Do you feel like a puppet controlled by your paycheck?

Could we envision a time when people are liberated from working jobs they detest?

In the future, people might look back at how we work for money and think it's crazy! They might say, "I can't believe people were okay with being treated like that just to earn a living." I hope working for wages will seem outdated and unfair in 100 years.

Being a wage slave means you're stuck in a job just for the money. You can't leave because it would have bad effects on you and your family. For instance, in America, quitting your job not only means losing money but also losing your healthcare coverage.

This is just not fair. Some people have to stay at their jobs because if they get hurt and can't work, they won't have enough money to pay their bills. It's like they're stuck in a bad situation and can't do anything about it.

Since the pandemic started, lots of workers, such as people who work in meat-packing plants, have to keep going to work even though they might get sick. There are so many people in the U.S. (and probably even more around the world) who are stuck in jobs they don't like but can't quit.

When you're thinking about all the stuff you have to do, it can be easier to break it down into four groups:

1. Having a job where you get paid to do something you love is awesome! It means you have found your dream job.
2. If you're having fun doing something without getting paid, that's awesome! You've got yourself a hobby.
3. Doing things you don't enjoy without getting paid can feel like a total drag. But hey, it's just one of those things we all have to do. Like folding laundry and washing dishes - not exactly fun, but it's just part of life.
4. If you're stuck doing a job you don't like just for the money, then you're a wage slave in the final quadrant.

Having a job means there will be some stuff you don't like doing. But that's okay! A job doesn't have to be amazing all the time to be a good job. As long as you have reasons besides "I need money to survive," then it's not like you're a slave to your paycheck. Having fun with your coworkers, going through the ups and downs, or getting cool benefits can make a job pretty awesome and worth it.

Sometimes we have to do jobs we don't like while we work our way up in our careers. When I finished high school, I worked as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant in the evenings and on weekends to earn some extra money. It wasn't a fun job, but I did it for the cash. As soon as I had some experience to put on my resume, I started looking for a job that didn't involve washing dishes and cutting limes for margaritas. It's okay to work a job you don't love for a little while, as long as you keep looking for something better. It's important to remember that you're not stuck in a job you hate forever.

If you don't want to be stuck working at the same job forever, it's important to have choices. You should have a way out that doesn't mean you'll be broke or struggling to get by. Here are some ideas I have for ways you could make a change, based on what's happening now:

Support widespread job opportunities

Imagine a world where workers have the power to choose their jobs and get paid more for their hard work. This happens when the economy is doing well and there are lots of job opportunities available. Companies start offering better pay and benefits to attract workers because there aren't as many people looking for jobs. This means that even people with lower-paying jobs can start earning more money. So, when the economy is booming, people have more options and can leave bad jobs without worrying as much about finding a new one. It's all about giving workers the freedom to find the job that's right for them.

It's awesome when everything is going smoothly, but when stuff starts to go wrong and more people are out of work, finding a good job becomes tough. It's harder for workers to find a job that they like because they feel stuck in their current job. What do you do in that situation?

Innovate ways to make the cost of living more affordable

Thanks to cool new technology, we can make stuff we need cheaper. Like, machines in factories help make food and clothes faster and cheaper. Back in 1900, people in the US spent most of their money on food and clothes - more than half! But by 2003, it was way less - only 17%. So, technology is helping us save money on the things we need to live. Cool, right?

Back in the day, my grandparents used to fix their socks when they got holes in them. But now, most people just buy new ones instead. It's crazy how cheap food has gotten! You can eat healthy for less than $10 a day.

Prices for things we need every day are going down, so we can switch jobs more easily without worrying about going hungry. But even with these changes, technology hasn't made healthcare, education, or housing any cheaper. That's where other cool stuff like new technology and changing ways of doing things come in.

Achieve more through Internet capabilities

Nowadays, lots of people are working from home instead of going into an office. This is becoming common and more and more jobs can be done from anywhere, like your living room or even a coffee shop. The pandemic has made this trend speed up even faster, which could be awesome for people who have to work.

If you can work from home, you have two big benefits that can help you avoid being stuck in a job you don't like just for the money. First, you can choose to live in a place where things are cheaper, so you don't need to make as much money and can save more. Lots of people have already caught on to this idea, deciding to live in less expensive areas in the middle of the country while still working for big companies on the coasts.

The internet is awesome because it can help you make money doing things you love! Like, if you're good at making cool graphics or editing videos, you can get paid for it online. For example, this one friend of mine made a super cool Instagram post with a quote from my favorite book. I liked it so much that I asked her to make more for me and paid her for it. So now, she gets to make money doing something she used to just do for fun in her free time. How cool is that?

Improved safety measures

Imagine a world where nobody has to work anymore! With robots doing all the hard stuff, we could all just chill and still have enough money to live. This thing called Universal Basic Income would give everyone a paycheck, no job required. And maybe bosses would start treating us better, knowing we could walk out the door at any moment. Cool, right?

There are still a bunch of questions about UBI and other programs like it. That's why we need to do more research on how people react to new incentives. A study in Kenya showed that giving people money directly can help them get out of poverty, not just for a little while, but for a long time. I think we should look into this more, but it seems like some kind of capitalist welfare system is the way to go.

In the past, lots of folks had to work in really bad conditions just to make enough money to survive. Luckily, nowadays more and more people are getting out of extreme poverty quicker than ever before. This means fewer people have to struggle to make ends meet. But being stuck in a job you don't like isn't just about how much money you make; it's also about having the freedom to leave and find something better.

We need to break free from being stuck in jobs we don't like just to make money. In the future, I hope we'll be amazed that we ever thought it was okay to live like that.