When Japanese cars became more popular during the 1980s, it came with the myth that North American workers were "lazy" and "greedy" ... for wanting basic worker's protections and a living wage. That myth helped usher in the original Free Trade Agreement, which led to the beginning of foreign outsourcing and the subsequent shift to moving manufacturing to Asia.

When I visited Greece in 1992 (before the Euro and EU were things, and they still used the Drachma), the people were fairly happy and, while I thought it was a bit ... quaint .. they didn't seem "poor". BUT there were a lot of beggars on the street, mostly old or disabled, selling things like pens and lighters and such (I got berated for buying off an Armenian because I didn't know the difference ....) because they had no welfare system. So then later I hear about "lazy greedy" Greeks, but also see that they're expected to host swarms of invaders in four-fucking-star hotels (IOW, the welfare that came with the EU was never meant for Greeks!)

So now we're lazy and greedy because bread and milk and beef cost too much. But oh, don't talk about the African beef industry .... see: Botswana