I understand the logic when this is argument comes up, but it's not accurate. If Branch is smart, most of his earnings from his career are in accounts that can only be touched with heavy penalties before he reaches normal retirement age, and his earning potential (from wages) is severely depressed from this point forward.
For him, thousands of dollars (at a minimum, $23,000 plus a per diem and possibly a nominal signing bonus) is still thousands of dollars. That's a year of in-state tuition at a public university for a loved one. It's over 4 years of the maximum Roth IRA contribution for himself or a loved one. All for 5 days of work, 30 days at most.