The Bohemian in response to an article about the 20 hour workweek. It's published here. They captioned my response "Really Needs a Vacation," which is a lazy summary. Sometimes people write something because of the way it sounds as opposed to it being the truth.
"Why work?" asks Leilani Clark. Why not just cut the 40-hour workweek in half, and everyone will be happier?" I found this article to be short-sighted and borderline offensive.
She writes as though it is news that a 21-hour workweek would improve our lives and make us all more "sane and healthy." I don't think anyone's going to disagree that it would be nice to spend more time with our families, riding our bikes and growing our own food, except maybe those of us for whom Ms. Clark's personal lifestyle choices are either (1) uninteresting or (2) unattainable due to our immigration status, education level or disability.
I'm pleased to see that the author remembered issues of healthcare and age. Perhaps the next article she writes will enlighten me on how my husband and I (collectively we work over 90 hours per week) can move out of our shitty apartment and afford cable television.
Rafael pointed out that we work more than 90 hours per week. I didn't want to sound like I was lying or just plain stupid.
It's hard publishing a newspaper. Everything is a last minute scramble. Articles have to be cut to account for space, resulting in diminished quality of content. Plus, no one wants to pay for content any more; everyone's on a shoe string budget. Or maybe that's improving publishing. Everyone is holding their breath, waiting to see. In my case, I think it's better for me. I'll write for you for free.
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In other news, my uncle died. Just died. In the past 6 months, four people I interact with on a regular basis have died. I'm so sad.
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