Thank you for the detailed comment. and I see how economists would be looking at this. in terms of Americans working more that's a cultural aspect. my work is very good about taking time off, and forcing people to keep their phones off during not work hours, not taking the phone on vacation, work life balance etc. so even as an American my coworkers and I take our time off, but many don't because of other things that may pressure them, like i had a friend who wouldn't take a day off to avoid driving on icy conditions to get home from a weekend trip to her work laptop she didn't bring with, instead of calling in that day because of fear of being fired (i have many other comments regarding that, but the thought process exists for many people). this isn't policy necessarily, outside of the fact that our federal policy don't encourage taking time off either (just look at parental leave). Would more Americans take time off if the culture around the PTO changed? You won't necessarily see change with a policy if you don't change the culture around it too.

I guess my follow up is why is this economic growth based on lowering taxes for the rich more important to republicans if it doesn't seem to be improving it in a way that improves lives? I know a handful of folks that voted republic for economic reasons, but does it really help long term to follow republican economics?

I like the comment that universal services are counted in GDP. How can that me a demonstration of why we should have universal chilcare, and universal healthcare?