[Karunamon]

>Without compelling evidence otherwise, I tend to subscribe to the theory of revealed preferences - our actions reveal what we really want.

It doesn't make sense to assume that people who are not working are doing so just out of a desire to avoid work.

>But you are logically correct, there are some possibilities, e.g., the poor would prefer to have a job but irrationally don't look for one.

Or there are no jobs within distance that pay the bills (i.e. what's the point of flipping burgers for minimum wage - it won't pay the rent and feed the kids). In which case it stops being an argument of utility and one of common sense - it makes none to work at a job which would be a pointless treadmill in which you stand a zero chance of ever getting back on your feet.

What bothers me is that you're assuming preference from raw data. This is a problem when the data does not support (or even attempt to) support any such conclusion - does it take into account local conditions?

If not, then any such analysis (including yours) is baseless.