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Bernard Madoff, convicted of running an $65 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 150 years in jail. What’s your take on his punishment?

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By Knight Kiplinger

The Kiplinger Washington Editors

July 2, 2009

By year-end or so, Congress will give the nod to a major rewriting of the nation's financial regulatory system. This week’s Kiplinger Letter explores whether the package will do more harm than good and what lawmakers are likely to include.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The Economy, Business Costs, Taxes, Supreme Court, Energy, Workplace Regulations, Climate Change, Health Care Legislation and Foreign Policy

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I just attended a franchise seminar. The speaker represents a few hundred franchises that (he says) are hand picked. He has the prospect (aka victim?) answer some questions about themselves then he makes recomendations - based on your personality, capital situation, etc.. If you pick a franchise, then he does some due dilligence for you. If you both decide it's a good idea, he helps you get started. He says he offers this service free of charge, which means he gets a commission if he's able to sell you a franchise. Has anyone done this? Successfully? Unsuccessfully?

-- fender

Does the U.S. Work Too Hard?

The Gershwin tune may still have it right about the fish jumpin' and the cotton being high, but for many Americans these days, the livin' is far from easy in the summertime -- or any other season.

Worth Reading: The Quick Take from Kiplinger

July 2007

Center for Economic and Policy Research

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), founded in 1999, performs research and public education on a wide range of social and economic issues. Key research topics include social safety net issues, energy policy, trade, health care and the divide between rich and poor.

Americans take less paid vacation on average than workers in any other developed nation. Ditto for paid holidays. And even when we go on vacation, many of us just have to check in with our BlackBerrys or laptops -- one out of five, according to a survey by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com. Is this all due to work ethic? After all, Americans are known for being among the hardest workers in the world.

Or does the reluctance to legally require U.S. employers to provide a certain amount of paid leave contribute to the mind-set? The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) doesn't directly answer whether there is a link. But its study No-Vacation Nation does point out that the United States is the only wealthy country in the world that does not guarantee workers paid vacation or paid national holidays. The European Union requires member nations to provide at least 20 vacation days a year to workers, but some EU countries go far beyond that. France and Finland, for example, require 30 days. Most developed nations also have a considerable number of paid national holidays.

After the United States, Canada and Japan are the stingiest of the developed nations. Both require only 10 paid vacation days, although Canada also requires eight paid national holidays. CEPR says that roughly a quarter of American workers do not receive any paid holiday or vacation time. That means the average amount of paid leave for all American workers offered by private businesses -- 15 vacation days and holidays -- "would not meet even the minimum required by law in 19 other rich countries analyzed." It beats only the legal minimum of 10 days in Japan. And that's only if workers actually take the time offered -- and quit sneaking work in at the beach.

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