It's summertime, and the living is (so they say) easy, but hardworking Americans have less and less time to enjoy the sun.
John De Graaf, who popularized a new term in his documentary and book Affluenza, about the epidemiology of hyperconsumerism, recognizes that, as the middle class works harder, longer, and with less of a safety net, economic anxiety has surged past shopping mall ennui as the signature of a new era. The wage gains of the 1990s subsided long ago; inequality is back with a vengeance. And while the biggest sacrifice for working people is time, De Graaf also notes that those good, hard working employees are also hogging all the work.
While other groups are working toward paid sick leave, family leave, and universal health care, De Graaf is taking aim at our penchant for swearing off vacations with a new documentary and a web site where you can join the call for a national paid vacation law and get posters that, Affluenza-style, poke stylish fun at our self-destructive work habits and screwed-up job market. Check it: right2vacation.org.