Being in business for yourself can be difficult, especially if your business is tied to one client only, or a client that represents a major source of income. So they need to do is act like they are in business instead of pretending they are employees.
Might even turn some of them into republicans.
My advice to these people is simple, but earnest. First, get a job at Starbucks. Second, while you are at Starbucks, learn to code. Third, in whatever spare time you have left, write your articles that no one reads, for an employer that can’t pay you for 90 days. The economic angst won’t be so bad that way. Fourth, when you get proficient in coding, get a primary job coding, a secondary job at Starbucks, and continue writing articles that no one reads, and submit those articles to CNN and wait 3 months to get paid. The result is still less angst.