Some years ago I read that one standard deviation in IQ (~15 IQ points) increased productivity by 1.6 times. For the last 5 years I've been trying to find this source and would greatly appreciate a referral to it. While I'm sure attitudes and other "social" factors affect productivity of the more intelligent person, the same can be said for the less intelligent person (resentment, frustration, etc.). The 1.6 factor has, subjectively, been my experience in the business world. Not only do less intelligent people perform tasks more slowly, they learn more slowly, make more mistakes, require more supervision, are less strategically oriented, and generally resent the fact that their opinions are less valued by co-workers and they are not rewarded as well as others. In fact, there must be some point on the IQ scale when an organization, because of errors, disruptions, required supervision, salary, and general productivity is actually loosing money by retaining the less intelligent person. Needless to say, I would like to read any studies addressing this question as even if this point is an IQ of 75, there are tens of millions of Americans who fall below this level and are costing more than they are contributing.
Finally, I smell the not to subtle whiff of political correctness in the implication that "dumb" people are more conscientious than the intelligent--a balancing out of qualities with disabilities because, of course, "we're all created equal."