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Townhall...
Slacker America
by Bruce Bialosky
A few years back I had a conversation with an exchange student from
Colombia who was working as a busboy to earn some spending money. He
spoke English fluently – an aberration in Los Angeles – and I asked him
what he thought was the most surprising thing about America. He said
“How hard everyone works.” That may have been true then, but we are
quickly becoming a nation of slackers.
America’s work ethic comes from our Puritan past. When we were an
agrarian country, you either worked or starved. In the 19th and 20th
Centuries, we developed into an industrialized nation, led by men with
a solid work ethic, that became the strongest economy in the world.
This attitude was essential to our victory in two world wars and our
transformation into the globe’s sole superpower.
Regrettably, cultural attitudes have changed substantially, and we now
often see derision of our traditional principles. Puritanism is now
equated to a 1950’s society in which men were the breadwinners and
women were stay-at-home moms. Whether that is true or not, working hard
has nothing to do with anything other than the desire to become
successful. Work equals money, and money comes from work. It is a
simple, yet elegant, concept.
Today, however, we often see a different reality. And while it’s easy
to recognize how rapidly-advancing technology has made our lives easier
both at home and in the workplace, the change in the American work
ethic has many causes and has not taken place overnight.
Many people have observed how this new generation is different from its
predecessors, and much has been written about the rules under which
they now wish to live. The most dismaying aspect is how pervasive this
attitude has become. Not only is the average worker or college graduate
unwilling to put forth the effort of prior generations, but so are the
elite educated classes.
Several attorneys tell me how difficult it is to get young lawyers to
work today. The young ones want what the older ones have, but don’t
want to make the requisite sacrifices. This might be an aberration – if
it weren’t for so many people telling me the same story!
One of my clients proudly told me about his son and daughter-in-law –
newly-graduated attorneys working their way up the ladder at big,
reputable firms. The next time we spoke, he informed me that they had
resigned their positions to go on a worldwide vacation. And last month,
he called to let me know that they were now both working for the
government – with 9-5 jobs and built-in benefits.
22.5 million Americans – an utterly staggering number – now work for
federal, state, and local government. Stephen Moore, in a Wall Street
Journal opinion piece, wrote that there are now twice as many people
working for government than for manufacturers, and that more people now
work for government than for several basic industries combined.
Unfortunately, his excellent column failed to identify the most
prominent reasons for this dismal situation.
Why do college graduates now seek jobs in government instead of private
industry? It has largely to do with lack of ambition. Why take the
risks inherent in the private sector when you can have a position that
is virtually immune from layoffs, and for which you get vacations, sick
days, health insurance, pensions, and every holiday on the calendar
including imagined ones? Why accept a job requiring effort and
productivity when you can get a government job in which your
compensation and benefits have absolutely nothing to do with your
performance? In fact, you may actually be discouraged from working too
hard because it would embarrass your colleagues. Additionally, there is
almost nothing that can cause you to be fired! So why take any risks in
the private sector?
Ironically, the government then tries to force these same preposterous
work rules onto the private sector – so that government doesn’t appear
out of step with private industry.
The fact is that there is just too much government. Government now
employs 16% of the current work force, amounting to 138.9 million
people. That means that 116.4 million private- sector workers support
this country of 308 million people. Government workers don’t help
support the rest of us because the taxes they pay are just a reduction
of the amount we pay them. They are just a drag on the private economy
that needs to support them.
This economic model cannot sustain itself – especially with the current
work ethic. When an ever smaller group of people is asked to support
the rest of us, while the government hands out lavish employee benefits
that far outstrip those found in the private sector, it’s no wonder
that young people quickly conclude that a public-sector job is the
perfect fit for their slacker attitudes.
While there are certainly exceptions, it seems that the generation now
entering the workforce has been raised on the idea that hard work
should take a back seat to lifestyle. They have seen – and sheepishly
accepted – an ever-growing government sector making decisions for them.
At this rate, there will soon not be enough private sector employees to
support the government workers, the retired people, and the children of
this society.
If we don’t change our current trajectory – and quickly! – then the
next time my young Colombian friend comes to America, he will ask:
“What the heck happened to this country?”
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