Let’s Drink the More-With-Less Kool-Aid!

If you want to do more with less and smile along the way, Bobby Jindal has some Kool-Aid for you. Americans can do anything. [AP TV/NYT]

If you haven’t had any yet, you will. As NPR’s Chana Joffe Walt points out, the more-with-less trope has a long history stretching back at least as far as Ben Franklin (though Nero and Caligula probably served up something similarly uplifting). The wisdom of the ages? It hasn’t always meant what your boss thinks.

The government says 7.6 percent of Americans are unemployed. That’s a scary number, but it means most workers still have jobs. These days, many employees are hearing four familiar words: Do more with less. Listen.