One of my friends works for a trucking company. The company recently announced no raises or bonuses for the next year. And this was before one of their largest clients cancelled their contracts. She’s worried she might be getting laid off within the coming months. I think she has good reason to be worried. Companies have been laying off white collar office workers since the end of the pandemic by the thousands even though they are still profitable. I’m convinced many of these layoffs can be attributed to the rise of cheap automation and AI. Another friend of mine worked for an internet provider in a major metro area during the pandemic. He was classified as an ‘essential worker.’ Caught covid three times, his wife died of ovarian cancer, and he still got laid off (along with his entire department) in spring 2022. My best friend works for a real estate management company, makes decent money, has no student loans, but still can’t afford to rent a one bedroom apartment in her city. She could do much of her job remotely (and wants to move to a cheaper rural area) but her company refuses to play ball with her. Another friend of mine is a teacher in a rural area in the Midwest. He has three small children. Even his house has doubled in value since he and his wife bought back in 2017. This isn’t a fancy suburb, it’s a small farming town. He says most of the available housing is being bought up by well to do retirees from out of state. In some cases, these people just use these places as rentals. Since wages in rural areas are already lower than urban areas, many of the locals can not afford to even rent these houses they could have easily afforded even ten years ago. Many people can’t even afford to be renters, unless they have roommates, second jobs, government assistance, help from family, or all of the above.

Everyone I know is struggling. About the only person my age I know whom isn’t struggling is my brother. He works as an electrical engineer for a defense contractor. He’s in his mid 40s, has a masters’ in business and engineering, and makes really good money. But even he could be subject to getting laid off in favor of a younger and cheaper engineer. His wife works for the same company. It’s possible they could both get laid off at the same time. While engineering jobs are safer than accounting or most office work, there still is no such thing as job security anymore. We are all hired guns these days. Your boss simply does not give a damn about you, how hard you work, how loyal you are, your family, your community, etc. They simply can’t afford to anymore, especially not with the competition being world wide and now including automation, AI, and robots. My parents had to compete with only other Americans. My generation had to compete with the entire world. My nephews’ generation has to compete with the entire world and machines.

Bosses don’t care about workers any more than they are legally obligated to. Never have. Never will. It’s why slavery in it’s various forums was (and still is) so big. Slavery used to be accepted as normal and even legally protected for most of written history. Minimum wage laws became a thing precisely because bosses would pay even lower if they could. And don’t even get me started on company towns and stores. Those are starting to make a comeback in some places. And since much of the work can now be automated, outsourced, etc. to machines, they really can get away with making it obvious they don’t care about workers and their communities.

I have to admit, seeing my friends and family struggle in their early 40s makes me kind of thankful to have schizophrenia. Sure, the paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, depression, and chronic anxiety suck, but at least I have some kind of social security disability pension, easy access to medical care, low-income housing possibilities, etc. The medical treatments may not be top quality, but I’m not going to go bankrupt if I get cancer or have to have a long term stay in a mental hospital.

In some twisted ways developing schizophrenia in my late teens and struggling really bad in my twenties until I qualified for social security disability was a blessing in disguise. Sure, it took me many years to realize it, but I am debt free, child free, never been married or divorced, have some emergency savings, and I get to spend all day every day just expanding my knowledge and learning new skills. In some sick backwards kind of way, I stumbled into my dream life. I always wanted to be a scholar.

I always felt more at home in old libraries, museums, art galleries, writers’ conferences, and educational sites on YouTube then I ever did even in my own house. For me, getting to acquire knowledge is the greatest job I could ever have. It might not pay well, but it has taught me how to live (and acquire some savings) even on disability wages. Sure I’ll never get rich and own a nice house in the burbs, but I don’t want to be a homeowner.

In my case, it’s better to be a renter. I can easily move, if need be, I don’t have to worry about fixing my own toilet, don’t have to mow lawns or shovel snow, have easy access to public transit and Uber services, etc. Besides, does anyone really own their own home outright even if it is completely paid off? Try not paying your property taxes and HOA fees and you will find out pretty damn quick who really is in charge of your castle. In short, I may not have good health, children, a wife, a career, prestige, etc. Yet, I feel more content and at ease with my lot in life than most of my friends and family who do have such things.