Life in 2020

A typical day in the year 2020

I rise in the morning to get ready for work.  I don't live in the country anymore, because all tillable land was confiscated by the Federal Government a few years ago in response to a food shortage.  The government response was to confiscate all tillable farmland and place it under the control of the Department of Agriculture, which now manages all American farmland to produce the needed amounts of each commodity to feed the country.  The news media told us all that this plan would not only solve our food crisis, but would also ensure farming would be much more environmentally responsible under the management of Agriculture.

I was compensated for my small farm with an amount of money that the government claimed was its fair market value (I didn't agree, but what could I do?).  I was "strongly advised" by a government social worker to rent a small apartment near Indianapolis with my wife, which was only a block away from the nearest bus stop.  By the way, I no longer have a car either.  Only government officials and people with job responsibilities deemed critical to their communities are allowed to keep and use automobiles.  Friends have said that the going rate for getting declared by someone at the DMV to be one of those providing critical services to the community is around $10,000.  I have that in savings, but think it's too much money to risk just to get permission to own and use a car.

I get on the bus a block down at about 7:30 every morning and arrive at the office in Indy by 9.  My trip includes 2 bus transfers, a train, then about a half-mile walk to the office.  I used to be a self-employed software consultant, but new government regulations caused my business to dry up.  Independent contracting agreements were not exactly outlawed, but the federal government put in new regulations requiring every contract to be scrutinized and approved by the Department of Commerce.  That review and authorization was expensive and time-consuming, plus contracts became highly likely to be rejected for a laundry list of incomprehensible reasons.  So such contracts just became a thing of the past.

Most private industries were nationalized by the government anyway.  They never use the term "nationalize", preferring instead to use words like "rescued" or "stabilized" or "saved from bankruptcy".  The way it worked started with a government agency finding some egregious violation of Federal regulations, most commonly associated with environmental rules.  They would then be assessed a fine that usually exceeded their company's net worth.  Then the Federal Agency that had primary responsibility for regulating that industry would come in and offer a way out; if the company would simply sell a controlling stake and turn over their operations to the government, there would be no jail time for the officials.  The company officers would receive a nice severance package that might climb into several millions to simply retire and leave their business to the Feds. 

That nationalization process is still ongoing today in 2020, and I think it will take at least another decade before the government finishes nationalizing every private business in America.

So my new job is with the government.  I'm a Business Analyst for a formerly private company in the logistics business.  Somebody from that company called me out of the blue just as my last private contract was rejected.  He offered me a job, paying a decent salary that was about two-thirds of what I had been earning as an independent.  Between that job and the relatively reasonable rent for the apartment I was strongly encouraged to move into from the farm, I can get by OK.  The toughest part is having to pay over $25,000 toward my health insurance exchange.  It doesn't actually pay any medical expenses unless I exceed the $30,000 annual deductible, so it's basically a waste of money.  Which I have no ability to change, since it's mandated by the government - if I refuse to pay the premium, they simply reach into my bank account and take it.  They set that system up back around 2010, when they began requiring everyone to provide their bank account information with our tax returns.

There are cameras on every street.  Some of my friends say the government can pretty easily put together a little movie that shows them everywhere I went and everything I did for any given day.  Some folks think the movie also includes audio, so lots of folks are a little paranoid about talking politics or criticizing the government in conversation.  I have noticed that people at work are mysteriously disappearing more often than ever.  The managers never tell us any more about why they're gone than, "Joe isn't with us anymore".  Questions about why are not tolerated, as they explain that termination reasons are confidential.  Disclosing that information is apparently a felony.

I had a pretty good friend at work until 6 months ago.  David was a great guy and we met during breaks and at lunchtime nearly every day.  We even met for drinks after work now and then, although I've never really been a drinker.  One day David just didn't show up, and his boss just parroted the standard, "David isn't with us anymore" line.  He like to talk politics, so I'm afraid that may have led to his downfall.

