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Squires’ bold move draws attention to the moral — and financial — dilemma of open-source development, which was likely the goal of his actions. A massive number of websites, software, and apps rely on open-source developers to create essential tools and components — all for free. It’s the same issue that results in unpaid developers working tirelessly to fix the security issues in their open-source software, like the Heartbleed scare in 2014 that affected OpenSSL and the more recent Log4Shell vulnerability found in log4j that left volunteers scrambling to fix.
The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement is a lifestyle movement whose goal is financial independence and retiring early. The model became particularly popular among millennials in the 2010s, gaining traction through online communities via information shared in blogs, podcasts, and online discussion forums.
Those seeking to attain FIRE intentionally maximize their savings rate by finding ways to increase income or decrease expenses. The objective is to accumulate assets until the resulting passive income provides enough money for living expenses in perpetuity. Many proponents of the FIRE movement suggest the 4% rule as a guide, thus setting a goal of at least 25 times estimated annual living expenses. Upon reaching financial independence, paid work becomes optional, allowing for retirement from traditional work decades earlier than the standard retirement age.
Another type of American Dream has now developed: The freedom to upturn your desk, give your boss the finger, and retire on the spot—without making a lifestyle sacrifice, of course.
In some circles, the wealth required to burn any bridge you want has a name: “f–k you money.” That’s because, well, backed by the First Amendment and a large fortune, you can yell that without consequences to pretty much anyone, save for a judge, a plumber, or a tax assessor.