Saxon says "Hi Ed! Good to hear from you. I confess to being ignorant about America but presumably you've got state benefits, income support and other safety-nets over there?" NO..there are NO benefits in the US for the downtroddin... its make it yourself or get run and trampled over... If you're self employed, and have no savings, you're screwed...plain and simple. Most states have what is called, welfare, right to work , or some such, which basically gives folks the right to work for $5/hour and/or make just enough not to qualify for other benefits... Sorry about that, but I can't helpo myself when it comes to seeing good people getting totally screwed by our government.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect......Chief Seattle, 1854