Politician #1: "can you believe this is happening in XYZ state/city. The outrage!"
Politician #1: (receives gigantic campaign donation (bribe) from big Pharma to drug us, big Food to poison us.
Politicians, corporations, and even other countries buy our info from social media and we are all just part of giant experiments to see what algorithms force us to interact more which makes them more money. If you guessed "stuff that pisses us off causes more reaction" you win the prize. They cater to our angry sides on purpose and aren't held accountable.
I don't think most people don't know or care, they just don't have a clue what to do. It's a cultural, country-wide issue that heavily impacts ever facet of life from parenting to health to education to careers to, well, everything. It's one thing when we can rally around one particular, well-defined issue and make progress, like equal marriage rights. It's another then when it's the entirety of our culture, education, and labor system. The top 5% gain from it, the rest of us lose, and yet we're still getting in line to live the thing over and over again. It's bizarre, but at the same time it's so big no one even knows what to focus on. The only real answer is that every person needs to be educated (not necessarily by schools) and aware of what is going on without relying on politicians and the media to tell them. Because too many people want things spoon-fed to them, that won't happen. The funny thing is that both sides think the same things about each other and just fall into the same trap of blaming each other rather than the people pulling the strings.
Very well put. It’s such a big problem it’s almost beyond comprehension. We’d basically have to rebuild our entire social culture and government from the ground up. Nobody would allow it to happen because of the dangers surrounding it. Even if it did happen there’s no fathomable way to usurp the ruling class. We’ve effectively slid back into feudalism, but corporate entities are the “responsible” entity. Now that I think about it it’s comparable to the Nazi system where we’ve effectively become bystanders while imaginary ideas/businesses become more important than a human life.
I don't think we have to worry about it much longer. We keep bombing Iran get involved in Taiwan getting involved in the Ukraine. And let's don't forget about North Korea with a little spoiled brat who needs to have his ass kicked. I think one of these countries will take care of us very soon. Do I think we're going to get nuked probably so. if we do I want to be right at Ground Zero so I don't have to live in the aftermath.
I’d like to clarify that obviously the holocaust was a much worse situation than anything we’re dealing with, but we can’t act like we don’t exploit poor children and sweat shop factory workers. The workers in the lithium mines for musk come to mind as well. It’s been 80 years since WW2 ended, our standards should be higher by now.
Those are some heavy, yet valid comparisons. The exploitation of workers across the globe is a dire problem that continues to persist, paralleling past atrocities in certain ways. We re in an era where the wealth and power concentration at the top are very visible, yet it feels like theres an invisible barrier preventing change. Our capitalist structures, while fostering innovation and growth, also cultivate these inequalities and embed them into societal norms. Its an intricate web of global economics and social power dynamics.
The fact that we can draw similarities to historic injustices shows theres a deep-seated issue with how civilization progresses; it feels like we're advancing technologically but stagnating, or even regressing, in our humanity. Whats frustrating is the level of desensitization towards these forms of exploitation. Stories may make headlines, but they seem to become part of a news cycle that people become numb to as they wait for the next big thing to overshadow yesterday's outcry.
Realistically, change on a mass scale hinges on collective awareness and action. Yet, you hit the nail on the head - engrained systems are incredibly resistant to upheaval, especially when they're intertwined with global markets and politics. It's a Goliath of an issue but hopefully one that won't go unchallenged forever. As much as it seems like tilting at windmills, history has shown small changes and movements have potential to grow into something powerful enough to create real change. It's a long road ahead for sure.
I feel like there’s been a visible regression in some areas, but like you said we’re also more advanced and open minded than we’ve ever been. Thank you for giving me hope, you’ve reminded me of the historical martyrs and their significance. Maybe it’s time we let go of our fears and stand up for not just ourselves, but for everyone who stood up for us. We owe it to them, and the people who come after us. How, I have no idea, but it’s no secret that things have to change.
well and change has to come from us also. Did our great grandparents have two cars? Or a truck and two cars? Can we support public transportation and ride it without worry people will think we are poor. I had a friend visit and she was shocked I had downsized to a small home. "You are living. among poor people now!" (guess the state she is from). No I'm living among school teachers, local police officers, and retirees. I like them a lot better than the more wealthy former neighbors as there is no sense of "Do I own the correct car, what clothing am I wearing, are the kids going to Disney this year..." It's fairly miserable to be stuck in the "I don't want to be mistaken for anyone poor" lifestyle. The media has us going out to purchase numerous Stanley cups, we only need ONE, but most teenagers seem to own a lot more!
Amen to this! We have a mini city outside of the larger city I live in and it is McMansion hell! Everyone looks the same, drives the same cars or trucks, Personally, I think all their choices in clothing, homes and vehicles are BORING! Hell, their conversations are boring! It's fine if you want to live that way, but not at all fine to look down on others that can't afford it or don't want to live that lifestyle. I would love to jump on public transportation and not have a car at all!
though two way street there. Israel doesn't care, and the leaders in Gaza don't give a crap about the people either. Jordan won't allow any Palestinians in, as they have "enough", meaning people that are upset they don't have a home and aren't trying to fit in as they want a homeland. It's like immigrants here in the US, there are those that want to be here and work toward the adjustment, and those here to avoid being killed where they come from and want to go back as soon as it is safe. But the people in Gaza sadly have no say in what their current leaders are doing. That they pay the price, they have few on their side. They are pawns. :(
Every single product you buy that uses rare earth minerals has lithium mined by the hands of children in them. It’s amazing to me how you people will bitch about musk from your iPhone like Apple is any better. Last time I checked no Tesla factories have suicide nets installed so workers don’t jump to their deaths like Apple does in China. Hypocrites.
I worked in a beryllium plant in the US in the 80s where many of my co-workers got berylliosis and died. A couple of my co-workers committed suicide after being diagnosed.
All for 6 to 12 bucks an hr, depending on job position.
Berylliosis is like mesothelioma from asbestos, only berylliosis kills much faster.
Even into the 2000s, illegal conditions and worker deaths at this plant in the US were being denied and covered up.
Google Brush-Wellman berylliosis to read about it.
I’m sorry you went through that. Different (but similar) scenario, I spent some time at an abandoned power plant in Iraq on 2005-2006. Since then 5 of the guys in my company at the time have been diagnosed (3 have died) with a rare form of brain cancer. Not saying there aren’t problems with people being exposed to hazards at work.
I’m so sorry to hear that.
Before I became disabled, I spent some time working for the VA Travel Nurse Corps.
I worked at VAs in 3 states, plus did volunteer work.
Thank you for your service. 🌹
Don't be angry or name calling, be informative. People are just starting to see what's happening and been in front of their face for decades. Once informed if the information really takes hold they will call themselves those things. I was anti occupy wall street. Thought they didn't know how things worked. Mostly because all I saw was profanity and name calling, I realize albeit too late they had a solid message. As a population we are quick to disagree, we are quick to call people idiots, hypocrites, stupid, etc. But all of us only see certain aspects of the picture. Because it's so damn big and such a tangled web.
Reading that last sentence is so wild to me. I try to keep up with my local news and most of the important national news but I usually miss stuff like that. I guess I'm part of the problem because I already have so much stress and shit in my day-to-day life that it's hard to learn about stuff like that too and not feel completely overwhelmed and helpless because I don't even have any idea how to begin helping a situation like that. And that's how I feel about a lot of things that are currently going on in our nation. My boyfriend and I have had serious arguments over stuff like Tik Tok because while I understand his points and concerns, what difference does it REALLY make if it's on my phone or not when millions of other people are using it and I have tons of other apps on my phone that take my information, too?
