For the first time since the pandemic began, my credit card debt is $0. And yet I’m not relieved, because I have so many other debts, each an insidious weight on my so called “American Dream.” 👎
Much like many of my friends on this platform, I also carry student loans, a car loan, and most recently a house loan. My partner still has her credit card debt, plus throw on some medical debt too.
In some ways, having a car loan or a house loan is a real privilege. But a part of me rebels against that idea, believing it to be propaganda to coerce the common person to accept a country that now has 17.3 trillion dollars in consumer debt, more than it ever has before. Like… ya’ll, should we not be able to own homes? 🤔
As a small business founder and owner, I’m even MORE frustrated. Because the modest revenue that my business generates (that I’m still extremely proud of!) gets double taxed, first as business income, and then as personal, despite big businesses getting away with paying next to nothing. Plus, now that I’ve been laid off for the second time in 2 years (hooray game industry), I get to look forward to paying for my own medical insurance again.
The older generations look at the fatalism of the younger generations with judgment. They claim we don’t budget correctly or that we don’t want to work… or that we eat freakin’ avocado toast, or whatever other mumbo jumbo that lets them conveniently shift the blame from their own shoulders.
And that’s because, for the most part, they are to blame. Or at least the ones at the top are. We’re in a boiling frog situation, the temperature slowly turning up while we consistently tell the powers that be that things are bad, and consistently have them ignore us in favor of lining their own pockets.
The solution? Well, I don’t really know. I would love to hear your thoughts. I suppose there are two things I believe can help:
1. Vote, and get active. At the local level, not just the top. And please, *actually* take a look at how the stances of your elected officials will affect your bottom line. Please *do not* just blindly vote. This *is not* a freaking popularity contest, it’s the future of our country. Because *all* politicians love telling their constituents little white lies to get into office.
2. Figure out how to make income your own way, unaffiliated with others. Take back financial control. It’s a TON of work. I won’t lie. And often it pays worse. But here I am, without a job, again, and yet the Indie Game Academy and all you wonderful people have my back. 💜
That is all. I just noticed that after finally paying back all my credit card debt, almost 5 years in the making, I didn’t feel relief. And that felt wrong.
What do you think we need to do? How do we fix this?
Repost if you believe the world is entering hardcore mode 🔥 🐶 🔥
