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Citizens of the Republic,
Welcome back – democracy is a collaborative process. So, let’s collaborate.
Now, I could begin this episode by discussing how a young American was raised in Australia. Or how Australians are entitled to 20 days of paid leave, per year, by law.
I could further describe how as a young boy, growing up overseas in a country where my parents could take paid time off – that we took vacations as a family.
Because taking paid leave in Australia wasn’t the exception – it was the norm. Everyone took it because everyone had it.
I could further describe how upon returning to the United States – I was surprised to learn that we are the only modern industrialized nation that has no law which requires employers to provide their employees with a minimum amount of paid time off.
Or how one in four private-sector workers, according to one study, receive no paid leave whatsoever.
While, for those employees who are provided with paid time off – another survey showed that – on average, American workers only take half the leave offered to them by their employer.
For many Americans fear that they might be penalized at work – for taking time off.
Yet that is only one story – and one story does not a movement make.
So, today I am calling upon you – as an American who has lived or worked abroad, to share your paid leave story, down below.
Additionally, I am calling upon the citizens of our sister democracies – both upon the continent, and beyond the seas, to share your stories as well.
Whether you live in Australia or Austria, Britain or Barbados, Peru or Portugal, New Zealand or The Netherlands, South Korea, or South Africa, or any country in between – please comment below and tell us what is means to you / to live in a society where paid leave is a right and not a privilege.
For people generally have one of two reactions upon seeing that their neighbor has purchased a better product.
You can either stick your head in the sand and ignore it – or you can walk across the street, shake their hand, and politely ask them – where they got it, how it works, and how it improved their lives?
So, please share your stories on what paid leave means to you and your families in the comment section below.
And, if you believe, as I do, that this policy issue is worthy of being raised, please like, subscribe, ring that notification bell, share with your friends – and stay tuned, for more videos on this subject.
Feel free to tag us here on your social media accounts at hashtag, Citizen of the Republic, alongside the hashtag, Just Two Weeks. For if our sister democracies, in Europe, and Australia, can guarantee their people 20 days of paid leave per year, how it is objectively unreasonable for hard-working Americans to ask for just ten days?
Finally, if you are interested in learning more about this problem, please refer to the cited materials below, the first of which has a world map which highlights this issue.
This is James David Miller, relinquishing the stage but not the field.
Be well, be safe, stay strong, and keep the faith America.
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