Should the work week be limited to 35-40 hrs a week?

[Lovelife090994]

Should the work week be limited to 35-40 hrs a week? I ask this because in America you can be working way over 40 hours with little overtime compensation and have two jobs but still be poor and or low-class as some would say. Productivity for the average person peeks in the afternoon but after about 7-8 hours of work I think we can all agree that your productivity starts to decline dramatically. Wouldn't it be better to have a limit on how many hours we could work? And wouldn't it be better to get rid of wage slavery (staying in low wages for insurance)? And of course, vacation! Something so few Americans get. Wouldn't it be better to reform the working system? Something where people can work hard but have decent pay to not live on welfare and actually have insurance and have a vacation every year?

I don't know of a perfect solution, and some jobs in medicine require longer hours. Also teachers work among the hardest but our paid very low as well... we should fix that. Right? I guess I'm asking--Would it be better in America if the work week was limited to 40 hours a week?
What's your opinion on socialized health care? Should we all get at least a week of vacation a year? Why or why not?

[Babs]

1. I don't necessarily see how limiting hours is beneficial. Some people work a lot by choice, others by necessity. I do think we should raise the minimum wage though.
2. I'm in favor of socialized healthcare. My brother had an $1800 ambulance ride so he could get his fingers sewed back on. There are people who are dying of crippling diseases and the government is like, "Can't afford it? Don't have insurance? Well, then that cancer sounds like a whole lotta your problem." The USA is one of the few developed countries to not have socialized healthcare.

[thetransylvanianguy]

Personally, I don't believe a working time limit would something to be forced upon people. I think it reduces the opportunities a worker can have to increase his wage. In return, I believe that any overtime hours (hours past 40/week) should be paid by a higher rate enshrined in law. In the European Union (which indeed has more 'red-tape' and is more regulated in this area than the US), we have the Working Time Directive (which limits the hours a worker can legally stay at work).
I do believe a taxpayer-funded health system (socialized health care) would be a good system for America to introduce, as long as the fees for a surgery that would cost nothing or up to 500 dollars in Europe (with the rest subsidised by the government) actually cost 10x more in the US. That would effectively remove worries about insurance.
You said something about reforming the working system. In order to reform the working system, one should look at the welfare system first. Then, create jobs and actively encourage (and cut unemployment benefits for people who turn down a job offer) people to work.
Regarding the week of holiday, I believe the government should encourage employers to give them vouchers which could be used to go on holiday, but whose validity would not extend across the US border. This way, some money goes to the state government/federal government as tax.

[Stronk Serb]

Here by law it is. The problem is, nobody respects it.

[Miserabilia]

I had the idea in my head that americans work a lot more than the rest of the world (perhaps fom older statistics?) but I came across this:

http://www.americasdiversityleader.com/images/Hours%20Worked%20By%20Country.jpg

And seems like it's not exactly spectacular, BUT it's almost ridiculous compared to west europe and scandinavia. I also know americans take a lot less days off and vacation than west europe. So, you have a working culture, which seems to fit with the whole "climb up the ladder" "make your own dreams come true" "make something of yourself" etc etc talk you always hear coming from the US.