this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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Many people would be surprised how many homeless people have (hard science) degrees or used to be very succesful. Bad luck, medical debt, (mental-)health issues, company goes bankrupt due to circumstances beyond your control, etc.
The world isn't fair. You can work really hard, and end up in the oven of a concentration camp, despite what the slogan above the gate said.
Of course, if you're a relatively talentless hack who's won the equivalent of the lottery despite not really deserving it that much, it's nicer to think that you deserve it because of your inate talent. Vanity. It's the Devil's favourite sin.
I know a couple homeless men who were programmers and burned out, got depressed and gave up
That checks out.
Master's degree in microbiology with a serious disability here. If not for my wife, I'd have been on the streets since it took 23 doctors to get a diagnosis. This lady can get fucked.
I have a CS degree and spent a couple months in my backseat.
Bow chica bow wow....oh, you meant something else... /s
Medical debt is so underappreciated and it is no joke. It can add up very, very high and very, very quickly.
Also without any warning or planning -- could be cancer, could be a freak accident. You never know if/when a medical emergency might happen, so you're always in an odd state of financial limbo even though it may not appear that way. You could be doing just fine squirreling away a few hundred or thousand here and there and one trip to the ER will quickly take back most of that nest egg. Even with insurance, it's absurd how much you can still be on the hook for. What's the alternative though, forgo medical treatment?
oof.