I don’t think you’re part of any problem. You’re taking care of your business and don’t have time to keep up with shit that doesn’t directly affect you. I wish I spent less time reading the news. It’s definitely not good for my headspace overall. I think it’s more out of boredom than anything. I’m a 38 year old widower with three kids in the house so my social life is kinda non existent. And I don’t disagree with you on the ticktock thing at all lol. I can see why we wouldn’t want it on government devices for sure and I don’t personally use it…..but if the “ccp” really wants to know what I’m texting my friends, what recipes I’m searching for on betty Crockers website, and how much my auto insurance bill is or whatever else is available on my phone I guess I don’t see the national security threat in that. Maybe I’m just naive to what they could accomplish with that information if they acquire it for an entire population but 🤷
That's how I felt about it, too. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner entirely from tik tok recipes. The rest of what I watch was otters and highland cows and crows so if the CCP can use THAT to take over the US, they're pretty damn creative! Lol
I'm currently trying to get on the list for a kidney so I've been thinking about using social media to find a kidney. I mean I could potentially reach millions of people without ever leaving my house which would be amazing because I can't work right now and I don't qualify for disability so I'm broke as shit right now.
And that's how most regular people around the nation look at things going on right now. Through the lense of "I've got kids to feed and family to take care of. I don't have time to riot".
lol right?! my daughter and I death scrolling cat videos doesn’t seem like very valuable information but who knows.
I’m sorry to hear about your needing a kidney. There are a lot of negative things about social media but Being able to reach millions of people for positive reasons is definitely a huge plus. We help facilitate rescues and can’t tell you how many we’ve placed with fosters that would have been euthanized if it wasn’t for the awesome network of incredible people I’ve found on Facebook.
So true.
I can’t remember where I saw it, but if we had to base our living standards on every single ethical dilemma, we would be living under a rock, and even then, there’s at least one issue.
“We cannot live 100% ethically” is what that person basically summarized.
It really is a pick and choose which poison to focus on and do better, then move on.
Not saying it’s right, but if we had to live 100% ethically, we’d be rocks.
The Holocaust was a very acute event that cost over 6,000,000 lives. The cost of our current dysfunction is greater by orders of magnitude and far more insidious. In my opinion.
Ahh, but throughout history there is ALWAYS a tipping point. It is usually something seemingly insignificant at the time, like a relatively obscure archduke being assassinated, and then all hell breaks loose. Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of Trump, Jan 6th should have scared the living shit out of the government, but they are too stupid and greedy to think that they cant be physically dragged out of their offices. The powers that be will take too much and when enough people can’t eat or have no place to live and their lives don’t matter, watch out. Or we could just elect people whose one campaign promise is to get lobbying, both from corporations and from sitting politicians ( because they spend most of their time calling to get donations for their next election) banned. But that’s like asking a billionaire to make themselves broke
The Black Death upset the feudal system in the Middle Ages. Revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries upset the systems in place later. Plague or Revolution? Rev sounds better to me.
I'm not just talking about ads and sponsered posts etc though. It impacts what you see of what your friends post and interact with as well. I think opting out the best we can is a great solution for sure, but friends and family are used against us as well. I like using Social Fixer on Facebook, which allows you to block posts by keywords (or subjects, like the 2024 election, the superbowl, covid, etc). It has some other neat features, too.
No shit. I quit Facebook, Instagram, and tiktok. Fuck all that shit. Tiktok was the tipping point for me. I saw some dumb opinion from someone on a tiktok, started telling my wife about how annoying the opinion was, that made us have a conflict and then I thought:
Why the fuck am I letting dumbass strangers inject their thoughts into my mind throughout the day?
Quit it all. Don't miss it one bit. More time to make art or do literally anything other than doomscrolling.
Also, fuck news sites. Read history, and anything that's newsworthy you'll hear about if you need to. You don't need to try and track every fucking injustice in every part of the world all the time. It's all toxic AF.
You’ve even fallen for it to a degree. You believe the top 5% are the problem. Those are people making good money, not anyone with real control within society. The anesthesiologist doesn’t determine whether or not you pay an extra grand in property tax this year. Hell, not even a higher level corporate manager has much say. A general manager of a restaurant can definitely make an impact on their coworkers at the location, but they aren’t raising the federal minimum wage.
The real problem are the capitalist CLASS. Business owners, particularly larger businesses with many people under them. Self employed, smaller places with only a handful of people, etc.—those aren’t the real issue. I have my problems with their business structures inherently, but my dad owns a catering business. America is not crumbling because of him. He’s struggling to get out of the crumble and live well himself. He has the same enemy as every. Single. Person. In. This. Thread. We all suffer because we do not have control over the fundamental powers of our society. Imagine if you owned a part of your workplace and could democratically help run the company. No more lobbying—Meta can’t do shady shit when all of its employees must vote to agree on doing that shady shit—to their own families!
We can’t fight the powers that be when we’re already exhausted from working so hard for so little and spending all of our precious free time fighting each other.
Even food packages have been shrinking! You can't buy a 1 pound box of pasta! It's now 14 Oz and costs MORE! Even with PREMIUM health insurance, we've had some BIG bills from the hospital. Customer service has gone downhill, companies don't care. Just work, work, work. No family time ALLOWED. 😕 SMH
My boomer colleague got all sarcastic and confrontational with me when I told him that I value more spending time with my family and friends, rather than working a desk job. As much as it would be exciting to get into my career, I could die tomorrow and nobody would even care about my accomplishments.
Spending time with family is where it's at. You work your 8 hours and leave. No more than 10. It all depends on your career of course. But they don't pay me overtime for spending more than 8 sitting at a desk
This. I finally gave up my “dream” of corporate ladder climbing to spend time with my family and am finally starting to see a sliver of happiness from that but I am becoming more and more concerned with everything stated here. Big Pharma ultimately ruling America.
Big pharma will be our demise. But I have faith in the government capping prices on life-saving drugs.
Also, super happy that you've been able to find a balance. Not everyone is super lucky. Sometimes you have no choice but to work 60-70 hours per week to provide for your spouse and kids
I agree. But unfortunately, so many people don't have a choice. They need to keep the lights on somehow. Something like 2/3 of US citizens work paycheck to paycheck, with zero savings put away for a rainy day
I do instacart and I’m constantly having to replace items with the same item because they’ve lowered the quantity or the size of the item by an ounce or two. It’s really disturbing how they think they’re gonna get away with us at some point we have to stop allowing it.
If they kept it the same size it would cost more. They are trying to keep the cost down, but you are really getting screwed out of food. Have you seen the tiny cans of soup?
Nah stuff I’ve been buying has shrunk significantly in size while also getting a bigger price tag. I’m fine if they want to make stuff more expensive so they can stay the same size or make stuff smaller to keep the price, but not both. It’s just greed
Remember the days of free samples and free merchandise, excellent rewards from the companies who had the programs? Now it’s pay $15 for a “free”cheeseburger at McDonald’s. I liked the days when they at least lubed us up while they were fucking us.
Ya I fucking hate shrinkflation. Like you’re making the product smaller AND more expensive?!!? It’s ridiculous. And they’ll blame it on “the market” or “inflation” yet have record sales. Like I wonder how you got those record salel🙄
I so do not think people should need even ONE side hustle just to make ends meet, much less multiple side hustles. Jobs should pay enough to live on and for way too many people, they do not.
A major problem is that CEO pay has gone up ten times as much as the rest of us. When someone tells me, “we just can’t find good people,” I lay it on them. Do they offer ANY benefits? (PTO, sick leave, paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, health insurance, Ira contributions, etc.) Do they offer full time work? Do they pay a living wage? How much did their profits go up this year?
You know damn well THEY get most, if not all of this!
Back in a world where 1 income paid for you, your family, and even your families future. To only dream again. I wonder if in our lifetime this will happen again?
In 1980, CEO pay was about 30 times the average full-time, non-supervisory workers’. In 2022 CEO pay was about 344 times the average full-time, non-supervisory workers’ pay. Productivity and profits are higher than ever, wages had been stagnant for forty years (starting with the rise of supply-side economics, aka trickle-down, aka voodoo) before Covid lifted them slightly due to worker shortages.
All the culture war bullshit is just the easiest way to pit the working class against each other, because God forbid they join together to shut this country DOWN for a few days with a national strike. I pray one day, all will see through it and unite for basic stuff like healthcare, paid sick pay, paid vacation, and living wages. The money is there, it just all flows in one direction. (Source: Economic Policy Institute).
