I've dabbled in "gray" things but never anything that would get me sent to prison (I lack the risk tolerance), but in case, I turned to that kind of work because playing by the rules (at the time) got me nowhere. At the time, I was reliant on Medicaid to manage my progressive illness (MS) and was limited to earning ~1k a month.
Which obviously wasn't enough to live on, so I started bartering and doing work under the table. The safest kind of under the table work is work where if it's discovered, everybody involved would be 'in trouble'. That way everybody has an incentive to Shut The Fuck Up.
If you put smart people into corners, they're going to find ways outside of the system to prosper.
Edit: Also, if you have the right skills, you can make BANK, especially since you don't pay taxes on illicit income. I at one point made ~$100/hr, and I wasn't doing anything illegal.
Which obviously wasn't enough to live on, so I started bartering and doing work under the table. The safest kind of under the table work is work where if it's discovered, everybody involved would be 'in trouble'. That way everybody has an incentive to Shut The Fuck Up.
If you put smart people into corners, they're going to find ways outside of the system to prosper.
Edit: Also, if you have the right skills, you can make BANK, especially since you don't pay taxes on illicit income. I at one point made ~$100/hr, and I wasn't doing anything illegal.