This isn't correct. Look at the number of small business owners in the US. It's a minority, but it's not some tiny elite like your comment leads people to believe.
It doesn't take much for a regular person to start a business. If they provide a good the population likes at a reasonable price, they will succeed.
Re:The Website That Got Me Expelled
by loup-vaillant on Sunday September 06, 2015 @07:18PM
(#10179473)
A link with the actual numbers would have helped.
> It doesn't take much for a regular person to start a business.
Generally in the order of 50.000€ for your average starting business —even a simple bakery. Not the end of the world for a Bay Area software engineer. A moonshot for minimum wage workers.
Sure, you could ask for a loan. But if you're poor, you will likely not get it.
An independent contractor will still need to work to survive. But at least she's free from any boss… if she's really independent —that is, she can afford to turn down contracts.
Pensioners, or otherwise "financially independent" people are even free from lucrative work. They don't need to work for their continued survival. They can instead like look over their grandchildren or do some community work.
I'm sure there are higher attainable degrees of freedom yet. But let's work on the worst problems first. We more or less solved slavery and serfdom. Now there is employment. Next will be the need to survive. Next… I don't know, physical limitations?