JA Westenberg1d ago

The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. This is a terrible foundation for pretty much anything.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/the-passive-income-trap-ate-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/

The "Passive Income" trap ate a generation of entrepreneurs

I had coffee last year with a guy - I won't use his real name - who told me he was "building a business." I asked what it did. Dropshipping jade face rollers. I made him say it twice. Jade face rollers. He'd found them on Alibaba for $1.20

Westenberg.
Show threadDaniel Brotherston1d ago

@Daojoan I think most people are seduced by "passive income" not as in they don't want to contribute, but instead as a form of security. If income is passive, then you cannot be fired.

It of course isn't true, but I suspect this is the underlying motivation for most.

Or well, it would be for me, maybe I'm weird, but I do think I'm still pretty human.

Show threadshadows1d ago
@danbrotherston @Daojoan that’s how I feel about it, but most passive income seems exploitative, whether you’re tricking people into buying a product that they don’t need and/or exploiting cheap labor to build/maintain the product.
Show threadDaniel Brotherston
@shadows @Daojoan I tend to agree. But given that we live in capitalism I think it’s worth understanding the underlying motivations.
Apr 3 at 4:41pmWeb
Show threadDaniel Brotherston1d ago
@shadows @Daojoan like I think most “capitalist” you know, CEOs, board members, Silicon Valley bros, etc are interested in power. But I think average people doing the “passive income” thing are mostly interested in stability.