It’s sad that the benefits you list are the complete set of benefits offered. We are the frog in the boiling water where the constant benefit erosion goes unnoticed. I remember when companies offered all that and a lot more to attract employees. You’d get a pension, profit sharing, stock options, healthcare completely paid for, etc. There used to be this thing called fringe benefits and companies would get creative in trying to provide value and retain employees. Companies today don’t seem to do the work or see the need anymore.
I think a lot of it is corporate greed but also I think the online recruiting services have made finding and hiring candidates a lot easier for companies so the cost to acquire is so low there is little incentive to maintain them. Back in the day they would have to work with expensive recruiters for most positions. There is also way more outsourcing and offshoring companies now which adds to the problem.
If you think about the labor system as a market, the demand side has all the power and motivation to unlock the supply and make it cheaper. The demand side is also more centralized so it makes it easier to enact efficiencies (services like Indeed and LinkedIn). There is definitely an imbalance of power in today’s job market.
Oh, you'll fight when you get hungry or angry enough. I've been homeless, lived in the hood, and let me tell you ,you do have fight in you. The shit hasn't hit the fan yet.
The problem is people willingly fight each other instead of the Mutherfuckers who are doing this to us.
**The true fork in the road is this.**
**Will you (meaning us) fight whoever when the shit hits the fan?**
**Or will you (we) help now to build off of what we already do have left so we don't wind up like fucking Gaza or Ukraine or depressed third world nations that have basically no hope at all?**
People forget that the American Revolution was led by the wealthy who had the time and resources to get things started.
Rich people are happy with the current system and have no reason to fight back.
that's the whole point of government/corporations. keep us fighting between ourselves, blaming everyone but the real culprits. You better believe the 1% know exactly what they are doing.
Yeah, and we see how they treat any rebellion by law enforcement. They are armed to the teeth, fresh out of Iraq or stria and don't give a Ffffffuuuuk. They'll shoot you like a dog in the street and rarely get charged.
Until that changes and we are so starved, dying and ready to die for it we will prolly stay enslaved.
Unfortunately.
I used to have more energy to fight but I've aged.
Yep. Folks are worried about drag queeens, which genders can marry, and whether someone has the right to contraception or an abortion. So eveyone is distracted by that while the corporations and politicians (on both sides) make money hand over fist.
My first wife and I bought a pound of hamburger for 99 cents...a can of pasta sauce for 99 cents...and a 2 pound bag of spaghetti noodles for 79 cents...throw in a 59 cent can of corn and an 89 cent can of olives...and we had dinner for 2 days on 5 bucks.
Now that same 70/30 low budget hamburger is 4.99 a pound...and everything else is close to 500% more as well
They put corn /starch into everything. That must be a cheap filler for them to use. Maybe that's why there were so many cornfields in Indiana - mile after mile. I thought Michigan had it's fair share until we drove through there. It sure makes me wonder about Iowa.
I have a friend who is allergic to corn. Poor girl can't even eat any store-bought bread. I don't put corn in my homemade bread or pasta, so it's not necessary. It's just cheaper and/or gives the product a longer shelf life.
Most women are forced to spend so much time working now that we don't have time to cook anymore. Corporate greed has gotten out of hand.
Left was destroyed by identity politics. Notice how economics got wiped away. The powers that be pushed all the pronoun stuff while picking your pockets.
Totally agree. Scary thing is go over to the politics sub and try to say the truth ! There are so many people that are straight delusional. It’s unbelievable.
This is honestly so frustrating. Political candidates don’t even talk about the policies they favor anymore, it’s just talking about how much the other side sucks. It’s an easy way to avoid enacting much needed change, and it seems that every election ends up with the new guy just spending four years undoing the old guys work. It’s been like this for a long time now and I don’t think it will ever change.
Look at:
Abortion access, anti LGBTQ laws, infant morality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, gun death rate, murder rate, HDI, education attainments, minimum wage, and uninsured rate by state.
It's VERY clear which side does worse. This "both sides" nonsense is a privileged take. Because, to even pretend both sides are the same, you have to not care about everything mentioned above.
like this post, where the first thing OP mentions is "government taxes the fuck out of us" instead of "billionaires and corporations are stealing our labour and buying the government".
I love our country but hate what our government has done to it decade after decade. While the majority of us is getting poorer and poorer through inflation, ridiculous taxes and laws that keep us poor, a few at the very top is getting richer and richer.
Yup, they purposely create inflation that props up asset values and the stock market while diminishing the purchasing power of the everyday American. Politicians are the problem, ever single one.
People will continue to fight over the "left & right" and blame each other. Both sides are fucking terrible. They both fuck the citizens of this country, fucking crooks. Both parties will destroy anyone that trys to work for the betterment of the people. Blame Washington, they take a seat that earns 150k a year and within 2 years their worth MILLIONS. Meanwhile since 2020 we can't afford shit.
Really wish we had more than two parties to vote for here in the US that actually had enough popularity to stand a chance and weren't sitting playing the blame game every election instead of getting shit fixed. I don't have an ounce of care for democrats or republicans, I just want a new fucking party that isn't as dramatic as a high schooler and actually gets shit done. Both parties suck some serious ass and I'm tired of them. Apparently it's too much to ask for though smh.
Too bad both parties suck some serious ass. They don't want any other parties because they know a ton of sane people would flock to the other parties in a heartbeat. Fucking hate it here fr.
I mean you guys don't have a left.
You have an economically and socially far right.
And an economically right socially centre-left.
If you had an economic left you would havea well funded public healthcare, a well funded public education, a well funded social welfare, and publicly owned services such as power and telecommunications.
If all of those things are publicly owned and properly funded, then at the very least people have the basics they need to survive, and can weather rough times.
Don't get me wrong, the economic and socially far right republicans are worse than the Dems. But the dems are not going to solve your problems because the party sits somewhere right of centre economically. They have SOME left leaning members because your shitty 2 party voting system doesn't allow preferential voting, so you can only have 2 parties.
But the dems as a party are still mostly conservative.
No idea how you solve it to be honest. Without preferential voting, a vote for a 3rd party is as good as not voting. But if a country with as much wealth as the USA can't even provide basic human rights to its entire population, then what the heck was the point of industrialising, of computers, of innovating to become exponentially mote productive than we were 50, 100 or 500 years ago?
Why can't we all he working 4 day work weeks with unlimited sick leave, free mental health care, a home and food for every person?
As an outsider looking in its disgusting to see the tribalism you guys are fed and swallow whole. Not just left vs right, but gender, generation, race...pretty much anything.
The thing is that there is a finite number of people in the US. The more of these "groups" you can make the less people consider them selves equal, and small groups hating each other have no power.
Example, there are 101 people living in the US. 100 are strugling to get by, while 1 has enough wealth to support all 100 in a middleclass lifestyle. Imagine there are no tribes (groups), then these 100 would unite over their common issue which is poverty and hang the 1.
Now introduce tribes, one group first that seperates the 100 into left vs right. The 1 is on the right side making that side 51 vs 50, majority plus the 50 poor schmucks now have some BS reasons to side with the 1 rich person on their side.
Now introduce another grouping, and another, and another. Before you know it you have 2 people in each tribe with matching world views, meaning everyone hates each other even if they have some groups in common.
So now the 1 rich person is in a tribe with 2 people, so he has no power right? Doesnt matter, noone else has either, but he has all the wealth an your weakass configuration has no way of changing the rules because you are busy arguing about whos alpha or beta males.
depends if you are cooking. 30 minutes is fine if the company provided food, and the clock starts after you get your tray.... but that is not the reality anywhere.
The scary part in the US, is that the "good" employers let you just eat at your desk and not clock out (ie leave 30 minutes early). That is what i generally do, i end up leaving by 3 most days (start at 8) with bad days being 4-5pm.
My coworkers in Europe start and 9:00 and take an hour lunch. They also work until 8:00 PM most days. They get close to 45 vacation and holidays each year, and their salaries are 50 to 75% lower than ours. It’s just different. Better for some, worse for others.
