The United States used to be known around the world as a nation of hard-working people, but in the past decade or so, that tradition has gone by the wayside in favor of narcissistic pursuits, leaving this nation in a predicament where there are ever-more consumers who rarely or never work... and ever-fewer overworked producers.

Besides the national security risk of having a citizenry of “slackers,” who merely consume goods and services without giving anything in return and are lost in mindless social media, there is the instrinsic value of work.

Specifically, study and after study shows that work builds character, keeps the mind and body active and provides a sense of self-worth.

Sadly, in the Asheville area (and we know this is a nationwide problem), we see more and more people who never work and when not addictively gazing 24/7 at the screens on their cellphones, iPads or computers, wander around with an idiotic grin on their faces, armed with a latté, a sense of entitlement and an ever-developing skill to “game the system” to avoid work.

These folks (a hard-to-determine percentage of the city’s residents) do nothing, set a poor example for others and make this an even worse place.

That said, now we read that the Asheville City Schools could begin requiring that teaching assistants and custodians — the school system’s lowest paid employees — to double as bus drivers, too, as the ACS is unable to fill the bus driver job openings and must provide the service. (“Teaching assistants working with exceptional children would be exempt from the requirement,” an ACS press release stated.) 

We understand the need for the ACS to require some of its employees to drive its buses, but we also think that there needs to be a major push in the schools, churches and everywhere else to emphasize the value of work and earning a living over the empty life of a slacker.

In our estimation, the U.S. is in such awful shape with its economy suffering from a scarcity of workers that we need to encourage retirees, trust-fund babies, as well as anyone ranging from 13 years old to those elderly who are just short of death’s door, to get into — or back into — the workforce. 

We need bus drivers — and we need folks in all kinds of jobs going wanting — with strong, positive character traits and a sense of self-worth that is so developed they realize how badly the world needs their best work effort. now.