I am looking to retire in a few years when I hit the official retirement age of 70.  But I'm not sure I'm that excited about the idea.  Without a car, I'd be stuck in the apartment or just going places I can get to in the Indy area using public transportation.  Like maybe hanging out in a park when the weather's decent.  I can't go to Florida, because virtually nobody can relocate there after retirement without government permission.  Last I heard that government permt costs about $50,000 (not officially, of course).  Wow, that bureaucrat's sure getting rich!  Anyway, Florida's a place where only the very wealthy can retire these days.

Vacations are possible, but we have to plan ahead.  Say we want to take a week's vacation in Florida, the waiting list for travel permits is now more than 2 years.  So I just submitted the application this week, but I know better than to look for the permit anytime before 2 years from now.  It's very difficult for us in the sense that we can no longer go visit our children and grandchildren who live in other states.  Nor can they visit us.  We have to use SKYPE to see and talk with our family.  We particulary miss them during the holidays.

The travel restrictions came about in response to terrorism.  President Obama, who by the way was declared "President for Life" by the Democrat-dominated congress back in 2016 (Folks brought a lawsuit that took about a year to get to the Supreme Court, but they ruled the plaintiffs didn't have standing to bring suit, not technically ruling at all on the constitutional question), tells us he's eradicated terrorism through this travel regulation system he implemented.  Strange, but I keep hearing about bombs going off on trains, airplanes, and buses.  I saw a burning bus on the way home from work just last week, but there was nothing about it on the evening news last night.

Speaking of news, I remember several years ago we used to have Fox News on television and Talk Radio.  Since I don't have a car any longer, I don't listen to the radio anymore, but it is generally known that Talk Radio is dead.  Fox News was found guilty of promoting "Hate Speech" by the FCC in 2016, which penalized them by arresting their corporate officers and pulling the channel off the air permanently.

There are rumors that some of the famous conservative talkers, like Rush Limbaugh and others, died in prison sometime between 2016 and last year.

Well, at least my job's pretty easy.  I get plenty of holidays and vacation days, and my assignments are so easy that most days at work I'm bored.  I have plenty of time to read or surf the net while I wait for my next assignment.  I mostly read, because the net is so heavily locked down it's difficult to find much of anything interesting online.

I did miss going to church, until I found an underground Roman Catholic parish nearby.  We rotate between various homes and other places to try to stay a step ahead of the police, because it's illegal to gather in groups of more than 10 for any purpose other than a government-sanctioned meeting or event.  Our group is growing very rapidly these days, we just recently had to split into more groups to keep our numbers down so we don't get noticed.  There's a heady feeling that we're living like the early Christians, who were hunted and persecuted back in the first century.

Sadly, our parish priest was arrested about 2 weeks ago.  The police just showed up at his apartment, cuffed him and took him away. We don't know where he is, but fortunately a new priest has just arrived from Africa to take his place.  Most of the Roman Catholic seminaries are now Africa, the only place left on earth where the government does not interfere with religion.  The churches were closed by Obama only recently, back in 2018, apparently because he believed that the churches were threatening his authority.  He claimed at the time that churches were hotbeds for breeding terrorism, but to my knowledge nobody I ever heard of who blew things up was affiliated with the Christian church.  Certainly I never heard a priest advocating violent overthrow of the government from the pulpit, although we prayed regularly for an end to forced abortions, a return to freedom of religion, and a less repressive government.

I finish my workday around 4 and often pick up something at a convenience store on the way to the bus stop that we can cook for dinner.  We don't watch much television anymore, because most of the programming is produced by the government these days, and it gets a bit tiresome.  Incessantly hearing messages about our caring, benevolent government making our country so peaceful, harmonious, caring, and tolerant can drive you batty after awhile.  Even SitComs have turned into silly stories set to laugh tracks of people who love their benevolent government so much they teach their children lessons on being compliant and obendient to their government, which of course leads to success and happiness.

So I increasingly find myself reading the Bible (technically against the law, but they haven't caught me yet), praying, and planning where to hold the next Mass or practicing the music we'll use there.