Workaholics beware; an economist at the University of Michigan thinks taxing you might make you work less.

Joel Slemrod, a professor of business economics and public policy at U-M, along with another researcher at the University of Texas in Austin, found that people who are highly educated and earn a high salary can become addicted to their work.

This can lead to a myriad of health-related problems, like stress and high blood pressure. Workaholics also retire much later than others, which prolongs health problems, according to Slemrod.

Slemrod proposes that making workaholics pay higher taxes, similar to taxing cigarettes, could help them quit their behavior.

He points out that in the case of cigarette taxes, those with lower incomes pay more. A workaholic tax, he argues, should be paid by those with higher incomes.

Whatever drives some to work endlessly, it's their choice to do so, and their choice if they want to work less — not the government's.

People might work more because they like their jobs and feel emotionally fulfilled when working long hours or they like the things they can afford to buy with their money.

Working past what is emotionally or physically healthy might be a concern for some people, and counseling might be an appropriate way to help workaholics.

Implementing a higher tax could help by forcing people to cut back on their work, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Much like cigarette taxes haven't made all smokers quit, we can't be sure a workaholic tax would make people work less.

Curbing workaholics isn't something the government should be involved with.

Imagine the kind of burden that could be placed on businesses if workers who dedicate hours to their jobs suddenly decide they want to cut back because they are sick of higher taxes.

It's one of the basic tenants of the capitalist system we all live with. Many people who work more tend to make more money.

People who work long and hard deserve to make their own decisions about when to work less or retire. They might have their own reasons why they can't cut back, and those reasons probably vary from person to person.

Slemrod's proposal is just that, a proposal. That doesn't mean it's a good idea or that it's going to be implemented any time soon.

Any suggestion of taxing workaholics more would need intense scrutiny and study.

Working a lot isn't a crime and people who choose to do so should not be taxed more for it.