Posted on 03/10/2018 7:11:58 PM PST by ilovesarah2012
In her powerful new book, “Nomadland,” award-winning journalist Jessica Bruder reveals the dark, depressing and sometimes physically painful life of a tribe of men and women in their 50s and 60s who are — as the subtitle says — “surviving America in the twenty-first century.” Not quite homeless, they are “houseless,” living in secondhand RVs, trailers and vans and driving from one location to another to pick up seasonal low-wage jobs, if they can get them, with little or no benefits.
(Excerpt) Read more at tiny.iavian.net ...
I seem to remember when Obama was first elected and people would do this because the job market collapsed, it was touted as a good thing because people could now do what they wanted to do without having to worry about a job.
Yep!
Amazon offers benefits in their warehouses from day one. But they burn their workers out in a few months and have an extremely high turnover.
That sounds like a pair of lives well lived.
I moved my Mom into Assisted Living earlier this year where all residents are `private payers’ & it doesn’t come cheap. But because my Dad planned Mom’s survivor benefits & my wife & I planned our retirements, things are OK financially.
All the ones I run into have many more toys than me, but they don’t have any money?
i think i saw some of these people over Christmas Vacation !!
That sounds great. I admire your parents and hope to be able to do something like that.
I know of a company based out of Georgia where most of the employees live in trailers while working. Big construction company that goes all over the US and Canada. All of the ones I met/worked with were happy and enjoyed it.
These people had some really killer travel trailers. If they were constructing in the boonies, they would sometimes build their own trailer park complete with all amenities, as these jobs would last up to 5 years. They always had time off to go to their respective home-bases. Entire families worked for this company.
They offered employment to me with good pay/travel expenses. I declined, I was happy where I was.
These days I am considering the ‘nomad’ lifestyle while I am still relatively young.
“Interesting article especially about how Amazon exploits workers. “
Boy, did you ever get sucked in!
With the Keystone Pipeline going into full swing soon, there will be nomads galore (rich ones).
It is a repeat article, btw.
I’m a Nomad. I roam between the Bedroom, the Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Family Room. Not necessarily in that order.
I was commenting on the “desperate nomadic life” types.
Yes there are many who have saved $’s and invested wisely during their productive years. The rest of the dopes are living in vans and “low cost” motels.
It used to be a bit embarrassing to have to rely on a second mortgage. The banks have turned that around and sold lots of suckers on the idea that a HELOC = Wealth and Freedom.
Pelosi was quick to point out that people would be free to write poetry.
I didn’t really get that from the article. The recession hit some of them really hard.
Do they want to or do they have to?
I live with my daughter. That’s my elder plan.
I would think if you’re working for Amazon’s Camperforce, your future is not exactly unstable...that’s a whole lot different from working a year or two in a non-tenure track professorship, then scrambling around for another one.
This quote doesn’t sound right at all:
I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Forest Service and learned that some of their workers aren’t getting paid for all their hours. They weren’t allowed to invoice.
Maybe by “invoice” she means getting “actual expenses” instead of “per diem?” Well, gee, the agency doesn’t want the employee in travel status to stay at a luxury hotel when a budget motel is available. That’s not the same thing as not getting paid for hours worked.
Maybe she means “noncreditable travel time?” Some is creditable, some is noncreditable.
The other possibility is that they aren’t actual Forest Service employees but they work for a contractor.
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