 percent) of working Americans reported that they don’t always take all of the vacation days they have coming, but it’s not because they don’t like taking time off. Nearly half (48 percent) of American workers say that they return from vacation feeling “rested, rejuvenated and reconnected in their personal life.”

So why do Americans leave their vacation time on the table? There are any number of reasons. Part of it is the much-touted "American worker productivity." In order to keep up this "productivity", Americans have to work longer hours, which leaves less "slow time" during which to take vacations. Another reason is the fear of being considered "expendable." If they can live without you for a week, maybe they can live without you forever. The constant, gnawing fear that grips American workers these days leads many of us to forego vacation.

Of course, when you're the Crown Prince of the Royal Family of America and Dictator-for-Life, you don't have to worry about such things:

President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.

The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening to clear brush, visit with family and friends, and tend to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and Tuesday was the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- roughly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president's travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush's time away from Washington even further.

Bush's long vacations are more than a curiosity: They play into diametrically opposite arguments about this leadership style. To critics and late-night comics, they symbolize a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job, an impression bolstered by Bush's periodic two-hour midday exercise sessions and his disinclination to work nights or weekends. The more vociferous among Bush's foes have noted that he spent a month at the ranch shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when critics assert he should have been more attentive to warning signs.

To Bush and his advisers, that criticism fundamentally misunderstands his Texas sojourns. Those who think he does not remain in command, aides say, do not understand the modern presidency or Bush's own work habits. At the ranch, White House officials say, Bush continues to receive daily national security briefings, sign documents, hold teleconferences with aides and military commanders, and even meet with foreign leaders. And from the president's point of view, the long Texas stints are the best way to clear his mind and reconnect with everyday America.

So at which point in this article did YOUR head explode? Mine went "poof" at aides saying that receiving daily national security briefings means he's engaged in his job even while in Crawford. We all, of course, remember the PDB of August 6, 2001, right? The one which said "Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S."? The one Bush IGNORED? Yeah, that one.

I did some figuring. I estimated that there are about 255 workdays in the average year, assuming six holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). 20% of that would be 51 days. Do YOU get 51 vacation days every year? I don't, and I work in a place with very generous time-off benefits.

But George W. Bush, the greedy, spoiled, rich frat boy whom still too many idiots regard as "just a regular guy" because he puts on a cowboy hat, gets that much vacation time.

He's turned this country into a World of Shit even being a slacker. Imagine how much damage he could do to the country if he worked the way the rest of us do.