The protestant work ethic is one hell of a drug. It was eye opening to learn just how much more vacation and time off European coworkers had. It would make me jealous when I needed a response from them on something but they were on holiday yet again. The joke at the office was that nothing could get done in the summer because all the Europeans were on vacation.

Personally, I would much prefer the European system, and it seems that's something young Americans generally agree on. If people prefer to make more money/pay less in taxes but have less time off , then let them. Just give us a choice.