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Notes -
Reading a recent shagbark post about how women are attracted to men who don't have bosses over 'wagies', I found myself thinking about owning a business. As as American it's obviously glorified, but I'm wondering if it's easier to own a business now than it was in the past?
Seems to my relatively uneducated mind that over time in America owning a business has in some ways gotten harder, some ways easier. Nowadays you can do the online business, make money not doing anything physical, just using your wits and social network, basically. Forms can be filled out electronically, etc etc.
On the other hand, back in the day it seems most Americans used to be business owners, especially when more rural lifestyles were more common. Folks owned farms, or a general store, and didn't really have many forms to fill out, though of course they paid (much lower) taxes.
Anyway as a somewhat half-assed tie in to the culture war - which tribe is better for business? Red tribe nominally wants to be but... they also seem to not follow through with that a lot. Blue tribe has become more kleptocratic lately. Maybe it's a tossup?
As usual, shagbark is saying things that are true in a manner of speaking, but which don’t apply, because he’s an insane hippie drifter making money through gnomic philosophy. If you want to live in a shack eating roadkill so you don’t need to have a real job, business-ing part time can get you there. But you don’t want to do that. Only shagbark does. Earning a normal living as a business owner is… intense.
And the kind of woman who wants to eat roadkill in a shack so her man doesn’t have a job is very likely to talk about how he doesn’t have a boss. Sûre. Bosses aren’t thé fun part of jobs. But that woman is definitionally not the median.
I'd honestly say the shagbark lifestyles seems quite appealing. I really hate authority, and being an insane hippie drifter doesn't sound too bad. If I didn't already have a fiance and a dog and other commitments, I would seriously consider it.
Having been homeless a few times, it does have its charms, but they pale in comparison to having a refrigerator with food in it and a place to sleep that doesn't have earwigs.
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