Posted on 02/25/2019 6:28:14 PM PST by daniel1212
For the college-educated elite, work has morphed into a religious identity—promising identity, transcendence, and community, but failing to deliver...
In his 1930 essay “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted a 15-hour workweek in the 21st century, creating the equivalent of a five-day weekend... In a 1957 article in The New York Times, the writer Erik Barnouw predicted that, as work became easier, our identity would be defined by our hobbies, or our family life...
These post-work predictions weren’t entirely wrong. By some counts, Americans work much less than they used to. The average work year has shrunk by more than 200 hours. But those figures don’t tell the whole story. Rich, college-educated people—especially men—work more than they did many decades ago...
No large country in the world as productive as the United States averages more hours of work a year. And the gap between the U.S. and other countries is growing...In 1980, the highest-earning men actually worked fewer hours per week than middle-class and low-income men, according to a survey by the Minneapolis Fed. But that’s changed. By 2005, the richest 10 percent of married men had the longest average workweek. ...
Perhaps long hours are part of an arms race for status and income among the moneyed elite. Or maybe the logic here isn’t economic at all. It’s emotional—even spiritual. The best-educated and highest-earning Americans, who can have whatever they want, have chosen the office for the same reason that devout Christians attend church on Sundays: It’s where they feel most themselves. “For many of today’s rich there is no such thing as ‘leisure’; in the classic sense—work is their play,” the economist Robert Frank wrote. “Building wealth to them is a creative process, and the closest thing they have to fun.”..
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
“The Green New Deal will require the “rich” to support those unwilling to live as slaves (workism)
and I’m the boss”
AOC
“I think there is more to it, and it does have something to do with the job being the attempted fulfillment for an empty soul, who usually has few if any children.”
I understand what you’re describing, but in my experience those types are determined not to just work away all day - they really put in the minimal amount of time required and spend their money on nice trips and such (which is their right; I understand it). I work with far more childless women than men, and something hits them at a certain point (probably when they realize they’ll never have children) and they lose a lot of enthusiasm for the job. Besides the clichés about pets, they really resent their female coworkers with children and grandchildren; the two groups drift apart, and oddly enough it seems those with families work harder (probably because they need the job more).
"Real "success" is knowing God, being saved thru wholehearted repentant faith in the risen Lord Jesus, shown by baptism, (Ps. 34:18; Acts 2:38; 8:36,37; 10:43-47; 16:30-33) being spiritually born of God (Acts 15:7-9; Ephesians 1:13; Titus 3:5) and made accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6) on His account, by His sinless shed blood, (Romans 3:25; 4:5) and spiritually seated with Him in Heaven, (Ephesians 2:6) with whom the faithful will go to forever be with at death or His return. (1 Thess. 4:17) And which faith means following Him, (Acts 10:47) - and repentant confession when you realize you have not (2 Samuel 12:13) - in surrender and consecration to your Lord, (Acts 11:23; Romans 12:1) according to the truth you know and grace received, (Deuteronomy 16:17; Luke 12:42-48) to show His love and Truth to the world, making a positive difference for time and eternity, temporarily and spiritually, in the hearts and lives of those you encounter and others who can influence.
Now for me to just consistently live up to this, but God is an "equal opportunity employer," as all can serve Him somehow, and will be rewarded according to the level of grace given, and what they did with it. (1 Corinthians 3:8; 2 Corinthians 8:12)
Forgot to mention pets, which are much the yuppy substituted for kids, not as a supplement to them. .
they really resent their female coworkers with children and grandchildren; the two groups drift apart, and oddly enough it seems those with families work harder (probably because they need the job more).
I live in a populous small city of mostly working Latinos, and who almost always have kids. Well, the newer city leaders let two large old factory buildings get rehabbed in the neighborhood we used to live in, and turned into condos. It got filled it up with yuppies, and the contrast was stark.
I saw zero children from there in the years we were in that neighborhood even though there was a park right next store. And zero interaction with the neighborhood (and with whom I had much interaction, by the grace of God, despite the language barrier) But pets! This is what they had, and the only yard was a lawn in back that was used for the dogs. Great fertilizer.
In my town here in NJ (once Scots and Irish, now primarily Hispanic) we got our first “bark park” a couple of years ago; now the ageing childless Americans take their dogs there while a mile south the young foreigners fill the athletic fields.
I agree with that. I put ‘successful’ in quotes as I was using it only in a narrow career sense.
I pretty much assumed that, but thank God you know what real ‘success’ is.
As workers become more productive, they can either maintain their old standard of living with less hours, or a higher standard of living by keeping hours the same. Most people choose the latter.
We also have the phenomenon of private sector’s increased productivity being stolen by government through taxes, to support an ever increasing community of non-workers.
The PiIl and abortion. I am Scot and Irish, and am a minority among Latinos, mostly working Central Americans, who as regards being friendly, pro-faith and loving children, are more traditional American than the Millennials (Puerto Ricans are the loudest partiers). Yet I am sure that most use some sort of welfare, plus many have "home businesses" such as child care and selling meals, which income I doubt is reported. And though most they do not speak of politics and do work, I can tell they see the Democrats as their saviors.
Republicans never seemed to be interested in trying to educate them as to what the long-term consequences of this will be.
But for us they have been a much better community than liberal suburbanites with their liberal political signs, and who even have fights over leaf blower noise, and hardly crack a smile, and get offended or even antagonistic at being graciously offered a gospel tract in public (as rare as that is done).
My town is overrun with primarily Peruvians, and while some are good workers others just game the system; the biggest “freebie” is public education, for which American homeowners pay massive costs (the Peruvians don’t buy homes, and many are illegals). Not only do they avoid the whole property/school tax issue often by renting illegal apartments, they also save up to skedaddle when they’ve made their money - so the future pension costs of gubmint workers are irrelevant to them.
Here the price for a low-rest 3 bedroom is close to 2k a month, plus heat and lectric, and which rent does indirectly pay prop. taxes, as do those who have legal jobs, but the money sent home is "foreign aid." .
No questions tenants indirectly pay property taxes, but when the apartment itself is an illegal conversion there is $0 being collected on it.
After 9/11 look at how we had to eat that sh!t sandwich called the “Patriot Act” which destroyed our privacy and made international money transfers a pain for Americans - and look at how banks and our own government bend over backwards to let these foreigners send money internationally. The gripes of many on this forum are due to the fact that as “normals” we have to obey laws or there are consequences. People who cheat welfare, ignore immigration laws, fabricate hate crimes - they all get a pass.
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