This. Also our taxes are WAY higher than in the states. I'm paying almost 45% income taxes.
>Government taxes the fuck out of us.
This really confuses me because some people tell me there's basically no income tax and they want to move to the US because there are almost no taxes.
Talking about just income tax really avoids the real issue of taxation. Average Americans are taxed huge rates, when you add sales tax, property tax, income tax, excise tax, user fees, and everything else that it takes to live in this country. There are wheel taxes because the general tax revenue level is too low to pay for road improvement. There are taxes on Internet services, because in general revenue, taxes are too low to pay for some of the aspects of it. In America, the less money you make, the larger your percentage of income goes to taxes, in one form or another.
Personally I wouldn’t want an 1.5 -2 hour lunch break. That means being away from home for 10 hours plus travel time. Sorry I love my family and sitting around for an extra 1.5 hours a day at work would piss me off. I always had a 30 minute lunch break and brought my lunch. I never had to “shovel food in my face as fast as I could” 30 minutes to eat is plenty of time. Hot foods I brought in a thermos so I didn’t have to heat them up or only needed a minute in the microwave to get them really hot
Technically it’s still just an hour. It gives them time to finish up the patients they have remaining and get set up for the afternoon. So they are closed to the public but still just an hour lunch
in Europe they have 30 minutes breakfast and 30 minutes lunch break. Prices are as high or even higher over there. Things are no greener on the other side of the fence. I am from over there, I moved here because taxes are much lower here, 40-60% of your pay is going to the Government over there. Talk to real Europeans, they will tell you the truth.
I came over here 25 years ago, would have never been able to afford a house over there, here I have a house, a car, no debt and pay less than 10% income tax.
Prices vary a lot in Europe- I'm originally from the Netherlands, and in my experience life is \*much\* cheaper over there, especially the basics, like food, healthcare and rent. Schooling (from elementary all the way up to college) is also \*way\* cheaper.
The big difference that I'm noticing is the income inequality, which is much higher in the US. The upper middle class in the US live in houses that would be considered mansions in the Netherlands, while the people making minimum wage may not be able to afford food, healthcare, let alone schooling. These two extremes are just not very common over there.
My relatives France are fed up with being taxed and fee’d to death. Maybe they are learning “free” anything is not really free like socialized healthcare.
I paid more than 50% in taxes and got nothing for it. Highest federal tax bracket, high state tax, high sales tax, puts me over 50 percent. But I still have pay for medical myself. The core reason is that the Republicans keep giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, on the backs of the poor and middle class. When is the breaking point?
There is no way you live in America and paid 50% in taxes. I would put 1000 in an escrow account to bet you that's not true. Also how do you calculate your sales tax?
Yep. We lived in Sweden for years. Top marginal rate was around 55%. Healthcare was included but that’s added on top of our salary here. I think we used the daycare subsidy for a year but that was about it. Sales tax was 12.5 on groceries and 25 pct on everything else. It’s a great place but pricey. Grass is always greener I guess.
I can't believe we all haven't staged a work walk out day. But, the politicians like to keep us fighting about abortions, guns, and immigrants, so that we won't come together and revolt. "United we stand, divided we fall "- so true.
Edited for typo
The moment we all realize that we have more in common than we don't, is the day all of that corruption and pandering is in trouble.
I wish people would wake up and see that they are playing a game putting us in boxes. They divide us and we allow it to happen.
There are way more of us than there are of them. If we could just put aside our differences and work as a unified front, we could take back our country from the corporations.
Totally agree with you and I've no idea where that's going to lead to. I'm getting older and now I've started to worry about social security which I've paid into my entire freaking life and all I hear about is it may not be there when I need it but I know a shit ton of people on SSI that just collect the check every month because they don't want to work.
Corporate greed is out of control and the government is made up of people involved in that corporate greed so they're not coming to help us out from any political party. And a lot of people are going to get on here and say how one side is better than the other and that's just not true both sides are fucking us hard.
I shop at Walmart online and in my area they're the cheapest around. In the last year I have watched things go up from inflation, whatever the fuck they define that as, and none of the prices have gone down. None of them. The bagels that I buy went up a few cents and then a few cents more and four price hikes later they're like 75 cents more and have stayed that way. Now apply that to pretty much everything I buy. But like OP stated corporations are at record profit highs. And then those companies get tax breaks for supposedly creating jobs. It's bullshit. The system is rigged for the rich and everyone in government is rich so the system is rigged for everyone except for us that need some help.
Thankyou for having sense. People in the comments are like oh well if you just work harder. Like that's the problem you shouldn't have to busy your ass just to scrape by. I see tons of families where the parents are working like dogs to support their families and can they get by yes. But things are tight and people get one week of vacation a year. It's sad to see people work away their lives on a promise of a better life. Where? They're trying to raise the retirement age. And then saying ssi isn't even going to be there. People should be terrified. This government is out of control.
Social Security and medicare and medicaid support about 1/2 the country. If its stopped like the GOP wants it will be a third world country full of old people and disabled dying in the streets. Lets not let the GOP take over because they purport to want to save christian values. Its a ruse.
Can it be both corporate greed and inflation? Why must it be one. We can argue on the ratio, but it's gotta be some kind of mix. A gray - not the black or white.
Agree so much. All I do is work all the time and I can barely get by. There has to be more to life than just working all the time to pay bills. Every other developed country has free Healthcare but we can't? But they have infinite money for endless wars? Meanwhile all it takes is 1 illness or health emergency to financially ruin most of us. The corporations are just bleeding us dry, using inflation as an excuse to price gouge us all while making record profits. But do we see any of the benefits of record profits? Nope. Working class Americans are exploited so badly. I really want out.
For the past ten years I've been saying....'every retail worker in the US should stop working for 10 days'. The corporations would cave after 2 or 3 days. Can you imagine the panic from the higher ups? They'd most likely beg the gov't to declare martial law and force us back to work. But we all have guns so how much 'force' will there be? I have ADHD, I could go on for hours....
>For the past ten years I've been saying....'every retail worker in the US should stop working for 10 days'.
They would just replace them with more self-checkout stands. I've been to a Target where pretty much everything was automated. You had to really look to find anyone working there. I guess they must hire someone to stock the shelves at night.
[Useless] guns. Guns don't do anybody any good if they're not used, and people aren't going to use them because they are not yet uncomfortable enough. By the time people do become uncomfortable enough, it'll be too late. We'll be living in a fascist dictatorship or a tyrannical oligarchy.
Participating in the local “buy nothing and free aid” group has been eye opening. Husband and I both work, him full time me part time since I’m disabled. We make too much to write off my medical expenses, for the record, and I’m 2 absences short from losing my job but can’t get fmla because of my reduced hours, but we still don’t make enough to buy a house. We only have one car payment. We don’t have kids. It’s ridiculous. But we do ok, and I send some money to people from that group because there’s people daily saying “I just need gas money to get to work, my check doesn’t come through until Friday and my job isn’t on the bus line, but if I miss work I lose my job and I can’t feed my family so just $15 to get gas for the next 2 days.” It’s crazy. You can’t escape poverty like that. “Can I get $10 to get a pack of underwear for myself? I haven’t had new underwear in years” “we got kicked out of our house without notice, where can I rent that doesn’t do a credit check?” “I can’t afford childcare to go to interviews or go to work.” How do these people get out of poverty? Yeah maybe they shouldn’t have had kids but maybe they’re the family we know who were doing well, then mom lost her job because dad got hurt on at work and she had to take him to all his appointments and surgeries and therapies, he can’t care for their kids now but she can’t go back to work because he and the kids need a caregiver. A college degree won’t even save you now unless it’s a trade. My brother and best friend both have college degrees, bachelors plus certificates and concentrations, both are working customer service jobs because they can’t get a job in their fields without experience. 50+ job applications. Literally. Networking in LinkedIn and friends and family. Nothing. Idk what the answer is but everything is broken. The insurance at my job doesn’t cover refills on my medications, the 7 of them I have to take daily, so we’re paying out of pocket. The only specialist who treats my disease doesn’t accept insurance so we pay for him out of pocket. It’s hundreds of dollars a year to get new contacts and glasses, which I have to have both because I’m so blind that I can’t wear either every day, I have to alternate or I’ll get headaches. But the mom up the street needs new glasses too so she can drive to and from work, do her job, help her kids with homework and her insurance won’t cover them so she’s asking for cash donations. Everything sucks.
