The whole premise is based on the straw man term "hard work" which isn't the same as "smart work". Digging holes and filling them back up again is certainly "ha

The whole premise is based on the straw man term "hard work" which isn't the same as "smart work". Digging holes and filling them back up again is certainly "hard work", but that doesn't mean it's valuable work. We have always valued smart work over hard work in this country which is why we've grown to the economic superpower that we have. Another aspect of "hard work" that isn't ever mentioned is what you do with the money you earn from such work. If you're saving every penny you can in service to some long term goal, and then apply that money to achieving that goal, then you're doing hard work but also making wise financial decisions. It doesn't matter what type of work you're doing in that case because being financially wise will always pay off.