>> "The work ethos is different as well, europeans tend to regard extreme outliers in wealth as extreme outliers, less as role models. > What does that have to

>> "The work ethos is different as well, europeans tend to regard extreme outliers in wealth as extreme outliers, less as role models. > What does that have to do with work ethos? Do you think there is a strong correlation between working hard and the dream of becoming extremely wealthy? Of the four options, (born poor/rich, working hard/slacking) I agree that (born poor & slacking) is highly unlikely to make you wealthy, but that is about it. I'm sorry I was unclear. I meant that as a list of items that tend to be different not that the work ethos is different in the issue of rich people as role models. Two minor nitpick: Studies show that of the 4 options (born poor/rich, working hard/slacking) two are bad: Born poor is highly unlikely to make you wealthy. Slacking will make things worse, but in general the equation "born (modestly) rich -> die rich" and "born poor -> die poor" holds true. [1] Calling in sick in Germany is a bit more difficult: By default you only need a doctors approval after the third day. The employer can demand a medical certificate on day one if they choose to. Small businesses get most of the wage paid by the health insurance for the period that they have the doctors certificate, so they tend to be stricter about it. [1] see for example http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2006/04/26/1917/understanding-mobility-in-america/ http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2006/04/... for the american case, sadly social mobility is not on an acceptable level in germany either. Nordic countries tend to be better in that respect.