That's a misinterpretation of what I was suggesting as the alternative. Lower output + more leisure doesn't mean the "leisure" is concentrated entirely in a few workers, making them full-time leisurists who starve. Rather, it means that anyone who wants to work for money would work fewer hours and have a lower level of consumption, not zero consumption.

Unfortunately, in the United States, you really would end up with much more of the former and less of the latter. Europe would be better off, though, thanks to different labor laws; would you suggest that the United States adopt something like France's maximum 35 hour workweek, or Germany's subsidies to part-time workers?

Currently, hours worked per week is positively correlated with hourly wages; one person working 80 hours a week usually makes more money than two people who both work 40 hours a week. Also, specifically wanting to do part-time work is a bad signal to employers. It signals that you're not committed to your job, that you're probably lazy, and that you're weird. So, absent government intervention, you probably won't see people voluntarily reducing their working hours.