Elon Musk’s assertion that “the number of people who are super talented engineers and super motivated in the USA is far too low” was hit with an immediate wave of criticism. While Musk’s statement may be true, a deeper issue may be the prevailing sense of privilege rather than gratitude among a large segment of young Americans entering the workforce. They are put to shame by the strong work ethic of immigrants, driven by gratitude for the opportunities the United States offers, strengthening their desire to stay. Some American college graduates make for poor contrast, seeking not opportunity but a focus on “safe space” and an emphasis on individual needs over collective responsibility.
This attitude, often called entitlement, springs from the belief that one deserves something, often without having earned it or having a legitimate claim to it. It is a sense of having a right to certain benefits, regardless of the needs or contributions of others. Entitlement can manifest in various ways, such as expecting special treatment, feeling superior to others, or demanding things without consideration for the consequences.
Gratefulness, on the other hand, is the quality or state of recognizing that no matter how much we give, others give more back to us, constantly. Above all, it is an appreciation for what one has, rather than focusing on what one lacks. Gratitude involves recognizing and acknowledging the positive aspects of life, both big and small, and expressing appreciation for the people and things that contribute to one’s well-being. It is a mindset that focuses on abundance and positivity, rather than scarcity and negativity.
The distinction is critical in today’s competitive global market.
Entitlement and gratefulness traits can be discovered based on Your Tax Return Selfie, a copyrighted process developed by Dan Hutchins, a CPA in Overland Park, Kansas. Hutchins has reviewed tax returns of U.S. Presidents going back to Eisenhower and determined which were entitled and grateful. It should come as no surprise that President Biden is the most entitled president in modern history. In a year when Biden received W2 wages of $200,000, his total charitable giving was $300, about one-tenth of one percent. His charitable giving in relationship to income remains consistently low throughout his career. His recent actions only confirm this attitude. In contrast, President Trump’s tax return shows he is grateful. Trump’s income is all self-created and comes from assets he has built over the years on his own. Building tremendous wealth demonstrates gratefulness. Furthermore, when he became president, he did not take a salary, which is a contribution to the country. Finally, he is very charitable through his foundation and corporate giving. An example is the Al Smith dinner that he began attending with his father as a young man, demonstrating his father training him to be charitable and instilling in him the virtue of gratefulness.
This is perhaps indicative of the political divide in America today.
Managerial science offers some guidance on managing these personality differences in the workplace. Richard Beyer, Ph.D., President of INTEGRITAS®, a company in Kansas City, Missouri, conducts personality assessments of prospective employees for organizations to predict person-job-culture fit. Beyer says, “There is no universally ‘good’ or ‘bad’ personality profile for various jobs.” Nevertheless, profiles have positive and negative implications based on organizational culture and job requirements. Premier assessments measure bright-side personality characteristics, dark-side attributes (e.g., entitlement), motives, values, and preferences. Psychometrically sound assessments improve hiring accuracy and are best used for both selection and development.
As the incoming administration’s DOGE leaders look to improve America’s productivity and competitiveness, it would be helpful if they took a hard look at the issue of entitlement in a multifaceted approach that includes:
- Reframing educational approaches, shifting the focus in higher education from solely individual needs to a greater emphasis on personal responsibility, civic engagement, and the development of a strong work ethic.
- Promoting a culture of gratitude and encouraging a broader societal emphasis on appreciation of hard work and the contribution of others.
- Implementing a robust employee selection process that utilizes personality assessments and other tools to identify individuals with the potential for success and a strong work ethic.
- Fostering a supportive and challenging work environment by providing mentorship, coaching, and opportunities for professional development to help employees overcome challenges and thrive.
It will do us no good for DOGE to reform the operations of the government if we don’t also work to reform the culture. That begins not in Washington, but with every parent, student, and teacher. A culture shift from entitlement to is perhaps the greatest long-term reform we could make.
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Appointed a U.S. Federal Judge and serving the Court in Richmond, Virginia, Elliot M. Kaplan now consults formulating and managing strategies in litigation, legislation, and regulatory matters.
I find this piece completely out of touch with reality. American careers and opportunity were sacrificed on the altar of corporate profits for decades. It’s gone on for so long, it’s become an acceptable method to boost profits, not true innovation or ingenuity. The entire middle class was sacrificed in order to increase profits for Wall Street and the investor class. There IS a class war in the United States and it seems this guy, a judge, is arguing for the other side.
Trump was elected by the working class; decimated by ever cheaper foreign labor imported at rates and in numbers which has overwhelmed society. Wages? Flat or falling for decades for ordinary working people. Market returns during the same period? Up 1,337%! There are so many indicators that Americans have no reason to be grateful in this country, and yet so many continue to be.
The only ingratitude I see is from people like Musk and Ramaswamy: both with immigrant or near-immigrant backgrounds. Musk’s replacement of Americans with H1Bs argues for his ouster from ANY position in government. Ramaswamy’s complaints about normal American pastimes like football and proms demonstrate he has yet to assimilate into the culture which attracted his own parents to the United States. In fact, no amount of money or assets can diminish the pair’s arrogance in lecturing Americans while they shove their hands in Uncle Sam’s wallet (especially Musk).
Buckle up. It’s going to be a very, very bumpy ride.
I have been in and around manufacturing for most of the last 40 years and there has been a definite shift in workplace culture. Decades ago, there used to be a broad understanding in our manufacturing sector that it takes both workers and managers to make a company successful; that if you treated your employees well, you would receive their loyalty, through ups & downs in the market, in return and a plant manager might earn 2 or 3 times what the average line worker made but no more. You could, through hard work & dedication, start on the production floor and retire from the plant managers office.
In the mid-to-late 90s, when the men who understood this dynamic between blue and white collar employees began retiring, that balance changed. Compensation packages for the upper tiers of management ballooned, golden parachutes were offered to people who had literally driven the company they were in charge of into bankruptcy or receivership (screwing both the stockholders and the line workers on the way out), during a time when the average blue collar employees’ salaries were barely, if at all, keeping up with the cost of living. Advancement from a line job to any supervisory position required a 4-yr degree --*any *degree–whether it had a bearing on their job or not ( l knew one department head in a small engine plant who had an animal husbandry degree and another who was a sport therapy major). Whole swathes of industrial processes were outsourced to other countries or the entire operation was moved to places with reduced labor cost but increased quality control issues & increased transportation costs while upper echelons were paid increasingly outrageous salaries for making those decisions.
The point that I am trying to make is that, while the author has some valid points about the need for a cultural shift, employers need to be willing to invest in training the young people of this country rather than outsourcing jobs or importing workers, corporations should offer more scholarships in return for work commitments in those areas that do require a college degree and government needs to stop pushing college as the ultimate metric for measuring professional success for everyone. There is no, nor should there be, shame in a job that gets your hands dirty; it’s beyond time that we, as a society, stop acting as if it is.