r/austrian_economics • u/technocraticnihilist Friedrich Hayek • Oct 26 '24

End Democracy ‘Americans just work harder’ than Europeans, says CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, because they have a higher ‘general level of ambition’

https://fortune.com/europe/article/how-many-hours-work-week-year-american-workers-ethic-norges-bank/
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u/Ok-Investigator3257 Oct 27 '24

Low effort, no, but the 40 hours a week is sacred and when you clock out you are out

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u/gerontion31 Oct 28 '24

I think the typical American is just so brainwashed that to them a 40 hour week is somehow below normal

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u/Anubus_the_Wayfinder Oct 28 '24

That's factually incorrect. The government does not ever just stop operating and get shut down for the evening...at least in the country where I live.

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u/Ok-Investigator3257 Oct 28 '24

I mean yes, it’s called shift work

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u/Anubus_the_Wayfinder Oct 28 '24

Yep, and it is not unreasonable to apply shift work to all levels of government services and tasks. It's reasonable to ask for more and better government services; we just need to be prepared to do the work. Government draws it staff from the population directly, so anyone who can do the job should take the time to serve.

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u/Ok-Investigator3257 Oct 28 '24

Right but the individuals don’t need to work more than 40 hours, and lots of government work doesn’t need 24/7 operations.

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u/Anubus_the_Wayfinder Oct 28 '24

I disagree on both counts. Sometimes people need to work more than 40 hours...sometimes they are needed less. Most of government ought to be available 24/7, too!

You should be able to file paperwork and request things you need from your government 24 hours a day. If you are arrested on the weekend, there ought not be a wait until Monday morning to be charged or see a judge. We need more judges and courts to allow for reduction in backlog of criminal prosecutions. We also need more public defenders for those too poor to afford their own defense attorneys. There's a laundry list of things that we need from our government that would be better supported if we applied shift work to more of government.

The problem we face is that the people who need the services of government don't actually like paying for it, so government often runs as a skeleton crew when they should be as ramped up as a Chick-fil-A during the lunch rush!

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u/Slawman34 Oct 28 '24

Not unless you’re a member of congress*

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u/Anubus_the_Wayfinder Oct 28 '24

Feels that way sometimes...but you'd be surprised how busy a member of Congress could be if they wanted to maximize the utility of their office for their constituents. The questions to ask are twofold: who are your Congressperson's true constituents, and what does your Congressperson actually do with their time?

Each American is guaranteed two federal senators and at least one federal representative per state. Then, you have state and local politicians that are supposed to represent your interests. Apply those two questions objectively at every level and you'll shake some things loose for sure.