States of sloth?

“Scene in Club Lounge,’’ by Thomas Rowlandson

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

I’m not sure what a recent study by WalletHub seeming to rank Rhode Island 49th state in the country (with West Virginia 50th) in hard work means. (GoLocal ran a story on this on Aug. 26.) Does this mostly reflect the Ocean State’s aging population, its too slow transition from the old mill culture or its ancient and well-known negativity and surliness (see Facebook’s usual Tea Party-style comments below this column) or most likely a mix of them and many other factors, despite Rhode Island’s many beauties.

The survey includes as work time annual volunteer hours for charities, etc.\

On that, I’ve long noticed close up the state’s low level of participation in nonprofit civic organizations and in charitable giving (in a state ranked around 19th in per-capita income). I have served on several nonprofit boards over the years in Rhode Island and on several elsewhere. (I’ve lived and/or worked in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and France, and seen more volunteerism there than here.) Given the state’s compactness, dense population and all-around intimacy, this dearth of volunteerism in Rhode Island has always surprised me.

Comparative surveys are fun to read but there’s often less to them than meets the eye. I noted that very rich Massachusetts was ranked lazy, at 38th, and very rich Connecticut, even lazier, at 44th. Greater Boston and much of Connecticut are known for their work ethic – an ethic that has helped make them rich. North Dakota, heavy into oil and gas production and agribusiness was ranked the most hard-working.

To read the WalletHub study, please hit this link.