Shocker: Rich People Work More Than Poor People
A shocker not so much for most conservatives but rather for the liberal faithful and their political leaders who perpetuate this myth about hard-working blue collar slaves who toil so that America’s rich elite can spend all their time at country clubs.
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 idea that the most successful Americans are also the hardest working Americans shouldn’t really shock anyone. We do, in fact, live in a meritocracy. Not a perfect one. There will always be cronyism and nepotism and greed, but generally speaking if you work hard in America you’ll get ahead.
Which is anathema for liberals, whose entire political ideology is based on the idea that we’re all victims and that only an omnipotent government can help us lead happy lives.
