As much as we love money, we love something else even more: security. According to a 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of U.S. adults prefer a job that offers better security over one that offers higher pay but less stability (33 percent). Researchers insist this value isn't driven by the current economic crisis, either. A General Social Survey in 1989—a year of economic expansion—produced similar results.