Just Trying to Stay Alive

“Why has just staying alive become so difficult?”

In today’s world, the cost of simply existing has become an insurmountable challenge for millions. Housing that outpaces wages, healthcare that bankrupts the sick, food prices that punish the poor—all converge to make survival a privilege rather than a baseline. Going Broke, Just Trying to Stay Alive delves into the harsh realities faced by those navigating impossible choices: rent or food, medicine or heat, work or rest.

This book is not about quick fixes or easy answers. It doesn’t promise a roadmap out of poverty or a formula for success. Instead, it takes an unflinching look at the systems that perpetuate inequality and the relentless toll of scarcity on individuals, families, and societies. Through real-world stories, sharp analysis, and thought-provoking insights, it illuminates the hidden costs of poverty and the fragility of a system that excludes too many.

What if survival were redefined as a shared baseline rather than a hard-fought privilege?

Across twelve deeply insightful chapters, Going Broke, Just Trying to Stay Alive uncovers the systemic forces driving inequality and exclusion while posing critical questions about how society might evolve.

• The Unrelenting Cost of Being Alive: Why essential goods and services—from housing to transportation—are increasingly out of reach.
• When Hunger Drains Hope: The cascading effects of malnutrition on health, dignity, and economic stability.
• Scarcity’s Cognitive Trap: How financial scarcity narrows thinking and erodes decision-making.
• The Hidden Tax of Poverty: Why the poor often pay more for basic necessities and services.
• Living to Work, Not Working to Live: The paradox of endless toil that barely sustains financial security.
• Capitalism – Just Better!: Pathways to refine capitalism while preserving its core strengths.
• The Risk to Societal Peace: How unchecked inequality threatens stability and cohesion.
• The Fading Link Between Work and Reward: Why hard work no longer guarantees upward mobility.
• Affordable Access in Capitalism: Businesses profiting while making essentials accessible.
• Empowerment Through Fair Opportunities: How fostering fair opportunities can reduce dependency and create jobs.
• Driving Fair Opportunities Initiatives: Practical strategies for scaling impactful initiatives.
• Reimagining Survival as a Shared Baseline: A final call to envision survival as a foundation for progress.

From the psychological burden of scarcity to the economic inefficiencies of inequality, this book explores the cascading effects of a world where survival itself has become a struggle. Drawing on examples from affordable entrepreneurship to the potential evolution of capitalism, Going Broke, Just Trying to Stay Alive offers ideas—not definitive solutions—for creating systems where survival is accessible to all.

This book is a call to awareness and a challenge to care. It invites entrepreneurs, policymakers, and anyone interested in societal progress to rethink how we can build a more equitable and resilient future.

For readers ready to confront uncomfortable truths and engage with complex questions, this book is both a sobering critique of the present and a hopeful exploration of what could come next.