The jobless Americans chasing the dream of ‘passive income’

On the supply side, according to a Dartmouth study on latent entrepreneurship, 71% of Americans (110M) would prefer to be self-employed. This huge contingent of aspiring entrepreneurs suggests that many individuals will embark down the “enterprization of consumer” journey, initially exploring side hustles and earning supplemental income, with some ... See more

Many have taken to declaring how they don't have dream jobs since they "don't dream of labor." This buzzy phrase, popularized on social media in the pandemic, rejects work as a basis for identity, framing it instead as an act to pursue out of financial necessity. To quote the billionaire Kim Kardashian, it does seem like nobody wants to work these ... See more

In the future, it’s likely that the average person will not work for a company. Instead, people will earn income in non-traditional ways by taking actions such as playing games, learning new skills, creating art, or curating content. This kind of shift in how we work is not unusual or unexpected — the idea that most people would be employed by larg... See more

-Create passive (or almost-passive) income opportunities for creators: While there is significant revenue concentration, for all creators, the sales represent passive income (after products are initially created), allowing creators to scale earnings without scaling time.

"First, we need to explain the shortcomings of existing earning models. Traditional corporate employment is rapidly becoming outdated as a means for coordinating activity in the Information Age — we already see this in the emergence of alternative forms of earning such as influencers, contractors, creators, gig economy participants, and more. These... See more

For Americans playing the game as coronavirus lockdowns produce historic spikes in unemployment, the idea that any activity might be seen as viable work is a comfort, and perhaps even an aspiration. Imagine if everyone had a job that they enjoyed, that they were good at, and that could sustain them. What if they could thrive with no job at all, a s

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I think there’s going to be a future where work is more project-based. The new American Dream for Gen Z is being able to work wherever we want, whenever we want. Now, Gen Z is the side hustle generation because from a young age we realized that we can hustle to make money online.

To some extent you have to put up with the bullshit forced on you by circumstances. You need to make money, and making money consists mostly of errands. Indeed, the law of supply and demand insures that: the more rewarding some kind of work is, the cheaper people will do it. It may be that less bullshit is forced on you than you think, though. Ther... See more