Recreation Nation

This is a book about freedom. Your freedom. Our freedom.Would you like to experience freedom in the form of time to do what you want: time to relax, rest, play, travel, enjoy your family, serve your community, volunteer for your school or church, take up a new hobby, cook healthy food, start a new business?

This book is about the freedom you've already earned by being incredibly productive. The USA is the most productive nation in the world. According to the Economic Policy Institute, since 1979 our productivity has increased 64.7%-a remarkable achievement-the result of your hard work and innovation. Yet hourly pay has increased only 14.8%. In other words, our productivity has grown 4.4 times as much as our pay.

No wonder we are exhausted and deep in debit. We should have been paid significantly more money. Nor have we received more vacation time, shorter workdays, or fewer days in the workweek. Working without the reward you have earned is a form of slavery.

As artificial intelligence and robotics arrive in the workplace, we are at a crossroads. Will all the benefits be sucked up by corporate employers who simply seek to replace us? Or will we receive our fair share of the benefits? And how can we assure that We the People control this part of our future?

Perhaps the place to start is by better understanding and using of our vast, locally controlled network of parks, recreation facilities, and meeting spaces, and getting to know those public recreation professionals who are already dedicated to serving us. And that's just the beginning.