What drags the average down is the countless part timers/minumim wage workers where vacation time really isn't a factor. If your only putting in 3 days a week obviously you don't develop any sort of a "need" for vacation, as most days your not working anyways. Crappy jobs come with crappy benefits.
Even a crappy entry level job at this company I used to work for when I was 18-19 came with a couple weeks of paid vacation, even to start. You build up vacation days as a function of days worked, and you build them up faster after you've been with the company longer...and have the option of cashing them out rather than taking them. Which I always thought was pretty great, since its just like an extra paycheck once in a while if you don't feel like going somewhere.
Being paid to literally do nothing...pretty much amazing. Its too bad its being treated like some sort of basic right or something. I think its reasonable that people should be able to take vacation time...but to be paid for it? That's just a damn sweet deal.