Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has long claimed that the policies he supports align more with “family values” than the policies and priorities of the GOP, which brands itself as the party of law and order, family values, and economic progress.
In the Vermont Senator’s most recent post, he offers an explicit example of an issue he is fighting for — legislation that guarantees paid vacation for workers — and explains how, in his view, this policy paves the way, like better wages, for more family time and bonding, critical elements of what the Declaration of Independence famously phrased as “the pursuit of happiness.”
Sanders writes: “When a husband, wife & kids are unable to spend any time together on vacation, that is not a family value. It’s an attack on everything a family is supposed to stand for.”
The U.S. is the only major country on Earth that does not guarantee workers a paid vacation.
When a husband, wife & kids are unable to spend any time together on vacation, that is not a family value. It’s an attack on everything a family is supposed to stand for.
Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/MDZ7t8mJwh
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 10, 2025
Using a graphic that compares the non-existent requirement of U.S. employers to offer paid vacation to the laws governing mandated paid vacation time for workers in other countries, Sanders also makes another argument — perhaps inadvertently — for why Canada, a Vermont neighbor, isn’t eager to take President Donald Trump‘s offer to become the 51st state.
While the ten paid vacation days mandated by Canadian law pales in comparison to the requirements in those countries — like the U.K. and France — at the top of the list, it still represents two weeks more than Americans are entitled to.
A critic like Sanders looks at the presence of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at Donald Trump’s second inauguration — part of a cohort of billionaires present embodying what Sanders excoriates as the oligarchy — and sees corporate money influencing federal policy to the detriment of workers’ lives.
(NOTE: Amazon has effectively fought off unionization by its employees too, another way to avoid vacation requirements.)
One commenter supporting Sanders’s assertion that American families are better supported by his priorities, wrote that “paid sick leave, paid vacation & universal healthcare” are long overdue.
I speak for every American when I say your policies are by far more pro family than Trumps or the Republican Party. Paid sick leave, paid vacation & universal healthcare are long overdue.
— 6xism (@Kush6xi) April 10, 2025
But the idea that the Sanders supporter speaks for, as they assert, “every American”, is refuted by other comments, which maintain that Sanders speaks a language of socialism that is economically risky. Some assert, as below, that the countries high on the list are “saddled with crumbling economies,” which isn’t backed by data.
[NOTE: “Denmark supports a high standard of living—its per capita gross national product is among the highest in the world—with well-developed social services.”]
All those countries are saddled with crumbling economies, spiraling downward fast—socialism is a proven recipe for national ruin. You should step aside and retire; we don’t need someone with such abysmal judgment steering our future.
— Dyl (@liltestmoretren) April 10, 2025
Another disagreeing with Sanders writes: “Competitive companies do [give vacation]. They do it to attract and retain the best talent. This point is ridiculous. are you going to force corporations to give part-time workers paid vacation?”
NOTE: Amazon states that “time away from work is essential for employees to recharge and renew. Employees earn paid time off in addition to company paid holidays.”