The British Parliament Actually Did Something We Should Copy

News that British MP's have voted themselves an additional week of vacation in the middle of a recession should be heralded as the best thing to happen to England since the invention of 24-hour English bars. England's economy is in the toilet, and government is borrowing and spending at record levels. But if the government isn't in session, they can't spend anymore! Sure, boys - take another week off! Take three! In fact, how about you just stay at home until further notice?

The U.S. Congress takes nearly 4 months of vacation, and I'd be thrilled if they took more. What's the old adage - "the worst thing that happened to Washington was air conditioning," because it allowed legislators to stay in session during the steamy summer months they had previously taken off. At this point, I think central heating is a liability as well. Think about life without heat OR air conditioning: Congress would only meet from March-May and September - November, and the rest of the time we'd be left alone to fix our own problems.