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I'll start to worry about the payroll clerks using the software I design . I'll wonder what I'm doing helping the IRS collect taxes. It will bother me that so many entities-employer, software company, bank, IRS-know so much about the simple act of someone getting paid for labor delivered. I'll thin…

Before I finally fell asleep, I remembered a conversation I'd had with an old friend , the one who recruited me into the communist party. We had both been pretty wild in our youth. I used to kid her that she'd slept with everybody-and she practically had. "How did we do it?" I asked her. "How did h…

We went to a movie. He held my hand all through the show. Afterwards he waited for me outside the ladies' room. When I walked back out into the lobby, there was Brian leaning against a wall, with all the other boyfriends. I felt strangely pleased at the sight of him, at his highschoolish, date-nigh…

"It can't just be the money," I pressed.

"Well, it might be that they have what they think is a good idea ... " He trailed off then sat looking at his hands , which were fine-boned and pale.

But there are many ways to express a good idea, I thought. One could talk to people, give a speech, wr…

I had to explain that companies would make everyone a contractor if there weren't laws against it; that they would jump at the chance to unload the cost of medical coverage, overtime, holidays, sick leave.

"You think so?"

"Jesus, Joel. Companies don't give benefits because they like to. Peopl…