>I get the feeling that the word which is pronounced "employee" is actually spelled either "serf", "villein", or "slave" depending on how restrictive your owner... oops, that's "boss" is.. Hi ho! thank god the 20th century is almost over.

Welcome to capitalism. :) If you believe at all in the "free market" (warts and all), you believe that no one is forced to become an employee (i.e., enslaved). This is certainly true in our field.