Huainanzi - Entry 81

Trey Smith

[There are three dangers in the world:] To receive a large salary without personally accomplishing much is the third danger.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

So often, when you hear someone complain about another person being lazy, their animus is leveled at a working class stiff. "Why should my tax dollars go to support the laziness of those welfare mothers?" they sigh. "If they want to live the good life, why don't they get off their butts and find a job?" (Yeah, like there are a lot of living wage jobs out there these days!)

I'm sure there are people on "welfare" who need not be. You'll get no arguments from me on that score. But the very same thing is true of many corporations and wealthy individuals. These folks simply collect a different kind of "welfare" and most of them don't need it to turn a profit. Why is it that people look down on lazy people who are poor and not lazy people who are rich? The rich ones cost taxpayers far more than the poor ones!!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.