Monday, September 05, 2005

Labor Day Salute!

Today we celebrate the multitude of people who work in this country. It is because of their hard work and productivity that we live in the great country that we do, having the highest standard of living and offering the greatest opportunities of any country in the history of the world.

Today our unemployment rate is 4.9%. Compare this with countries like France and Germany with unemployment rates of 9.9% and 11.6% respectively. These two declining powerhouses have tried to isolate and protect their economies with disastrous results. Last year we doubled the level of productivity in this country when compared to the European Union, which will only widen our lead in the long term. The freedoms inherent in the USA have allowed us to continually outshine and overshadow not only Europe, but every other nation in the world.

An example of this phenomenon is revealed in a national survey by Development Dimensions International, an HR consulting firm in PA. They found that 42% of us will do some work today despite the fact that it is a holiday. What will we do? Check e-mails and voice mail (28%); catch up on reading (14%) and even travel to the office (17%). And yet, 80% of those who will do some work today don’t feel any pressure to do so. The USA work ethic has built us into an economic powerhouse that other countries marvel at.

I’m one of those 42% who are catching up on work and doing some things today to hopefully make myself more productive. Granted, I’m doing it from home, sitting on my boat dock enjoying the wonderful morning breeze but today’s technologies of notebook computers, wi-fi broadband, etc. allow the American worker to continue to be the most productive in the world.

And, we’ll continue to shine for many years into the future.

No comments: