Work is a blessing, not a punishment

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2015/09/24/work-is-a-blessing-not-a-punishment/

In America today, too many people believe that work is drudgery — that only certain kinds of employment are ennobling or provide fulfillment. The notion that “hamburger-flipping” jobs and other kinds of low paying work lack value (popularly expressed during the presidential election of 1988 and reinforced by the media ever since) has far reaching consequences — for the next generation of American workers, for the poor, and for our economy.

We often hear, for example, that today’s young people (even those with college degrees) are not workplace ready — that they lack fundamental skills or any sort of work ethic.

And no wonder.

Today, many middle- and upper-class parents look down their noses at the notion that their kids should spend summers (or afternoons) bagging groceries or pumping gas — especially when time spent working means time away from SAT prep, private flute lessons, and additional hockey camps. Not surprisingly, data from the U.S Census shows that the percentage of non-working teens who want to work fell to 9.5 percent in 2012, from 12.6 percent in 2000. Why should they bother if mommy and daddy pay for everything?