Is it time to make Election Day a federal holiday? 🗳️ Some say it would boost voter turnout and align the U.S. with other democracies, while others argue it could create challenges for hourly workers and cost millions. Dive into the debate over whether a federal voting holiday is the best way to strengthen democracy or if there are better solutions. Check out the full breakdown!

https://ace-usa.org/blog/research/research-votingrights/should-election-day-become-a-federal-holiday-weighing-the-benefits-and-drawbacks/

  • Cephalotrocity@biglemmowski.win
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    2 months ago

    Although the federal government cannot require private companies to observe holidays

    JFC what a dystopian hellhole. It kills me they are so proud of their shitty living conditions.

    • OttoVonNoob@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Wait really, why coulsnt they force them to?!? In Canada companies that are open pay huge fines. Companies that are deemed essential do not recieve fines but have to pay 2.5 Mult to employees and if the employee does not work they get a days pay.

      • Billiam@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Money is God in America.

        Okay, let’s give everybody holidays off.

        …well, I guess we need essential services like police, fire, medical, etc.

        …and if they’re going to work, they’re gonna need food, so restaurants should be open too.

        …and if they all gotta get to work, we gotta have gas stations open as well.

        …and with all these other people off, people are gonna vote then want the rest of the day to do things, so we should probably have stores and entertainment venues open also.

        And now all the “minimum wage” people are stuck working on a holiday, while the people who can afford to be off actually get off.

        Rinse and repeat for every current holiday.

        • OttoVonNoob@lemmy.ca
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          2 months ago

          To be honest i can’t tell if this is satire, spoof or against day off? I mean emergency social services are essential. Food and the rest are not, you do your shopping the day before and bring a lunch, self serve pumps are everywhere anywyas and entertainment services are not essential.

          • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            It’s not satire, it’s 100% the reasoning that would be used in this argument. That’s the train of thought that we took towards covid.

            • Fushuan [he/him]@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              In a long period like covid I can see part of the argument, but in a 1 day period food services are not essential. At all. Humans can survive without food for a day if they were dumb enough not to prepare.

              • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Sure, I agree. But the CEOs of McDonalds and Wendy’s don’t want to miss a single day of profits and their wealth gives them a lot more political power than I have.

          • Billiam@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I used to work in a cinema.

            Christmas day was our single busiest day of the year, every year. Even with traditional Christmas activities like having family dinners and gift-giving, people still wanted to go see a movie. They couldn’t stay home with their families for just one day so we minimum wage saps didn’t get to stay home with ours.

            Nothing I wrote was satire. This is exactly how it is in the US.

            • If you have a white-collar job, enjoy your day off.

            • If you have a blue-collar job, you might not have to work, depending on what holiday it is.

            • If you have a service job, fuck your holiday because money.

            • vortic@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              I’m going to old all over the place. When I was a teen in the late 90s I worked at a grocery store. We were open 24/7 except three times per year. We closed at noon on Thanksgiving (reopened at 5am the next day), noon on Christmas Eve through Christmas Day, and noon on New Years Eve. We always had assholes come in to try to “get one thing that I forgot” but turned them away because they’d inevitably try to load up a full cart. We were given strict instructions to turn everyone away starring at noon sharp.

              Now, grocery stores just stay open. Like, really, you can’t close even a couple of times per year to let people be with their families?

            • Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net
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              2 months ago

              Going to the movies for Christmas is an American Jewish tradition, usually followed up by Chinese food

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Oh, we are not proud of it. We’re trying to chip away at the absolutely fucked power structure, but the people in charge of the system have a vested interest in preserving it, with all of its fucked up little idiosyncrasies like this.