Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how idleness can negatively impact those who are active and engaged in work.
Thomas Sowell's quote emphasizes the tendency of individuals who lack purpose or tasks to distract or burden those who are productive. This distraction not only highlights the contrast between different attitudes towards work but also serves as a reminder of the importance of valuing one's time and the time of others. It suggests that those who are busy should guard their time against the unproductive behaviors of others.
In practice
In a meeting discussing project deadlines, this quote can remind team members to stay focused.
Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Blacks were not enslaved because they were black but because they were available. Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. Whites enslaved other whites in Europe for centuries before the first black was brought to the Western hemisphere. Asians enslaved Europeans. Asians enslaved other Asians. Africans enslaved other Africans, and indeed even today in North Africa, blacks continue to enslave blacks.
One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
I'm often reassured in a bizarre - perhaps perverse - way when I find in the archive stuff that contradicts what my assumptions have been. That's interesting and exciting.
The criterion of action is that todays work should not be deferred till the following day.
When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, and dignified as a king. Immersed in wonder, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas.
To be honest, I've never been interested in how many games I've done and seen. It doesn't mean anything to anybody. All I know is I'm eternally grateful for having been allowed to work so many games.
The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.
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