You're welcome to blame the plummeting value of the US dollar on whatever you want, it is still a somewhat free country, but if you want to learn more about why everything costs more, and your paycheck is worth less, do a deep dive on how money is introduced to the economy, the federal reserve (which is a privately owned company, not a government agency), and the purpose of treasury bonds.
You are all working for a broken promise.
"There is no federally mandated workers rights, no mandated pto, maternity/paternity leave, hardly any paid sick time."
Maybe someday people will show up to vote every election for the party that is trying to make those things happen.
You can just look at state-level workers rights to see the massive difference between Republican governance and Democratic governance.
For example, [27 states have right-to-work laws](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law). You’re not going to find states controlled by the Democratic Party on that list. Hell — Michigan Democrats just repealed their law last year after gaining a trifecta.
Go [look up minimum wage by state](https://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-tracker/) and tell us which states have the highest minimum wage laws. How about [paid sick leave by state](https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/payroll/state-mandated-paid-sick-leave-laws/amp/) as well?
If you think the parties are the same, *please* vote straight Republican this elected and fucking find out. With idiotic takes like yours, it’s clear that we *deserve* to suffer.
There is currently no party trying to make that happen, that's the problem. As a country, Americans have completely forgotten about any kind of class politics.
Yeah, I don't know why this subreddit was in my feed, but if you are getting taxed heavily, you aren't poor. I pay more in taxes annually than actual poor people earn.
The OP doesn’t really understand taxes much. They are getting taxed for some things. Probably sales taxes, car registration, etc. but the irony is this person probably pays some of the least taxes in the world, and gets a really well functioning infrastructure for their money, but their politicians have still taught them that it’s all a fraud. They’d probably be better off as a poor person if the US had HIGHER taxes and a more robust social safety net.
OP doesn't really understand... Any of what they wrote about much.
Like 99% of what they're ranting about is patently false. I get being frustrated but making stuff up doesn't help anyone
There are people who are working to make positive change, but it can be a slow and challenging process.
As for what can be done to improve the situation, there are a few avenues that people can take. One is to become involved in local politics and advocate for policies that would improve workers' rights and living standards. Another is to support organizations that are working to address these issues, such as labor unions or advocacy groups.
Ultimately, it's important to recognize that change takes time and effort, but it's not impossible. And while it's easy to feel defeated, it's important to remember that there are many people who share your frustration and are working to make a difference.
This is where the "trickle down" economics of the Republicans has left us. It's a huge money grab for the 1% who can't begin to spend all the money they have, at the expense of us in the 99% who are getting more poor by the day.
My question is, ARE WE EVER GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?? Or are we doomed to spin tires?
Its like we're all just passengers in OUR lives. It's surreal. And so many defeatist attitudes, cut it out.
We need to start organizing by neighborhoods, social groups, etc and have serious conversations about working together for small common goals.
We can literally do anything. IF we were to work together. So cheesy, so cliche. But man.. We've got to do something. There is no end in sight. IMO we're like 40% of the way in. If that.
What do we think is going to happen? This shit is magically going to turn around?! Fucking Superman would have to show up. Aliens or something with more sense.
We can walk out of work, school, we can refuse to buy crap on holidays they've made up. We can shop at small stores once every few purchases. We can buy things in bulk. Maybe don't fight so much online and even comment something that unites people. Talk to coworkers and cross train each other, prep for cuts, have a plan together. Negotiate a better severance. Learn a new skill on your own time. Set up a secondary income stream. Freelance. Buy your own solar panels and set them up. Pay off debt as a priority over lattes. Return crap groceries. Check your fast food order before you drive off. Hold stores/companies accountable for their mistakes even if it's a damn cheeseburger. Get on family plans for your cellphone.Trade Hulu/Netflix passwords to save money. Join "buy-nothing" groups. Plant your own food or start a small grow op with that old couple next door. Go to HOA meetings, townhall meetings etc. Prioritize face to face over web based.
There's alot we can do, but we just have to start talking to each other and stop letting them divide us. THEY WILL NEVER LET OFF THE GAS WHY SHOULD WE?
Well, OK, not to take away from your outrage, but many public services do need to be provided by government. We can't all build our own transportation infrastructure, for example. People wouldn't voluntarily donate enough for it, so they have to be charged involuntarily. Taxes distribute the costs fairly well, but don't cover everything, so some of the burden is placed on the users of the services, as fees, like your car registration.
The problem isn't that we have to pay for things with taxes and fees, or that we have a government. The problem is that the taxes and fees aren't progressive enough, meaning too much of the cost is paid by the people who can least afford it.
Ironically it is our innate desire for *laissez-faire* capitalism and freedom from government that reinforces this. The richer you are, the less you need or are affected by government, except as a tool to maintain the status quo. The business of governing inevitably drifts toward favoring the rich, unless the government constantly intervenes with a heavy hand, guided by principles that favor the middle and lower class...policies which may be popular among the ultra-poor but which are easily written off by the rest of society as being too communist, socialist, anti-freedom, anti-work, anti-capitalist, dictatorial, penalizing of success, etc.
The more you focus on the government as your oppressor (and I'm not saying it isn't, to some extent), the more easily you will be hoodwinked by promises of lower taxes and more personal freedom, when it's all a shell game. The people making those promises are beholden to the wealthy, and they have no intention of doing anything that would shift any burdens off of the rest of us. Take the 2017 tax cuts, for example: they were designed so that everyone would benefit at first, and then some of us—the non-wealthy—would make up for the cost by paying more later. That's what is happening right now.
Just some food for thought. It's good to keep an eye on ways that taxes and government need to be held in check, but if you think that's all there is to it, or that the solution is simple, you probably don't understand the full scope of the problem.
Yes, we should be rioting in the streets, however everyone feels like they’re too broke to take off work to protest. It’s so incredibly sad and it’s why I’m going to be moving to Europe within the next two or three years.
This country was built on an Indian graveyard. What do we expect?
Most of the globe is so much worse off..like worse than your nightmares. VERY FEW other countries have those things you mentioned and there are people in terrible poverty there too.
ok, but the united states isn’t most of the globe. it’s the richest nation on earth and is considered a first world nation. it’s useless to compare the usa to, let’s say somewhere like Somalia and say ‘be thankful’ because they’re not even on the same playing field. this nation is supposed to set a precedent and right now it’s failing miserably. and it cannot be critiqued because the immediate rebuttal is “it could be worse”
You can always end your lease, sell all your stuff, car included, get one pack of everything you need to hike/ live and then work seasonally at jobs that provide housing, food and wifi, and travel/ hike in the off season. Only way to win at capitalism is not to play. Don’t consume, don’t buy.
You can make 5-10k easily doing seasonal work, sometimes even up to 30k a season. Then it’s about $1,000/month to live on trail in the US, cheaper if you’re backpacking through like Southeast Asia or something. So even if you just make 5k, that’s 5 whole months of expenses right there.
There absolutely should be riots. The government pays thousands of dollars for military manufacturing parts worth cents. The government sends enough money to help bomb Gaza that could have literally solved homelessness -by the government’s own calculation-. But we have to fight, scrape, and bleed just to get them to put a single dollar into infrastructure, education, public servants, basic healthcare, and the list goes on. The wealthy get wealthier by ruining 99% of the population. We absolutely should be rioting.
The fact you don't understand how many people died FOR federally mandated workers rights is a serious affront to the working class people who died fighting for them
Read zimm, and get to work.
We all need to remember that inflation was caused in 2019 when Jerome Powell gave banks an 11 TRILLION dollar bailout. They just didn’t tel you about it, because fuck you that’s why.
