Oh, money is super motivating when you have very little of it, and I think folks underappreciate how much human potential and innovation is *not* done because the person who would love to do it literally can't afford to stop working in a less innovative job

Same applies to the need for health insurance (in the US). In countries with universal health care, someone with an ill spouse can still leave their inflexible job to start their own business. In the US, they’re usually trapped.

Well, I don’t necessarily agree because innovation does not always mean quit your job and follow your passion. There could be a plenty of domains you can innovate where you are currently at. That is basically what all IT engineers are asked for.

Hence the "automate the menial labor that humans hate doing anyway so we can all be dissolute artists" plan for the future Which we seem to be getting..... the exact opposite of???

What is "motivation"? I seem to be bereft of the spiri... I mean, knowledge of that term.

On a small scale, when micro loans became a thing, so many desperately poor folks followed skills and passions and became self sufficient.

Additionally, there's a cognitive tax on poverty, in that you don't have the cognitive capacity you use worrying about money to use on other stuff. It's been proven to be about 10% of your cognition...

I used to think a lot about how I sized up tree branches as likely to hold my weight after adjuncting, post-doc-ing, visiting and likely not having a job with a wife and very young kids. Only now, with a relatively secure job am I able to think that I might have been ok with no job and change.

For sure, but we were talking about multi-millionaire's going full John Galt when the incentive to make more $$$ was taken away. I don't think those guys need that inventive. They were either in it because they loved it. It's entirely different when your ability to survive and thrive is on the line.

Hey, 6 isn't paying you to cast doubt on capitalism. Get busy with your core mission, punching left and attacking critics of the war machine.