During the testimony on S. 25 a Library of Congress statistic was introduced which gave the cost of a national holiday as $192 million. This is probably accurate, as far as it goes, i.e. the cost of the salaries of Federal employees.

We wish to present a cost estimate based on the loss of production:

A reasonable estimate for the Gross National Product in 1980 is $2,604 billion or $50.08 billion per week. The best estimate we have for the loss of production during holiday weeks comes from Mr. Araujo Jorge of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. He states that industrial production falls by 40%, sales by 30% and absenteeism increases by 15%. During a Monday Holiday, industrial production in that week falls by 17%. We have tried to confirm these figures from sources within the U.S. but we find that production figures on a weekly basis are very scarce.

COST OF A FEDERAL HOLIDAY ON JANUARY FIFTEENTH STARTING IN 1980 Cal. Year Day of Week Loss of Production in %

Loss of Production in Billions

We conclude that a new federal holiday is not the best way to fight poverty or inflation. Our organization will consistently oppose holidays that honor persons rather than concepts. For example, we have proposed a Free Enterprise Day on the second Monday in June. (92% of the respondents in a 1978 poll supported this.) We also support the Barlow Calendar which would provide a six day Festival of Peace at the end of June and a four day Festival of Friendship at the end of August. See Enclosures (1) and (2).

If we compare Climatic Merit Factors for the proposed Martin Luther King Day and for our proposed Free Enterprise Day, we have the following:

January 15th
June 10th

.3 (Worst weather of the entire year)

95.4

(Best day in the year is June 3rd. Merit Factor = 98.7)

Many persons believe that Dr. Martin Luther King should be honored in some way. The Barlow Calendar does provide a National Heroes Day on February 29th. This would be a three day weekend with a merit factor of 20.6. Dr. King could share this holiday.

In closing, we present a table which compares the cost of a Barlow Calendar holiday with the cost of a Gregorian Calendar floating holiday. A column has been added which is labeled, "Gain in Production". We will explain how this will originate:

(1) Forty-eight unbroken weeks are the equivalent in time worked to fifty-two Gregorian weeks, since 3.62 weeks are lost due to the observance of holidays and semi-holidays such as Election Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, etc.

(2) All weeks, months and quarters will be identical in length under the Barlow Calendar. This will simplify accounting, scheduling, transportation, the setting of quotas, etc. We have estimated that these factors will result in an increase in productivity of about 8%. COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE LEADING PROPOSAL FOR CALENDAR REFORM

Footnote:

Net Loss per Holiday

The net loss per holiday of $1.4 billion compares with the loss of $15.09
billion for Martin Luther King Day.

We respectfully request that this letter with its two enclosures be included in the record of your hearings on S. 25.

The results of the SHARE THE WORK COALITION poll of the candidates for Federal office in the '78 elections are now available. Nine questions dealt with the Barlow Calendar, currently the leading plan for reforming and rationalizing the Gregorian Calendar. (The Barlow Calendar would separate the year into two parts. Part One would be the work year, consisting of twelve identical 28-day months. Part Two would consist of 29 month-end holidays, all contiguous with the last week end of the work months and positioned according to climatic merit factors as well as according

to tradition.

The work year would be shortened by 6%, thereby creating five million

new jobs, i.e. sharing the work.)

An amazing 100% of the respondents voted Yes on Question 17: "I understand that each broken week a holiday falling on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursdaycauses a 40% loss of production during that week; also a 30% reduction in sales; also The SHARE THE WORK COALITION has calculated that a

a 15% increase in absenteeism.

broken week costs $7 billion more than a Monday Holiday. Since the Barlow Calendar would eliminate all broken weeks and make all holidays contiguous with weekends, I will support the adoption of the Barlow Calendar."

All of the respondents also voted Yes on Question 8: "Do you agree that a system of time measurement invented 6,000 years ago might benefit from a critical analysis?"; and Question 10: "Would you support a bill to authorize the Federal Government to coordinate the timing of holidays? (It would not require the states to change the names of holidays such as Maryland Day or Patriots Day.)

Ninety-two per-cent would support a new Monday Holiday - Free Enter

prise Day, on the second Monday in June.

Only 75% supported the conversion of Independence Day and Thanks

giving to Monday Holidays. (Three years ago this percentage was 65%). The average affirmative vote was 92.0%

We read this as saying: FULL SPEED AHEAD! We shall proceed.