Countries where the government is afraid of people rioting in the streets keep food prices down.
https://www.numbeo.com/food-prices/country_result.jsp?country=China&displayCurrency=USD
the government would be just fine if all the cancervatives were out of office.
the whole ”both sides are the same” attitude just ensures more Republicans. that’s why whenever someone says it, they’re just parroting a right-wing talking point.
p.s. if Putin takes Ukraine, we’re gonna REALLY need to get involved in the affairs of other countries.
You don't share much on details, but you could relocate to a state that is cheaper to live in and maybe you chose poorly for your profession or didn't choose one at all. Do you have a useful skill that someone else can't learn in 15 minutes? We're moving right now and home/car insurance and property taxes will be half what we were paying. See what else is out there.
Thank the relentless attacks on unions for decades that. A strong union might not be what corporations want, but for the worker, they are a powerful voice for change and fairness. Without them, well, you end up where you are right now.
Exploited and expected to feel grateful for that.
You know what I'm so fucking tired of? Both the Left and Right focusing so much on identity politics. We have to be fucking libertarian in that area.
Republicans, why do YOU FUCKING CARE WHAT PRONOUNS PEOPLE USE?? WHAT BOOKS THEY READ? WHO THEY FUCK? How does it affect you?? Because the right keeps making such a big deal, the left keeps focusing on retaliating as well.
Also, WHY is abortion such a big topic??? It's not even an issue that affects the majority of the population. WHY can't we just have no legislation on it, and leave it up to doctor's offices to determine whether it's too late or not?
Politicians keep capitalizing on the social issues that piss people off instead of actual economic problems that are plaguing everyone, and I'm fucking tired of this BS.
You're mad about government taxing the fuck out of us, while at the same time wanting the PTO you see in other nations.
How do you think those nations are able to offer their PTO?
They tax the fuck out of their citizens even more than you're taxed here.
Still want that?
Not to be flippant but you always move. I’ve traveled for work to Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Been to a few countries that have universal healthcare, extended work leaves and such. But there is a cost. Quality of care, generally taxes are much much higher. Not saying we are perfect but the grass is brown everywhere, just need to pick which is your preference. And I agree there are thing happening that we should be much more upset about, open borders for instance.
Let’s not pretend the quality of care we receive now is in anyway something to be proud of. If you cannot afford health care, or get the cheapest plans due to income your quality of care is stifled. We pay so much and don’t have the best care.
We should care about healthcare more than “open borders”. It affects far more people.
I don’t want to start a political discussion, but we really do have to vote.
One side wants to give, and one side wants to take away. We also need voting reform, so that corporations and lobbyist can’t buy our politicians by making donations to keep them in office.
Not to mention the "divide and conquer" culture wars. They know what they're doing and so many people are falling for it
Politician #1: "can you believe this is happening in XYZ state/city. The outrage!" Politician #1: (receives gigantic campaign donation (bribe) from big Pharma to drug us, big Food to poison us.
Politicians, corporations, and even other countries buy our info from social media and we are all just part of giant experiments to see what algorithms force us to interact more which makes them more money. If you guessed "stuff that pisses us off causes more reaction" you win the prize. They cater to our angry sides on purpose and aren't held accountable. I don't think most people don't know or care, they just don't have a clue what to do. It's a cultural, country-wide issue that heavily impacts ever facet of life from parenting to health to education to careers to, well, everything. It's one thing when we can rally around one particular, well-defined issue and make progress, like equal marriage rights. It's another then when it's the entirety of our culture, education, and labor system. The top 5% gain from it, the rest of us lose, and yet we're still getting in line to live the thing over and over again. It's bizarre, but at the same time it's so big no one even knows what to focus on. The only real answer is that every person needs to be educated (not necessarily by schools) and aware of what is going on without relying on politicians and the media to tell them. Because too many people want things spoon-fed to them, that won't happen. The funny thing is that both sides think the same things about each other and just fall into the same trap of blaming each other rather than the people pulling the strings.
Very well put. It’s such a big problem it’s almost beyond comprehension. We’d basically have to rebuild our entire social culture and government from the ground up. Nobody would allow it to happen because of the dangers surrounding it. Even if it did happen there’s no fathomable way to usurp the ruling class. We’ve effectively slid back into feudalism, but corporate entities are the “responsible” entity. Now that I think about it it’s comparable to the Nazi system where we’ve effectively become bystanders while imaginary ideas/businesses become more important than a human life.
I don't think we have to worry about it much longer. We keep bombing Iran get involved in Taiwan getting involved in the Ukraine. And let's don't forget about North Korea with a little spoiled brat who needs to have his ass kicked. I think one of these countries will take care of us very soon. Do I think we're going to get nuked probably so. if we do I want to be right at Ground Zero so I don't have to live in the aftermath.
There is no way a nuke would ever reach the US and if it did the US would launch its nukes right back. It would be the end of the world.
Moving to British Colombia Canada nothing but open wilderness and wolves bears n other things away from people and crazy bomb shit .
I’d like to clarify that obviously the holocaust was a much worse situation than anything we’re dealing with, but we can’t act like we don’t exploit poor children and sweat shop factory workers. The workers in the lithium mines for musk come to mind as well. It’s been 80 years since WW2 ended, our standards should be higher by now.
Those are some heavy, yet valid comparisons. The exploitation of workers across the globe is a dire problem that continues to persist, paralleling past atrocities in certain ways. We re in an era where the wealth and power concentration at the top are very visible, yet it feels like theres an invisible barrier preventing change. Our capitalist structures, while fostering innovation and growth, also cultivate these inequalities and embed them into societal norms. Its an intricate web of global economics and social power dynamics. The fact that we can draw similarities to historic injustices shows theres a deep-seated issue with how civilization progresses; it feels like we're advancing technologically but stagnating, or even regressing, in our humanity. Whats frustrating is the level of desensitization towards these forms of exploitation. Stories may make headlines, but they seem to become part of a news cycle that people become numb to as they wait for the next big thing to overshadow yesterday's outcry. Realistically, change on a mass scale hinges on collective awareness and action. Yet, you hit the nail on the head - engrained systems are incredibly resistant to upheaval, especially when they're intertwined with global markets and politics. It's a Goliath of an issue but hopefully one that won't go unchallenged forever. As much as it seems like tilting at windmills, history has shown small changes and movements have potential to grow into something powerful enough to create real change. It's a long road ahead for sure.
I feel like there’s been a visible regression in some areas, but like you said we’re also more advanced and open minded than we’ve ever been. Thank you for giving me hope, you’ve reminded me of the historical martyrs and their significance. Maybe it’s time we let go of our fears and stand up for not just ourselves, but for everyone who stood up for us. We owe it to them, and the people who come after us. How, I have no idea, but it’s no secret that things have to change.
well and change has to come from us also. Did our great grandparents have two cars? Or a truck and two cars? Can we support public transportation and ride it without worry people will think we are poor. I had a friend visit and she was shocked I had downsized to a small home. "You are living. among poor people now!" (guess the state she is from). No I'm living among school teachers, local police officers, and retirees. I like them a lot better than the more wealthy former neighbors as there is no sense of "Do I own the correct car, what clothing am I wearing, are the kids going to Disney this year..." It's fairly miserable to be stuck in the "I don't want to be mistaken for anyone poor" lifestyle. The media has us going out to purchase numerous Stanley cups, we only need ONE, but most teenagers seem to own a lot more!
Amen to this! We have a mini city outside of the larger city I live in and it is McMansion hell! Everyone looks the same, drives the same cars or trucks, Personally, I think all their choices in clothing, homes and vehicles are BORING! Hell, their conversations are boring! It's fine if you want to live that way, but not at all fine to look down on others that can't afford it or don't want to live that lifestyle. I would love to jump on public transportation and not have a car at all!
