Sure, actor/singer Hilary Duff might not be the world's most respected political theorist, but she still seems to have her finger on the pulse of America.

Check out this tidbit from a recent interview:

When asked what she would do if she was the U.S. President, the 19-year-old insisted on introducing a five-day weekend.

“I would also change the weekends to workdays, and have the whole week as a weekend. "Then I'd be a popular politician wouldn't I?”

So either she's been swayed by Asheville's persuasive Five Day Weekend rhetoric, or the Five Day Weekend is simply an instinctive and inevitable longing for all humans. We're fine with both.

Hilary, you don't have to slog through the Electoral College just to bring about your dreams! Simply join The Five Day Weekend movement and spread the joy. We can't quite offer your usual compensation, so we'll understand if you have to remain an ally at a distance.

But if that's the case...could we get Haylie's number?

Some people have called the Five Day Weekend a crazy concept. Crazy great, maybe. But crazy? What's so nuts about wanting to refocus our lives and devote our time to the things we really take joy in doing?

Allow us to give you some perspective on crazy.

Believe it or not, we actually weren't the first to promote a Five Day Weekend. And while we admit that our concept is a tiny bit radical, the earlier proposal puts us to shame in thinking a few miles outside the box.

In 1989, author Peter M. Rinaldo penned The Five-Day Weekend: A Proposal for Calendar and Work-Schedule Change. This obviously wasn't a mass-market hit, so it took us a while to track down a copy of Rinaldo's hot-pink manifesto.

Here's a summary snippet from his intro:

"Specifically, the book proposes a change in the length of the week from seven to five days, so that there would be 72 five-day weeks per year, grouped in twelve months of six weeks each (plus five holiday days)."

But wait, there's more. We haven't gotten to the workweek yet.

"This calendar change would be accompanied by the shift in the work schedule alluded to in the title of this book — five days of work followed by a five-day weekend. While one employee was enjoying the long weekend, a 'job partner' would be doing the same job."

Now sure, we could scoff. But who are we to say that he's not right? Several of our critics have said that five days off and two days on every week would leave society standing still most of the week. We disagree, but Mr. Rinaldo's proposal does seem more aimed at that concern.

(Oh, and he's not the first to propose doing away with the seven-day week. Check out our interactive timeline to learn about other failed attempts at calendar change.)

It seems strange to us that ideas like ours and Mr. Rinaldo's are seen as being on the lunatic fringe, especially when our 16-hour workweek pales in comparison to the four-hour workweek being promised by a certain New York Times best-seller.

It’s come as no surprise to us that the Five Day Weekend concept has its share of critics. But we were a bit surprised today to see that Donald Trump has come out swinging against us.

Sure, he’s an icon of hard work and the relentless drive for financial success. But you would also think he’d understand the economic boost that a longer weekend would mean for many American industries.

If we had a Five Day Weekend — or even if Americans just used the meager vacation time we’re given — just think would that would do for business at Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, Trump Marina, Trump International Golf Links or the bevy of Trump International Hotel and Tower buildings going up around the world.

In his critique of the Five Day Weekend, Trump says:

“I rarely take vacations and I think that’s one of the reasons behind my organization’s success. You’ve got to put in the time to reap the rewards.”

First off, that’s big talk from a man who owns a vacation-planning Web site.

Second, if Trump is worth $2.9 billion and still hasn’t reached a level of success that justifies a vacation, when exactly should the rest of us plan to “reap the rewards” of our work? Is $3 billion the magic number?

We’re all about hard work and celebrating American success stories, but you’ll forgive those of us in Asheville if we look to a different tycoon for inspiration.

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