650 People Could Change My Life

My goal is simple…650 people; that’s the number of paid subscribers I hope to reach one day on Vocal.

Each subscription costs $2.99 a month.

Three dollars.

Less than a cup of coffee; especially nowadays. Less than most people spend on an impulse purchase they forget about an hour later. Less than the cost it is to ride the MTA one way.

But if 650 people subscribed, it would do something enormous for me.

It would pay my rent.

Not buy me luxury.

Not make me wealthy.

Not launch me into some influencer lifestyle.

It would simply allow me to exist without the constant background stress of wondering how everything will get paid next month, without fighting for hours at work or worrying about a supervisor playing God with the employees lives because they have no sense of power in their life and enjoy stomping on others, without life surprises kicking me below the belt. Just to exist, heck I think if everyone on Vocal had at least 650 K subscribers it could do a lot for us since the 1% has no interest.

And the fact that this is such a huge goal says something deeply unsettling about the country we live in.

Because most of us are working constantly.

We wake up early.

We commute.

We clock in.

We deal with stress, deadlines, responsibilities, expectations, and exhaustion.

Day after day after day…burning out; and don’t get me started on systemic oppression, which adds an additional set of obstacles just for you. Every time I look up, the goal post keeps moving further and further, and I have to keep adding more acronyms and letters after my name.

Yet somehow, even when we’re doing everything “right,” it still isn’t enough.

Healthcare is expensive.

Dental care is treated like a luxury.

Car repairs can destroy your budget overnight; heck, even just owning one or renting one or leasing one or hoping for one will destroy your budget.

Rent climbs higher every year.

And don’t even think about getting kids if you don’t have any; if you do, may God bless your soul.

And if you want education… even something basic that could improve your career; the price tag can be overwhelming.

People take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt just for the opportunity to work slightly better jobs that still don’t provide true stability.

So what do we do?

We hustle.

We stack jobs.

We search for side gigs.

We open accounts on different platforms.

We drive rideshare.

We sell things online.

We freelance.

We write.

We create.

Not because we’re trying to get rich.

But because we’re trying to survive.

That’s the strange reality many of us live in now and for a long time; working multiple income streams just to maintain something that used to be called a “normal life.”. I’m sure some boomer would like to say “ pull yourself up by your boot straps” but how can someone pull themselves up by the very boot straps that are stepping on their neck?

The gap between the working class and the elite keeps getting wider. I had the luxury to sit a few days with a one percent or and they were talking about how they planned on getting their first trillion with their family and it was going to be multiple people in their family that had $1 trillion. They wanted to complain about politics and how other people don’t understand that there’s not enough money to fix their problems while actively telling me all the way is how they’ve caused the problems for the rest of us. I have had some interesting jobs. $1 trillion… and if you include all of the members of their family having $1 trillion each, they were talking about minimum five to $7 trillion… all I want is 650 paid subscribers on Vocal to get by but sure they said there’s not enough money amongst the 1% to help anyone. I’m not even sure why they were having that conversation with me. Especially after showing evidence that they helped Reagan with the trickle down economics and how a good chunk of it was their idea. I wondered if they were concerned that the poor will eat the rich and maybe they thought if they just explained it; I could teach the other others…

While many people are calculating whether they can afford groceries, others accumulate wealth faster than entire communities can earn it.

It’s not just frustrating.

It’s revealing.

People often say the system is broken.

But I don’t think it is.

The system is actually functioning exactly as it was designed to.

It concentrates wealth at the top while requiring everyone else to compete endlessly for the scraps beneath it.

And yet here we are.

Still showing up.

Still trying.

Still creating.

Still dreaming of something better.

That’s why my goal of 650 subscribers means more than just a number. It represents a different kind of possibility. Three dollars from one person isn’t much; when there’s so many of us. Unlike the 1%. When enough people believe in something like a voice, an idea, a story; those small contributions add up to something powerful.

650 people choosing to support independent writing could create stability where there was none. Not because a corporation decided I was profitable. But because real people decided my work was worth three dollars.

That’s the kind of world I would rather live in.

One where support flows between people instead of being filtered through systems that rarely reward creativity, honesty, or independent thought.

Maybe I’ll reach 650 someday.

Maybe I won’t.

But the fact that such a small number of people could change someone’s life so dramatically says everything about the “strange” economic reality many of us are navigating today; I say strange because the elite will hold onto every penny, as if they can take it to their grave while creating hell on earth…maybe, just maybe, if I can accomplish that it can also show the quiet power that ordinary people still have when they decide to support one another.