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Comment by wolverine876 | Hacker News Reader

If people aren't working, they need money from other sources. Where is it coming from? Is there any serious research on that question?

If it's spending savings, then the effect is temporary - savings will run out and labor supply will increase again. If it's spending less, we should see other negative economic effects.

If it's working for themselves, then what are the economic implications there? What is the economic impact of a major shift to new forms of employment and work? Is it sustainable?

> The burnout of startup culture is common

The article describes many people starting their own businesses - that is startup culture.

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Many people I know are making so much money (regular money, but they're single / not living lavishly so it adds up quickly) in tech that they work a few years and then quit for as long as they feel like it. They can only be accounted for as half a person's worth of workforce if they're only worked half the time.

(And really the only reason I think most people don't do this is the godawful state of American health insurance.)

That's what I'm doing. Health insurance hasn't been an issue because I generate the correct amount of income to qualify for the maximum ACA subsidy. I might get back into the labor market come January but haven't decided yet. For now my expenses are very low and I could go for years at this burn rate no problem. Maybe I'll work a year or two and if the pandemic is most over with by then, do a couple of years of traveling, which is much less expensive when you're not confined to restricted vacation time windows.

Yep. A year ago, I worked 2.5 months, and quit, and the cash I had from those 2.5 months kept be afloat for about 9 months after leaving the company. Granted, I am super frugal, minimalist, and don't have kids/wife.

Now though, I had to take cash out of savings due to vehicle mechanical problems + not landing job as quickly as I hoped-- I've also not interviewed a ton, so I need to play it as a "numbers game" again.

Have you read Thoreau?

I certainly shall, now that you mention it. Hopefully it will help me put my mind at ease.

(I look to Lao Tzu on this... on maintaining internal peace and intention towards abundance "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future.")

About to be broke again. 35 years old approaching.

I do not recommend living in a tent, but it's doable. And I may be living in a tent again in 2-3 months. No worries thoguh, it's up to me to pull me out of that predicament, and I know it can be done. It's largely a matter of online presence, a decent resume (even if partially BS as a matter of necessity in terms of... surviving), luck, and strategy.

A former marketer, so I am used to marketing myself strategically, with sprinkles and even dollops of BS if necessary, in order to literally survive and afford food.

As they say-- Necessity is the mother of invention. And this situation is largely owed only to own previous decisions and misjudgements.

Hey - just going on my impression here, but why beat yourself up? If this is what you like, then you're doing well; I'm sure Thoreau had doubts and fears - that's very possibly why he wrote about it. If it's not exactly what you like, you're just like the rest of us. Everyone is struggling and, IME, generally doing the best they can. Some people's struggles are more apparent to others (money, some addictions) and some less (and those with less apparent struggles often act like they have none). Compassion, for yourself and for others, is the ultimate weapon.

You sound courageous to me; it's inspiring to read how strong you are. I hope you find some peace tonight. Someone said to me, in a past life, 'what if you just stopped beating yourself up today, just for a day?'. Turned out that I really didn't need to do that any day. It's not like I wasn't trying, or that I'm not still trying and struggling.

>Savings will run out and labor supply will increase again.

This is my pet theory.

One dynamic that I think could be interesting is if enough people exit the labor force, and hold out for enough time, would it force employers to make concessions in order to re-attract laborers?

I already see this happening with always-remote or hybrid being thrown around as a perk in the “Who is Hiring” threads and on LinkedIn.

Maybe wage growth is finally on the horizon?

There's also the other side of the story... some people are actually trying to get a job, and are rejected (or more often ghosted) by companies that complain alot about not being able to get workers.

If remote work is still seen as an employer provided perk, the employer still doesn't get it and likely will do something stupid just as soon as they can.

> Savings will run out and labor supply will increase again.

Yet, before the pandemic there seemed to have been a plethora of articles proclaiming that young people are living paycheck to paycheck more than ever before. So where are those savings coming from?

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