“Is Any Job Really Better Than No Job? Being out of work seems to hurt health, but so do jobs that are stressful and unrewarding.” (Atlantic) suggests that Americans who choose a lifetime of welfare (means-tested housing, means-tested health insurance, food stamps, Obamaphone, etc.) are likely rational.
So Happy Labor Day Weekend, but a lot of us should not be working!
Related:
- unemployed = 21st century draft horse?
- Book Review: The Redistribution Recession (exploring the question of how many Americans were smart enough to figure this out)
Studies by sociologists/psychologists of mothers show that the happiest ones are those who work part-time, and that those who don’t work outside the home or who are full-time employed report similar levels of stress & unhappiness, far above the part-time employed. But being part-time employed correlates highly with partnership to a decent breadwinner, so these studies always seemed flawed to me since single mothers/fathers and many others don’t have the option of working part-time. With employer-sponsored health insurance usually not kicking in until 30 hours/week, the part-time work option is unrealistic for a lot of people (who can’t depend on a partner working 30+ hours/week for joint health insurance). Medicaid sounds like an unmitigated disaster unless you’re okay with physicians & dentists who weren’t at the top of their classes.
Don’t think living on the government dole provides the higher social status, low stress, & rewarding job quality the author claims it does.
There is a lot of discrimination based a person’s job, or whether a person has a job or not. Should Government solve this with variable taxes on high earners and payments to those with low (or no) salaries so that everyone finally receives the same amount? Why should a doctor earn more than someone who does not work?