You might be reading this at work.

Monday is Labor Day, the most ironic holiday of them all. Since I am fortunate enough not to work in the service or retail industries, I have the day off. It's not a National holiday, since we don't have National holidays (not even Independence Day) it is a legal holiday. Legal holidays give employers the option to give employees the day off, or keep the business open. I think there are way too many businesses open on legal holidays in this country.

Generally, the holiday is an excuse for a [Name the holiday] Sale, with incredible bargains that can only be had on the other 15 holidays and selected weekends that the store is open. God forbid, we can't get 15% off the price of a pair of shoes unless we shop on Labor Day. The irony lies in the fact that generally, labor doesn't have Labor Day off. As usual, the crap gets thrown to the workers at the lower end of the wage scale, while the rest get the juice.

On Monday, my local bank will be open, as well as the local convenience stores, restaurants, bars, supermarket and the Kohl's, Home Depot and the local shopping mall. All the people making minimum wage will be working today.

I know it would be impossible to shut down the country entirely for every holiday, but it seems as though there are way too many people working on holidays, and they aren't necessarily vital businesses. I think the country would survive a day without Kohl's. Would it throw consumers into a panic if they couldn't shop for 12 hours? In "this economy" the popular phrase we're supposed to encourage spending at whatever cost, so mandatory closing of stores on holidays would fly in the face of everything the government tells us is good for the country.

Here's an idea: A national moratorium on doing business on Labor Day. If a cash register rings, the business is fined an amount equal to the sale. Give people a day off. Maybe then, we can work our way down to the other holidays - but, one at a time for now.

One thing about Labor Day is that it doesn't have a face. There is no endearing image that captivates us like there is for Independence Day or Easter.

Just this one: