During the Depression, my dad and a couple of his brothers bought a couple of balers and got to work baling hay. They made enough money that they could buy new cars while a lot of people in the area were going down to the county seat to pick up a bag of free groceries.
Exactly!
My Grandpa (who I miss to this day!) was a young man of 25 during the Depression. He had a wife, a two year old son (my Dad) and his aged Father-in-Law to support.
Grandpa cleaned out barns. He delivered milk and eggs and newspapers. He worked in a bakery. He collected ‘recyclables’ (tin cans and glass bottles and newspapers) for the pennies they would bring. He’d find old furniture at the curb, fix it up and sell it. He’d change the oil in your car or fix a flat for a buck. He’d hunt and fish and glean; anything to make sure his family was fed and housed. He ended up with a stash of yarn from someone...so he learned to knit rather than let it go to waste, LOL!
(My Grandma was VERY wealthy; her side of the family truly lost it ALL during those years; hence the reason for Grandpa having to support his FIL as well as his wife & child.)
And when all of that was over with...what? Seven YEARS of Hard Times and THEN WWII? He went on to be a machinist (due to the war) and eventually made parts for the NASA space missions.
I mean, let’s get a grip, LOL! I’m not going to let the idiots in Congress put ME in the Poor House. I’ll roll up my sleeves and get to work instead of standing around b*tchin’ about it. :)