Today I saw The Thumbsucker, a watchable movie about a troubled but talented 17-year-old with a bad thumb sucking habit.  It got me thinking: What’s the effect of thumb sucking on income? 

If the thumb sucker is flexible enough to refrain until he’s proven his worth on the job, I suspect the effect would be small.  We’ve all got our eccentricities.  But suppose the thumb sucker interviews with his thumb in his mouth?  I say he wouldn’t get his foot – or thumb – in the door.  He’d be nigh unemployable.  Why?  Because he acts weird even when the stakes are high, signaling serious problems for his employer and co-workers.

Am I wrong?