Welcome to the Permanent Underclass. Here Is Your Way Out.
135: Why most people stay stuck and what the few who escape do differently.
When you hear someone mention the permanent underclass. The first association most have with it is that it all comes down to financial struggles. Someone stuck. Unable to move. Without an opportunity to escape. It goes much deeper. Most think it is just about money. Wrong. It is about the absence of opportunity. The permanent underclass is the one that doesn't have any opportunity to get more out of their life. The reality? We have been there for the last 30 years. What is this about? Your escape plan.
The Permanent Underclass Arrived 30 Years Ago
The permanent underclass is a sociological concept referring to a segment of society that is chronically and persistently trapped in poverty, with little to no realistic opportunity for upward social mobility. Unlike temporary poverty, membership in the permanent underclass tends to be long-lasting and self-perpetuating across generations. - Claude
The underclass is already here: This is the hard pill to swallow. Because if you reflect on how your grandparents used to live, it becomes quite clear. The underclass lifestyle has been here since the late 80s. What do we mean by that? Once the average person had to go into 30 year long debt just to buy a home… That is a clear sign that we are talking about a permanent underclass. There is not a single normal thing about being in debt to a bank for 30 years. Yet by the 2000s, it was completely normal to do so. Proof that the permanent underclass has been here longer than most realize. Our point? There is not that much space for drastic changes. You already can't own a home without getting into debt. Your employer is taking you for granted and paying you a minimum to survive. And you have never had a harder time finding the right sources of information, since everything is based on clickbait content. Forget about a change so drastic that it would leave you worse off than you already are (in terms of starting position). We are already there. Whether you want to accept it or not. The reason there has been so much attention about it recently is that people fear the unknown.
Bargaining power of the working class: What we can’t deny is that as time goes on. Careers are becoming a worse and worse choice. Young people already understand that. As someone who has written multiple in-depth articles about it and has always been preaching them to others. Most careers are not what they were a decade ago. The analyst’s work is getting one shotted by the AI. Designers have never had it easier to be replaced. Who needs customer support when there is a chatbot? This is where that uncertainty factor comes into play. Unfortunately, if we said things are going to change for the better. We would be lying to you. The power of the white-collar working class will decrease until we reach a point where most current roles are reshaped (restructured) into something new. Meaning? Your goal should not be to make your career your identity. You are not your job. You are not your role. The whole goal of getting yourself into a career is to use it to your advantage to start something of your own. As time goes on, it will be a waste of time and effort that you should spend elsewhere.
At this point your career should serve you:
Get experience across multiple topics (from creating presentations to understanding numbers).
Serve as your funding (golden ticket) - allowing you to build a business on the side while getting paid by your employer.
Create connections and lifelong partnerships (become the guy who knows the guy)
Those days of you getting one job. Cruising and thinking, you will live a good life based on what has been gone for the past decade. What persists is this boomer idea that it is how things should be done. Wrong. Forget about the old world rules and how things used to work… Reality is that to escape the permanent underclass. You have to become someone who owns 100% of your time and energy.
Mass layoffs are not the end: Things are progressing. No one can deny it.
Where do things get interesting?
Everyone is telling you that money will soon be irrelevant and that UBI is coming.
Mass layoffs are happening all around.
Wars, a shaky economic situation, and everything else that…
The first two points are so powerful that no one can ignore them. They make a great clickbait headline. Which is why the media pushes them. Our take on it? We simply don’t buy it. To be 100% transparent, the reason is mostly that the people pushing this narrative are pushing harder than ever. Does that make sense? Some would say it is because it is a last chance to make it. Others will say it is because of that uncertainty factor and a lot of things happening at the same time (technological advancement, mass layoffs, wars..). Our take? Those pushing the UBI/AGI scenario HARD are selling you something. Stirring up your emotions of uncertainty and the unknown. Or trying to get investors money… It is hard to distinguish between the two. We have yet to see how accurate this prediction is. What we can say with confidence is that AI has intensified this fear. Not only the fear but also the gap between those producing high output and those falling behind. Which is when you put everything on paper. The biggest issue for the people who are not adopting.
The mass layoffs?
This argument makes more sense and should not surprise anyone. Things will get worse before they get better. What we can say with 100% confidence is that, over the last couple of years. There have been unnecessary hires and overspending. Which is now, after a few years of pretending… A big reality check. It finally made sense to look into the headcount and the total cost of the unnecessary hires. The results of this are more than obvious. People are panicking + media is using it to get clicks and sell fear and a story that is not fully aligned with the real picture. If you are one of those lucky ones being on the right side of the internet. You already know that it is all part of the big picture (noise) to distract you from what matters. Getting the most out of your life and having total ownership of your situation. To make our point clearer, and why none of this should scare you, because nothing dramatic happened over the last couple of years.
Where are we now:
The average person can’t buy a home without getting into massive debt.
The average person is completely detached from reality (TikTok brain).
The average person doesn’t know who they are or what makes them happy.
The average person feels helpless.
The average person has no idea what it takes to win (and how much effort it requires).
The starting point is not that good when you think about it. That may not be the case for YOU. But for the big majority of people around you. This is the exact scenario…
Permanent argument: That is where things go from well, it might make sense to full-on BS. To make it clear. We don't believe fiat currency will fall. We don't believe that all the wealth will be distributed among the top 5 AI companies. We don't believe that there will be a total labor collapse. We don’t believe white-collar workers will become irrelevant over the next 10 years. We don't believe AGI is close.
This is the real permanent class argument.
We believe all this noise is someone else occupying your mind while they focus on the important stuff. While you are caught in the endless loop of worry. Without actually doing anything. Your goal? Ignore the noise and put in the work. The only way that you will end up in the permanent underclass is if you do the easier thing… Give up. We can guarantee there will be MUCH less space for the middle players. Just like the middle has been shrinking for the last 30. What do we mean by that? That is in order to live the life you want to live. You will have to get out of the middle ASAP. The good thing?
It is in your control.
The Middle? The Middle Is… Shrinking.
Before reading any further make sure you understand:
You are not a victim.
You have total ownership of this situation (even if you think you don’t).
You will never be left behind if you are putting in the work.
You can escape the “permanent underclass” by doing what others are not.
Our next point… Young people giving up: This is where the problem becomes more apparent. Young people are not giving up because of the rapid technological advancement. Or because they have to work 12x longer to get the things their grandparents did. The reason young people are giving up is that it is the easier option. One click away from everything we want. One click away from all the knowledge in the world. Bringing us to where we think we have everything. Yet we have nothing. Everything in the sense that you can get any information in less than 20 seconds. Get in contact with someone across the world with one click. Or order your food with less than three swipes. None of that matters. Because, deep down, you feel you will never own your home, live debt-free, or possess something of your own. Because technology might replace your current role. And because you spend most of your free time disconnected from society. Where does this lead us? You get lost in the comfort zone, noise, and ultimately give up. Results? Permanent feeling of helplessness. You stay stuck in the infinite loop of doing nothing and justifying it to yourself. That is what the permanent underclass looks like. You know you will never get out of your situation, so why even bother playing?
The hard pill to swallow: Everything in your life is in your control. Before you ask yourself how everything is in your control, and isn’t this a straight-up contradiction? It is not a contradiction because no one is stopping you from doing what others around you refuse to do. Don’t want your life to depend on a role that might be extinct soon? Change it. You want to ensure that you are in a safe position? Start your business. You don’t want to depend on mediocre information and mass media? Curate your info sources. Tired of only living for the weekend? Change it. Don’t want to be left behind? Start saving and investing your money. What do all of these share?
They are all in YOUR control.