Comments on: Economic Insecurity

By: Chris Scott

Chris Scott — Thu, 12 Aug 2004 15:44:10 +0000

I speak from total ignorance on this matter, but if one were to study the private workforce (i.e. excluding "federal workers, military, agricultural, and private household workers, and the self-employed") thirty years ago and measure how much paid sick leave they obtained after one year, how would that compare to today's level as reported in the study?

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 21:05:07 +0000

A key point from the fine print: government has avoided the changes—and the efficiencies—that have become part of the larger economy over the last 30 years. Can this go on forever?

By: Meezer

Meezer — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 20:42:52 +0000

I'm sorry I missed this "golden age" everyone talks about (I was there for part of it; I just don't remember it that way). It was what - 20 years out of 10,000 or so? Here's what I think of when I think of the relatively recent past: Flu epidemic of 1918, polio, the Depression, and other fun stuff. Before that, we had the golden age of losing half of your children as a given. One reason people worked at one job for 30 years was that there were few options open for most. I'm on my second (unrelated) degree and my third career - by choice. "Death of a Salesman" wasn't written about basking in the sunshine of the glory days.