Work Ethic

What Ehrenreich was trying to say in her essay is that "yuppies" (the "over-achievers" of the mid to late eighties) had a place in the work force, but their own self-absorbtion and pride became their downfall. Yuppies strived to work more than the average person was expected to work, and they actually seemed to enjoy working (I have no idea how they could possibly enjoy it), and they preferred working to the everyday luxuries in life. Yuppies worked so much so that they could have the best of the best in life, and anyone who didn't have "the best" wasn't worth their time. Yuppies looked down on these "normal" people as if they were the unwashed masses, it was a kill or be killed world to the Yuppies and they had to be on top. I agree with Ehrenreich 100%, as important as a good work ethic is, all other jobs are just as important in some other way, shape, or form. We still have "Yuppies" today in a way. There will always be those of us who have a strong drive when it comes to work, and greedy over-achievers are the ones who usually have this strong drive (basically the same thing as a Yuppie). However, we need McDonald's workers, trashmen, plumbers, and so on. Without these "lesser jobs" as Yuppies would probably have put it, we wouldn't be able to function day to day because someone HAS to get it done. Plus, even trashmen and plumbers can have strong work ethics, and just because they might not make as much money that doesn't mean that they're "lesser" than the working class.