[Roy]

[Ainan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('formandfile', 'L')ess hours worked per day and hire more employees. Or any such scheme that requires the hiring of more workers...i think France and Germany have done this for the longest time (to cut down on unemployement figures) but im not sure to what degree of sucess or whether the work patterns of other nations have forced them away from that...

[ROCKMAN]

And now, ludi, you've brought us back to the problem some folks just refuse to address. We do have trillions of wasted btu's in our society that could be easily eliminated by gov't mandate alone.: lower the speed limit, close non-critical businesses and whole industries. Tax restaurants out of business. Now we’ve cut our energy reqiurements greatly. And now what do we do with all the millions of newly unemployed? Tax the hell out of the surviving business/industries? Now there’s a healthy future for all of us. So many of the solutions thrown out are great in theory until you take the plan full cycle and evaluate the unintended consequencies. All ideas for solutions are certainly welcome...just please take it a ways beyond the bumper sticker level of discussion.

Just another low blood sugar lunch time rant.

[FairMaiden]

OK, lots of thoughts on this one...

first: I have worked a 4 day work week and loved it. I have a child and it works GREAT. The amount of time I had at the end of every day was spent on essentials like cooking, cleaning, etc so I wasn't getting alot of quality time anyway. Kids are awake and playful during the mornings and afternoons so another day of those was worth it. Also, if everyone did it - my husband could take a different day off and we'd have some quality time individual and together. A stranger would only be raising our child 3 days a week.

secondly: here docters, firefighters, police, nurses all work a 4 day on and 4 day off schedule with 12 hour shifts. They adjust.

thirdly: this is would be most beneficial if they closed restaurants, malls, etc as well - then we'd see some real changes.

I do know that as a salaried employee I worked way more than 40 hrs per week. So I think employers would be very reluctant to change to this - bc you won't get as many extra bonus hours when someone is already working 10 hour days.

[Roy]