The Feedback

Burdened with holiday shopping debt, many of us might appreciate seeing the red ink simply inflated away. But that comes at a cost to the rest of the world, said reader kolarc, writing in response to our post on the dollar and Japanese yen:

Inflation allows the U.S. to pay its enormous debts more easily, and the problem gets passed to third parties, for example Europe, which is also very indebted but with a hyper-valued Euro.

Of course, most of the shopping is over now, and, if they’re lucky, our readers are reading this with an eggnog in hand and a crackling fire nearby. Unfortunately, many of you are likely to be toiling away at the office. When we asked our readers about their work habits, most agreed that their work hours have been on the upswing.

Reader Jeffrey Smyth summed up the problem succinctly: [EXPAND More]

It’s Friday evening before Christmas and I am still reading e-mails from the Drucker Exchange.

And reader Alba Patricia Valencia submitted that the problem overwork is transnational and blamed neoliberal economic policy:

This is not a problem of the United States. This is a problem of planet Earth. Earth is the third planet from the sun but it is the first in increasing prices and lowering wages. Globalization, implemented through the neoliberal model in which it is postulated that the market, not the state, should regulate the economy . . . has been a burden.

Reader Luiz Luccas suggested that increased burdens of work have been shouldered especially by “white-collars,” writing:

Due to the nature of our business (mostly dealing with intangibles, such as processes, ideas, services and relationships), we seldom leave the office mentally.

Reader Geert Eenink, in large part, concurred:

For knowledge workers you see that the line between life and work gets thinner each year. The most important thing for this century is to find the right balance.

And with that, back to work. [/EXPAND]