Good for you, I too have been fed by this industry since 1979. As you say, not rich but aint livin in a cardboard box either. I have been on both sides of the fence in contracting and in-house and I have never been beat out of money, had to wait 4 weeks one time for a check but when you have all the documentation and you do quality work AND quality paperwork they don't have a leg to stand on. I do understand that some get ripped off even when they do all right also, but the majority of those who continually get robbed have brought a lot of it on themselves with less than average work ethic and not being literate enough to cover their behinds with their paperwork.
This is CABL.com posting #243536. Tiny Link: cabl.co/mbbwa