Rage Against the Machine

[Ballenxj]

shhh dont give them any ideas

Don't look now, but Soylent Green?

 

[TrainChaser]

If you're homeless, you're not a real person.

From the Dept. of Homeland Security: "Secure driver's licenses and identification documents are a vital component of our national security framework. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.” The Act established minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft."

Translation (thus far): you won't have to deal with TSA at the airports. See? There's a good side to everything.

 

[Blanch]

I found a ghost town with a few residents remaining and an artists vibe. Like Slab City but without the chaos. Maybe 25 residents left in the town. I saw a few places for sale. Maybe this would make a good home base for me. A $10,000 house and a few like minded neighbors? I don't know....... it's just a thought. A balance between life on the road and life in one place. It is very strange to no longer be middle class, I was for most of my life.
I'm happy on the road, but my health isn't going to allow me to do this forever.


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[rtb111]

Oh wow,  you're way down there.  Come to Burlington.  It's where all the cool people are.

TMG51... You're in Burlington?  I was just there a week or so ago.  Boondocked right down at the waterfront!  I always loved Burlington... oops, sorry for post hi-jacking!

 

[TMG51]

TMG51... You're in Burlington?  I was just there a week or so ago.  Boondocked right down at the waterfront!  I always loved Burlington... oops, sorry for post hi-jacking!

Yep, I can frequently be spotted near the skate park or other areas around the water.

 

[TrainChaser]

Blanche, check out the winters before you make any decisions. And how far from medical care.

 

[Blanch]

Blanche, check out the winters before you make any decisions. And how far from medical care.

If I did it it would not be a year round residence. I'd just have a home base when I want one, and a real address for the govt. But yeah, groceries and medical care are over an hour away.

But if I spent six months at Slab City the situation wouldn't be much different for getting affordable groceries and medical care. The big difference is that Slab City is squatting and the govt could close that place down anytime the decide to, and there aren't huge drug and arson problems in the ghost town.

But who knows. Maybe my feelings about getting some sort of land or house are just my former middle class feelings trying to drag me back.


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[akrvbob]

Here is a chart with data taken from the Census Bureau that shows that 

17% of workers make less than $10,000
26% of workers make less than $15,000
42% of workers make less than $25,000 (almost 100 million workers)

It's time to not just rage against the machine, it's time to abandon the machine and live life on your own terms.

 

[jonsun]

in all fairness that's a bit misleading. Min wage is over $10k a year so the data is either pre-2007 or including part-time workers. the median income for an individual is about $28k a year.....that's MEDIAN which includes all kinds of people making wayyyy more driving that number artificially high.

but the sentiment is gotdamn refreshing to hear! unfortunately us not old enough for SS or SSDI have to find work to eat and drive. It becomes very hard to both pay rent, buy a decent vehicle, and have a responsible nestegg for vandwelling or homesteading.

 

[IanC]

Here is a chart with data taken from the Census Bureau that shows that 

17% of workers make less than $10,000
26% of workers make less than $15,000
42% of workers make less than $25,000 (almost 100 million workers)

It's time to not just rage against the machine, it's time to abandon the machine and live life on your own terms.

And, of course the new big lie is "Well Social Security was never intended to be a retirement - just a supplement to your own savings"  ********, Social Security WAS supposed to be a retirement pension for those who worked low income jobs where it was near impossible to save.

Nice that public servants are retiring at 75K + a year, but society needs everyone - the barbers, the ballet teachers, the small mechanic shops, the diner grill cooks and it's a crime that those people are trying to live on $1,200 a month retirement while the retired mail men are cruising around in $170,000 Class A's

 

[Ballenxj]

And, of course the new big lie is "Well Social Security was never intended to be a retirement - just a supplement to your own savings"  ********, Social Security WAS supposed to be a retirement pension for those who worked low income jobs where it was near impossible to save.

You are absolutely right about that. And to go a step further, they are slyly lumping those that paid into SS with those that never did, but are collecting anyway, then calling them all entitlement people?

 

[slynne]

It is hard to predict the future but as an armchair economist (B.S. level) I will just say that things dont look good. Those at the bottom are going to hurt more in the coming years. I really do see more nomads hitting the road because it really is a way to live well for little money. Real wages have been in decline for decades, most likely due to technology. That is something likely to only get worse. I can already see it happening at my job although so far I have been on the winning side of it. 

I do about twice the work I did ten years ago because technology has made my job more efficient. I make about 50% more than I did ten years ago. The winners are me and the company I work for. The loser is the person we didn't hire because we didn't need to. Multiply that over an entire economy and you have a lot of people not hired. 

That means labor is plentiful. It means workers will accept not only lower wages but bad treatment at work too. Reddit and other online forums are filled with tales of straight up abusive managers. Before my current job I worked for one and I have never felt so helpless in my entire life. In fact, one of the main reasons I am saving for a van is that I want to put myself in a position where I don't NEED my job. I happen to like my job so I don't plan on quitting but that isn't the point.

I will say though that this minimalist trend, both nomadic and the more stationary kind  is a very healthy response to the situation. Most of us are going to have less than we otherwise would but hopefully we can learn as a culture that we really can be happy with less stuff. I also hope we can learn to treat everyone with dignity too.

 

[TrainChaser]

The problem as seen by a very rich man...

"Billionaire Warren Buffett Says the Problem with the U.S. Economy is People Like Him": http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/27/warr...blem-with-the-economy-is-people-like-him.html