My family has always made beef stew for Halloween! Served with Hawaiian rolls and butter on the side :)
It’s pretty similar to this recipe (though personally I leave out the anchovies and pork): https://www.copymethat.com/r/6LA2PJwJL/best-beef-stew/
Yes, I think we should already be at a 4 day work week for many jobs. If you look at productivity and efficiency growth since the 40 hour work week was invented, it’s off the charts.
However, that’s one of the problems with unbridled capitalism. The market demands constant growth, which is hard to sustain and doesn’t reward easing up on employees.
I don’t think the US needs to go full socialist (mostly because I think it’s impossible and as you said, still corruptible), but we need to lean more towards socialism to start clawing our way back to having a middle class. If we could get affordable universal healthcare and affordable colleges, I would be beyond thrilled. Even though these are things that many, many other countries have had for a long time.
I think a universal basic income would also make a ton of sense, as we potentially enter the era of AI taking over a lot of our jobs. At some point, hopefully we become so efficient at “work” that we can use UBI to help people survive who want to do something outside the usual 9-5 (or who have been automated out of their job).
Its origin story is problematic, but in reality most people only think of it as a food holiday… and maybe people go around the table and say what they’re thankful for. It’s pretty divorced from its roots, and the name itself isn’t an issue (unlike Columbus Day, for example). But I’m curious to hear other perspectives!