After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America
I&#x27;m not as bad off as this woman but the difference is irrelevant in the big picture as I won&#x27;t survive either. I am in my 40s with no skills, a dead CV and the expectation that if I really wanted it I would just pull on my non existent bootstraps. Over a decade ago my life was ruined by medical mistakes. It cost me my career and everything I had worked for. It started a long road of being denied assistance from disability and other programs as I fell in every crack or got unfair adjudicators. I was not able to navigate the legal system for recompense as it was loaded on the side of the doctors despite common belief.<p>I survived this long on a partial pension from my job, a large savings since I lived frugally, and occasional assistance from others. My health has worsened, problems and needs have piled up, the occasional assistance has tricked off mostly, and I have no hope.<p>Most people ignore me, some give useless advice that makes them feel like they did something, and nothing changes. In the end it comes back to victim blaming and me not trying hard enough. People who have health, security, and lives and cannot imagine what it&#x27;s like to live in so much pain and have no real options love to judge.<p>I have tried and considered all the usual advice like &quot;learn to code&quot; or &quot;just do content writing&quot; that comes along to disabled and isolated people. At my age and with the stability issues I have it&#x27;s not realistic. People don&#x27;t seem to get that. I should be getting assistance but this country doesn&#x27;t do it like the rest of the first world so I am expected to suffer more just to stay alive in pain. I am moving abroad to a cheaper country to try and stretch my pension but I won&#x27;t survive there either without earning and I cannot find any feasible way to earn that doesn&#x27;t make things worse. Seeing people talk about people like me here in terms of &quot;usefulness to society&quot; enrages me. I served society...I did good in the world...that life was stolen and society rejected me. We are legion.