I don't know what the meaning of Labor Day is anymore. When I was a kid it meant beautiful beaches free of summer crowds, longer shadows, water almost as warm as the air, and rows of perfect waves. The feeling that the town once again belonged to us made September my favorite month. It almost made up for the melancholy of losing summer freedom when the school bus arrived. Almost.
For the rest of the world Labor Day is called May Day and is inexorably tied to the Industrial Revolution and the theories of Karl Marx. It is for that reason that we do not celebrate with everyone else. We are an Enlightenment nation now celebrating 250 years since our radical break with history. We are of them but not like them.
Labor in the United States today is no longer linked to the Industrial Revolution. In some ways that takes us closer to our revolutionary roots. Paul Revere was a silversmith. Benjamin Franklin didn't have "Founding Father" printed on his card, just "printer" in keeping with our egalitarian principles.
The Economist magazine recognizes that "America has become an entrepreneur's paradise" and notes that the word boss "originates from colonial New Yorkers' twisting of the Dutch word baas." The majority of us want to be our own bosses and in June alone there were 531,000 new business applications. More Canadian founders who have raised over $1 million have started their businesses here, raising twice as much money as their compatriots back home. They are not coming here for factory jobs, but because those who believe in themselves have the opportunity in America to follow their dreams. For lots of people, that dream is still to be one's own baas.
Enjoy your Labor Day Holiday everyone.
* "America has become an entrepreneur's paradise". The Economist, online. Business | Small but mighty, July 27, 2026. https://www.economist.com/business/2026/07/27/america-has-become-an-entrepreneurs-paradise. Accessed 09.04.2026.
** Lammam, C. "Canadians are leaving the country at record levels. Can anyone solve this pressing problem?". The Hub, online. Analysis, April 03, 2026. https://thehub.ca/2026/04/03/can-anyone-solve-canadas-brain-drain-problem/. Accessed on 09.04.2026.