[quote=davelj][quote=CA renter]Wealth and hard work/productivity are not directly correlated, IMHO.[/quote]
I will agree that they are not PERFECTLY correlated. I might also agree that they are not DIRECTLY correlated (or is that a distinction without a difference?). However, will you at least acknowledge that in a large population wealth and hard work/productivity are GENERALLY correlated? That is if you were to run a regression of hard work/productivity units (independent variable) versus wealth units (dependent variable), the resulting R-squared would be at least 60% or so? (Such that wealth is in a meaningfully positive manner a function of hard work/productivity.)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Taleb and believe that most successful folks underestimate the role of luck in their success… but I do believe that there’s a significant positive correlation between wealth and hard work/productivity. Although certainly not nearly as positive as most would like.[/quote]
Yes, in general, people who have better educations and who worker harder/smarter will be wealthier than those who do no work at all. One can hardly disagree with that.
I’m referring to generalities of the outliers in the set of people who work. Of people who work and who have equivalent educations, I think networks (including familial wealth and/or social standing) will affect a person’s wealth/income far more than their work ethic or productivity.
