Watch out the next time you go out for dinner - because your waiter or waitress might have the flu and be coughing all over your food - because they aren't allowed to take sick days. Should we really be patronizing restaurants that would rather have sick employees than provide healthcare?

Many of us buy into the common myths about happiness - but by doing so - we often end up feeling like something is wrong - and that we are destined to always be unhappy. What can we do to avoid these happiness myths - and live happier and more fufilling lives? We'll ask Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky is tonight's Conversations with Great Minds.

Marc Harrold, Libertarian Commentator & Sam Bennett, The She Should Run Foundation & Cherylyn Harley LeBon, Former spokesperson - RNC all join Thom Hartmann

Marc Harrold, Libertarian Commentator & Sam Bennett, The She Should Run Foundation & Cherylyn Harley LeBon, Former spokesperson - RNC all join Thom Hartmann

When big restaurant corporations deny employees sick days, are they in fact responsible for spreading the flu? We also ask, is the concept of "happiness" just a myth? Thom talks with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds.

The stuff beneath us is worth trillions of dollars - so why don't we see any of the wealth? Rather than billionaire CEOs paying us to use our commons, pollute our air and water, dictate our military missions, exploit our markets, and hijack our radio and TV airwaves, it's all been flipped on its head and we end up paying them. We give them subsidies, generous tax breaks, free usage, and no requirement that they have to share any of the wealth our commons have produced for them with the rest of us who actually own those commons. So in the end, they make billions off what should belong to all of us while we make squat. This makes no sense. And with pressing concerns about wealth inequality, economic insecurity, and environmental disasters, we need to move away from this corporate rentier-model, and embrace a new universal shareholder model.

Thom Hartmann's crazy alert

Thom Hartmann's geeky science,

The phone lines are now open for our Your Take My Take LIVE segment. So if you want the chance to ask me a question live on The Big Picture - give us a call at 202-904-2134 Thursdays.

Michelle Kinsey Bruns, Women's Media Center joins Thom Hartmann.

Sheriff Richard Mack joins Thom Hartmann. Beginning this week - Sheriff Joe Arpaio is dispatching members of his armed, volunteer posse to schools around the county, in hopes of deterring any future violence. Arpaio's posse is comprised of 3000 mostly-volunteer officers - with a good chunk of them owning firearms - and some having criminal backgrounds. All posse members pay for their own weapons and equipment, but are insured by the Sheriff's office. As you might expect, some parents are uneasy with the idea of armed posse members camped out in front of their children's' school. As one parent told a local news outlet, "They have guns? No, I don't like that, and I can't believe something like this would be implemented without speaking to parents first." So - is sending out a posse of 3000 gun-toting individuals - many of whom have criminal backgrounds a good idea?

Dr. Michael Hudson, Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends, joins Thom Hartmann. The United States is the only developed nation in the world that doesn't guarantee paid holidays, paid annual leave, or paid maternity leave. They've taken away our sense of safety in the workplace - as safety laws and regulations are continually getting watered down. Heck, they've even taken our money by flattening our wages during a time of increased productivity. And in New Hampshire - Republicans are doing the bidding if Corporate America to get rid of our lunch breaks. This is nothing short of theft - and pretty soon, we'll be handing over the shirts on our backs, just so our bosses can squeeze out whatever profits they can. It's also symptomatic of a larger war being wages on not just working people - but entire cities and even our federal government by the financial elite

Just the latest casualties in the billionaire's war against the rest of us.

Thom talks with Economist Michael Hudson on the drastic decline in worker retirement pensions. Also discussed: Sheriff Joe Arpaio's posse starts patrolling Arizona schools, the lack of women in the media and why drinking soda may be making you depressed. Thom takes viewer phone calls in "Your Take, My Take Live" and in tonight's "Daily Take" Thom explains how the rest of us can make money like the billionaires do.

Horace Cooper, National Center for Public Policy Research & Judson Phillips, TheTeaParty.net / Founder, Tea Party Nation join Thom Hartmann.