What we do to workers in this country is disgusting. I had some first-hand experience with that today.

A little after lunch, I went to get my hair cut at my usual place.

I know everyone who works there, I think, and I was idly chatting with the guy who frequently gives me a cut. He asked me if I’d gone on vacation anywhere for the summer. I said we hadn’t, but that my partner and I were planning something for around November.

Then I asked him if he’d done anything or gone anywhere for the summer.

He said, “No, I couldn’t because corporate took away all of our paid vacation days.”

I said that was terrible – and meant it, I was getting angry – and then asked if he could still take days off without pay if he really had to.

He said, “No, this is a small shop with only four people so if I go on vacation then my co-workers can’t keep up.”

So no paid vacation, and de facto can’t take one because it would make his co-workers’ lives much harder.

Nice trap that I imagine is being set up in many places as corporations cut benefits and staff.

The above should be illegal but isn’t. The U.S. has by far fewer worker protections and legally-mandated benefits than any developed nation and even fewer than many developing ones.

I bet the executives who took away my barber’s vacation days still have all of theirs, and now probably bigger bonuses, too.

This situation can go on for a while, and will probably get worse, but history shows that these sort of kleptocrats most often eventually end up having very violent ends. I don’t condone that, but they are only bringing it on themselves by being complete metastasizing sociopathic scum.