Lol maybe. But I was thinking people building their own clients (some more ramshackle than others), wanting to be away from (a lot of) regulation, also building community.

There's probably a lot of ex-white collar workers in slab city, academics, and otherwise accomplished people who have burnt out or escaped for various reasons. Drugs and mental health issues mostly, probably. 

 I don’t think there is much of a long list of “white collar workers” in slab city. More like retired truck drivers or people who never had a “career” in the first place. Living in your parents basement has become a status. These are people who have no basement.