Spending More By Earning More Is Not Living Beyond One's Means
13 February 2008
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
At least a full-sized op-ed is required to address the many wrong-headed presumptions, factual errors, and non sequiturs that mar Robert Reich's "Totally Spent" (February 13). The most blatant mistake, however, is Mr. Reich's assertion that women entering the workforce, and people working longer hours, are examples of how Americans "live beyond their paychecks."
When more family members work, and when those who work do so for more hours per week, families' paychecks increase. Working more might be good or bad - it might be evidence of underlying economic problems - but it emphatically is not a means of living beyond a paycheck.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University™
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
At least a full-sized op-ed is required to address the many wrong-headed presumptions, factual errors, and non sequiturs that mar Robert Reich's "Totally Spent" (February 13). The most blatant mistake, however, is Mr. Reich's assertion that women entering the workforce, and people working longer hours, are examples of how Americans "live beyond their paychecks."
When more family members work, and when those who work do so for more hours per week, families' paychecks increase. Working more might be good or bad - it might be evidence of underlying economic problems - but it emphatically is not a means of living beyond a paycheck.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University™
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Wednesday July 2, 2008 at 10:48am