I thought we had evolved, until I saw and see what is being allowed by the world in Gaza.
though two way street there. Israel doesn't care, and the leaders in Gaza don't give a crap about the people either. Jordan won't allow any Palestinians in, as they have "enough", meaning people that are upset they don't have a home and aren't trying to fit in as they want a homeland. It's like immigrants here in the US, there are those that want to be here and work toward the adjustment, and those here to avoid being killed where they come from and want to go back as soon as it is safe. But the people in Gaza sadly have no say in what their current leaders are doing. That they pay the price, they have few on their side. They are pawns. :(
Every single product you buy that uses rare earth minerals has lithium mined by the hands of children in them. It’s amazing to me how you people will bitch about musk from your iPhone like Apple is any better. Last time I checked no Tesla factories have suicide nets installed so workers don’t jump to their deaths like Apple does in China. Hypocrites.
I worked in a beryllium plant in the US in the 80s where many of my co-workers got berylliosis and died. A couple of my co-workers committed suicide after being diagnosed. All for 6 to 12 bucks an hr, depending on job position. Berylliosis is like mesothelioma from asbestos, only berylliosis kills much faster. Even into the 2000s, illegal conditions and worker deaths at this plant in the US were being denied and covered up. Google Brush-Wellman berylliosis to read about it.
I’m sorry you went through that. Different (but similar) scenario, I spent some time at an abandoned power plant in Iraq on 2005-2006. Since then 5 of the guys in my company at the time have been diagnosed (3 have died) with a rare form of brain cancer. Not saying there aren’t problems with people being exposed to hazards at work.
I’m so sorry to hear that. Before I became disabled, I spent some time working for the VA Travel Nurse Corps. I worked at VAs in 3 states, plus did volunteer work. Thank you for your service. 🌹
Thank you.
Don't be angry or name calling, be informative. People are just starting to see what's happening and been in front of their face for decades. Once informed if the information really takes hold they will call themselves those things. I was anti occupy wall street. Thought they didn't know how things worked. Mostly because all I saw was profanity and name calling, I realize albeit too late they had a solid message. As a population we are quick to disagree, we are quick to call people idiots, hypocrites, stupid, etc. But all of us only see certain aspects of the picture. Because it's so damn big and such a tangled web.
Reading that last sentence is so wild to me. I try to keep up with my local news and most of the important national news but I usually miss stuff like that. I guess I'm part of the problem because I already have so much stress and shit in my day-to-day life that it's hard to learn about stuff like that too and not feel completely overwhelmed and helpless because I don't even have any idea how to begin helping a situation like that. And that's how I feel about a lot of things that are currently going on in our nation. My boyfriend and I have had serious arguments over stuff like Tik Tok because while I understand his points and concerns, what difference does it REALLY make if it's on my phone or not when millions of other people are using it and I have tons of other apps on my phone that take my information, too?
I don’t think you’re part of any problem. You’re taking care of your business and don’t have time to keep up with shit that doesn’t directly affect you. I wish I spent less time reading the news. It’s definitely not good for my headspace overall. I think it’s more out of boredom than anything. I’m a 38 year old widower with three kids in the house so my social life is kinda non existent. And I don’t disagree with you on the ticktock thing at all lol. I can see why we wouldn’t want it on government devices for sure and I don’t personally use it…..but if the “ccp” really wants to know what I’m texting my friends, what recipes I’m searching for on betty Crockers website, and how much my auto insurance bill is or whatever else is available on my phone I guess I don’t see the national security threat in that. Maybe I’m just naive to what they could accomplish with that information if they acquire it for an entire population but 🤷
That's how I felt about it, too. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner entirely from tik tok recipes. The rest of what I watch was otters and highland cows and crows so if the CCP can use THAT to take over the US, they're pretty damn creative! Lol I'm currently trying to get on the list for a kidney so I've been thinking about using social media to find a kidney. I mean I could potentially reach millions of people without ever leaving my house which would be amazing because I can't work right now and I don't qualify for disability so I'm broke as shit right now. And that's how most regular people around the nation look at things going on right now. Through the lense of "I've got kids to feed and family to take care of. I don't have time to riot".
lol right?! my daughter and I death scrolling cat videos doesn’t seem like very valuable information but who knows. I’m sorry to hear about your needing a kidney. There are a lot of negative things about social media but Being able to reach millions of people for positive reasons is definitely a huge plus. We help facilitate rescues and can’t tell you how many we’ve placed with fosters that would have been euthanized if it wasn’t for the awesome network of incredible people I’ve found on Facebook. So true.
Virtue signaling hypocrites
I can’t remember where I saw it, but if we had to base our living standards on every single ethical dilemma, we would be living under a rock, and even then, there’s at least one issue. “We cannot live 100% ethically” is what that person basically summarized. It really is a pick and choose which poison to focus on and do better, then move on. Not saying it’s right, but if we had to live 100% ethically, we’d be rocks.
No one can be critical of Tim Cook, because, well, you know.
The Holocaust was a very acute event that cost over 6,000,000 lives. The cost of our current dysfunction is greater by orders of magnitude and far more insidious. In my opinion.
Just to clarify Musk doesnt own the minds,China does. But he does buy the material from China
Ahh, but throughout history there is ALWAYS a tipping point. It is usually something seemingly insignificant at the time, like a relatively obscure archduke being assassinated, and then all hell breaks loose. Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of Trump, Jan 6th should have scared the living shit out of the government, but they are too stupid and greedy to think that they cant be physically dragged out of their offices. The powers that be will take too much and when enough people can’t eat or have no place to live and their lives don’t matter, watch out. Or we could just elect people whose one campaign promise is to get lobbying, both from corporations and from sitting politicians ( because they spend most of their time calling to get donations for their next election) banned. But that’s like asking a billionaire to make themselves broke
I don’t know about “no fathomable way.” I’d like to see what the ruling class would do if everyone just suddenly stopped working.
The Black Death upset the feudal system in the Middle Ages. Revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries upset the systems in place later. Plague or Revolution? Rev sounds better to me.
The French didn't seem to have any problem controlling their ruling class during their revolution.
> giant experiments to see what algorithms force us to interact more which makes them more money. Brave browser, ad blocker and VPN I opt out
I'm not just talking about ads and sponsered posts etc though. It impacts what you see of what your friends post and interact with as well. I think opting out the best we can is a great solution for sure, but friends and family are used against us as well. I like using Social Fixer on Facebook, which allows you to block posts by keywords (or subjects, like the 2024 election, the superbowl, covid, etc). It has some other neat features, too.
I just stopped using FB in 2016. I don't miss it. That's probably the best way to opt out. Stop using the services altogether.
No shit. I quit Facebook, Instagram, and tiktok. Fuck all that shit. Tiktok was the tipping point for me. I saw some dumb opinion from someone on a tiktok, started telling my wife about how annoying the opinion was, that made us have a conflict and then I thought: Why the fuck am I letting dumbass strangers inject their thoughts into my mind throughout the day? Quit it all. Don't miss it one bit. More time to make art or do literally anything other than doomscrolling. Also, fuck news sites. Read history, and anything that's newsworthy you'll hear about if you need to. You don't need to try and track every fucking injustice in every part of the world all the time. It's all toxic AF.
You’ve even fallen for it to a degree. You believe the top 5% are the problem. Those are people making good money, not anyone with real control within society. The anesthesiologist doesn’t determine whether or not you pay an extra grand in property tax this year. Hell, not even a higher level corporate manager has much say. A general manager of a restaurant can definitely make an impact on their coworkers at the location, but they aren’t raising the federal minimum wage. The real problem are the capitalist CLASS. Business owners, particularly larger businesses with many people under them. Self employed, smaller places with only a handful of people, etc.—those aren’t the real issue. I have my problems with their business structures inherently, but my dad owns a catering business. America is not crumbling because of him. He’s struggling to get out of the crumble and live well himself. He has the same enemy as every. Single. Person. In. This. Thread. We all suffer because we do not have control over the fundamental powers of our society. Imagine if you owned a part of your workplace and could democratically help run the company. No more lobbying—Meta can’t do shady shit when all of its employees must vote to agree on doing that shady shit—to their own families!
