And I Thought It Only Made You Poorer…

3 Responses

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1. johnny dollar says

   hah, i appreciate the humour of the reversed cause/effect ~ but seriously i think it’s just more likely that those who are inclined to drink are those who are a bit more… industrious? i find teetotalers have a bit more… issues? dunno, fuhgetaboutit and have another beer

   September 20, 2006, 8:38 am EST
2. Denny says

   I’m not sure how these results were determined or how valid they are, but I wouldn’t take them as gospel. Part of the problem is that the report, as interpreted by you in your post, seems to imply a causal relationship: drinking more alcohol will result in higher income. Therefore, if you want to make more money, all you have to do is drink more alcohol. To point out how absurd this is, let’s take this logic to its extreme: If you want to make a ton of money, drink your butt off until you can’t remember your name. This will make you rich beyond your wildest expectations.

   Reports like this usually point to an association or correlation between variables, not causation. So in this instance it was found that there was a direct relationship between drinking alcohol and income: as income increases, so does drinking. Remember also, that when studies like this are done, they are done on “groups” of people. In other words, the higher the income of group A, the higher the alcohol intake (as a group) as compared to group B whose members do not drink.

   An example might help. As a group, college graduates make significantly more money during their working lives than college dropouts do (as a group). Does this mean that EVERY college graduate makes more money than EVERY college dropout over the course of their working lives? Of course not. Perhaps the best evidence to confirm what I am saying is this: Bill Gates is a college dropout who just happens to be the wealthiest person in the world!

   DenMan7
   http://www.About-Alcohol-Abuse.com

   December 4, 2006, 9:12 pm EST
3. Jason J. Thomas says

   Denny: Apparently, your sense of humor fails you concerning this post. To presume that I would make such a leap of logic as what you suggest is, to be frank, quite unrealistic given my educational background.

   That said, allow me to refute your statement concerning the earnings of college graduates versus those of college dropouts. Sure, you mention that we are looking at groups, but the generalization being made is based upon statistical sampling, e.g., comparing the distribution of earnings over a sample of college graduates as compared to the distribution of earnings over a sample of college dropouts. Based upon that distribution–most assuredly conforming to the much-observed Bell curve, one can also argue that Mr. Gates is a statistical outlier. The use of statistical outliers to prove a point is dangerous, as you are staking yourself to a possibly indefensible position.

   That said, I restate my earlier point about this post being a humorous one.

   December 5, 2006, 10:14 am EST