In 1899, economist Thorstein Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class, where he referred to the rich, ruling class as lazy people who do leisurely work if at all.
Fast forward a hundred years or so, and the opposite is now true: rich people work longer hours than poor people do!
Here's an op-ed piece by economist Dalton Conley for The New York Times:
Perhaps for the first time since we’ve kept track of such things, higher-income folks work more hours than lower-wage earners do. Since 1980, the number of men in the bottom fifth of the income ladder who work long hours (over 49 hours per week) has dropped by half, according to a study by the economists Peter Kuhn and Fernando Lozano. But among the top fifth of earners, long weeks have increased by 80 percent.
This is a stunning moment in economic history: At one time we worked hard so that someday we (or our children) wouldn’t have to. Today, the more we earn, the more we work, since the opportunity cost of not working is all the greater (and since the higher we go, the more relatively deprived we feel).
In other words, when we get a raise, instead of using that hard-won money to buy “the good life,” we feel even more pressure to work since the shadow costs of not working are all the greater.
The rich don't deserve respect. They deserve all their wealth distributed evenly to every middle and poor person in the world and the US. Sell their stocks, freeze their assets, tax the hell out of them.
We need to abolish all universities,colleges, banks, real estate, government by the wealthy white christian heterosexual elite, we need to take action and fight. They are the enemy of the environment, the enemy of the poor, enemy of everything. They stole lands, raped,pillaged,murdered for greed. Shame on them.
I think there are two reasons why this is not true. People that are struggling financially often times seem to complain much more about the economy, the market conditions, etc. It's as if they feel sorry for themselves more than their silver spoon colleagues.
Secondly, I feel that the wealthier group simply has a stronger work ethic. Obviously, it is nice to be able to drive to work in a Lexus, have a Coach briefcase and Italian leather shoes. It gives you confidence and in sales, confidence is key.
All in all, I feel that wealthy people truly feel that they deserve and in turn expect to be wealthy while a lesser sect of people tend to think the opposite. They tend to make excuses as to why they aren't successful and constantly seek change when times are tough.
200k to lift a breif case and open it. hope they dont sue for arthritis for opening there breifcases.
so u stfu as well.