You aren't your surrounding economy.

Eventually, I'll have to write a review of Enjoy the Decline. Aaron wrote the book to help depressed conservatives feel better about life. Unfortunately, I remember lending the book to a buddy of mine but he couldn't make it past chapter 3 because of how depressing it was.

The economy is still declining and I can't see it getting better anytime soon. People are still leaving the labor force, part time work is replacing full time work, and inflation is slowly eroding our quality of life. However, despite the declining economy, my financial position has always been increasing year after year.

I first started my career during the Obama administration and I was always able to save the majority of the money I made. This wasn't due to economic stimulus policies, quantitative easing, or hybrid cars. I was saving money because I made the decision to cut my expenses to the bare minimum. I didn't waste money on expensive gadgets, social events, expensive cars, or drugs.

And I think this is the most important point. Most of your environment will be out of your direct control. The people in charge of the country will most likely work against your best interest and make life more difficult for you. But despite all of that, your actions and decisions will have a much greater impact on your life.

Even if 20% of your earnings will be stolen through taxation and completely be wasted, you still have the remaining 80% to make direct decisions with. You have the choice to figure out what you will eat, how much you want to work out, where you want to live, where you want to work, and how you will get to different places. These are your decisions to make.

In the past, I would have thought it was probably better to subsist off of welfare and government assistance programs. However, even though they get provided for by the US tax payer, they are severely limited with their options. SNAP doesn't pay cash directly to the recipients, those recipients have to get food. In most states, unemployment benefits are only collectible if you are laid off from work at no fault of your own. There are at least some barriers and balances that prevent just any person from collecting them.

I am grateful I didn't go down that route because then I'd be completely dependent on the federal government for my existence. And if something should happen to make EBT cards go offline, these recipients would be hunting and killing people in the streets just to eat.

Even though the world around you may be rotting and falling to pieces, don't give up hope just yet. You still have agency. You still have a will. And you still have the chance to create NeoAmerica.