A "strong safety net", if done right (his minimum income suggestion is a bad idea in more than one way), doesn't mean people can just keep going forever. They can still fail, and fail fast, just that some of the "black swan" type risks with disproportionate downsides aren't a worry. Risk/reward calculations should be about looking at foregone opportunity costs (which are certainly significant for most capable hackers) rather than at "oh ####, my daughter needs an operation, and there's a problem with the insurance".