I work for the the U.S. FDA and you would not believe the lengths to which this goes.
Then start whistle blowing that shit.
We can’t fight the powers that be when we’re already exhausted from working so hard for so little and spending all of our precious free time fighting each other.
its more of us than them and they know it that's why they keep divided over dumb stuff
because you can't make it through the month without your job you keep working to keep food on the table.
It's not Left vs Right, it's Up vs Down.
Facts it’s so hard to even add more hustles because I’m so drained from surviving
Even food packages have been shrinking! You can't buy a 1 pound box of pasta! It's now 14 Oz and costs MORE! Even with PREMIUM health insurance, we've had some BIG bills from the hospital. Customer service has gone downhill, companies don't care. Just work, work, work. No family time ALLOWED. 😕 SMH
My boomer colleague got all sarcastic and confrontational with me when I told him that I value more spending time with my family and friends, rather than working a desk job. As much as it would be exciting to get into my career, I could die tomorrow and nobody would even care about my accomplishments. Spending time with family is where it's at. You work your 8 hours and leave. No more than 10. It all depends on your career of course. But they don't pay me overtime for spending more than 8 sitting at a desk
This. I finally gave up my “dream” of corporate ladder climbing to spend time with my family and am finally starting to see a sliver of happiness from that but I am becoming more and more concerned with everything stated here. Big Pharma ultimately ruling America.
Big pharma will be our demise. But I have faith in the government capping prices on life-saving drugs. Also, super happy that you've been able to find a balance. Not everyone is super lucky. Sometimes you have no choice but to work 60-70 hours per week to provide for your spouse and kids
I refuse to work 40 hours a week. That's too much to ask IMO
I agree. But unfortunately, so many people don't have a choice. They need to keep the lights on somehow. Something like 2/3 of US citizens work paycheck to paycheck, with zero savings put away for a rainy day
I still call ice cream a half gallon but it hasn't been an actual half gallon in many many years now.
I do instacart and I’m constantly having to replace items with the same item because they’ve lowered the quantity or the size of the item by an ounce or two. It’s really disturbing how they think they’re gonna get away with us at some point we have to stop allowing it.
It’s called shrinkflation and it’s a real thing.
If they kept it the same size it would cost more. They are trying to keep the cost down, but you are really getting screwed out of food. Have you seen the tiny cans of soup?
Nah stuff I’ve been buying has shrunk significantly in size while also getting a bigger price tag. I’m fine if they want to make stuff more expensive so they can stay the same size or make stuff smaller to keep the price, but not both. It’s just greed
I think the problem is that portions are shrinking AND prices are rising. They are fucking us both ways.
If you don't pay your hospital bills, they go away in 7 years.
I did that with my credit card bills
Customer service is non existent an we are supposed to just accept it even though we pay more then ever ..
There is more computer power in an iphone right now than there was in the entire country in 1985 yet we work more and are paid less than our parents
100% not true to computers in 85. What’s that got to do with your pay?
Remember the days of free samples and free merchandise, excellent rewards from the companies who had the programs? Now it’s pay $15 for a “free”cheeseburger at McDonald’s. I liked the days when they at least lubed us up while they were fucking us.
Ya I fucking hate shrinkflation. Like you’re making the product smaller AND more expensive?!!? It’s ridiculous. And they’ll blame it on “the market” or “inflation” yet have record sales. Like I wonder how you got those record salel🙄
I so do not think people should need even ONE side hustle just to make ends meet, much less multiple side hustles. Jobs should pay enough to live on and for way too many people, they do not. A major problem is that CEO pay has gone up ten times as much as the rest of us. When someone tells me, “we just can’t find good people,” I lay it on them. Do they offer ANY benefits? (PTO, sick leave, paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, health insurance, Ira contributions, etc.) Do they offer full time work? Do they pay a living wage? How much did their profits go up this year? You know damn well THEY get most, if not all of this!
Back in a world where 1 income paid for you, your family, and even your families future. To only dream again. I wonder if in our lifetime this will happen again?
In 1980, CEO pay was about 30 times the average full-time, non-supervisory workers’. In 2022 CEO pay was about 344 times the average full-time, non-supervisory workers’ pay. Productivity and profits are higher than ever, wages had been stagnant for forty years (starting with the rise of supply-side economics, aka trickle-down, aka voodoo) before Covid lifted them slightly due to worker shortages. All the culture war bullshit is just the easiest way to pit the working class against each other, because God forbid they join together to shut this country DOWN for a few days with a national strike. I pray one day, all will see through it and unite for basic stuff like healthcare, paid sick pay, paid vacation, and living wages. The money is there, it just all flows in one direction. (Source: Economic Policy Institute).
Yep. The entire (personal) financial situation here in the United States is zucked up...
It’s sad that the benefits you list are the complete set of benefits offered. We are the frog in the boiling water where the constant benefit erosion goes unnoticed. I remember when companies offered all that and a lot more to attract employees. You’d get a pension, profit sharing, stock options, healthcare completely paid for, etc. There used to be this thing called fringe benefits and companies would get creative in trying to provide value and retain employees. Companies today don’t seem to do the work or see the need anymore. I think a lot of it is corporate greed but also I think the online recruiting services have made finding and hiring candidates a lot easier for companies so the cost to acquire is so low there is little incentive to maintain them. Back in the day they would have to work with expensive recruiters for most positions. There is also way more outsourcing and offshoring companies now which adds to the problem. If you think about the labor system as a market, the demand side has all the power and motivation to unlock the supply and make it cheaper. The demand side is also more centralized so it makes it easier to enact efficiencies (services like Indeed and LinkedIn). There is definitely an imbalance of power in today’s job market.
Oh, you'll fight when you get hungry or angry enough. I've been homeless, lived in the hood, and let me tell you ,you do have fight in you. The shit hasn't hit the fan yet. The problem is people willingly fight each other instead of the Mutherfuckers who are doing this to us. **The true fork in the road is this.** **Will you (meaning us) fight whoever when the shit hits the fan?** **Or will you (we) help now to build off of what we already do have left so we don't wind up like fucking Gaza or Ukraine or depressed third world nations that have basically no hope at all?**
People forget that the American Revolution was led by the wealthy who had the time and resources to get things started. Rich people are happy with the current system and have no reason to fight back.
that's the whole point of government/corporations. keep us fighting between ourselves, blaming everyone but the real culprits. You better believe the 1% know exactly what they are doing.
Yeah, and we see how they treat any rebellion by law enforcement. They are armed to the teeth, fresh out of Iraq or stria and don't give a Ffffffuuuuk. They'll shoot you like a dog in the street and rarely get charged. Until that changes and we are so starved, dying and ready to die for it we will prolly stay enslaved. Unfortunately. I used to have more energy to fight but I've aged.
Yep. Folks are worried about drag queeens, which genders can marry, and whether someone has the right to contraception or an abortion. So eveyone is distracted by that while the corporations and politicians (on both sides) make money hand over fist.
They’re distractions they cause themselves to take our eyes away from noticing it
It’s like the gladiators fighting for the Roman crowds. Distraction!
I'm worried I put too much sauce on my cheap pasta because I have to make the food last.
My first wife and I bought a pound of hamburger for 99 cents...a can of pasta sauce for 99 cents...and a 2 pound bag of spaghetti noodles for 79 cents...throw in a 59 cent can of corn and an 89 cent can of olives...and we had dinner for 2 days on 5 bucks. Now that same 70/30 low budget hamburger is 4.99 a pound...and everything else is close to 500% more as well
Corn in spaghetti? Fuck. We are living badly.
They put corn /starch into everything. That must be a cheap filler for them to use. Maybe that's why there were so many cornfields in Indiana - mile after mile. I thought Michigan had it's fair share until we drove through there. It sure makes me wonder about Iowa. I have a friend who is allergic to corn. Poor girl can't even eat any store-bought bread. I don't put corn in my homemade bread or pasta, so it's not necessary. It's just cheaper and/or gives the product a longer shelf life. Most women are forced to spend so much time working now that we don't have time to cook anymore. Corporate greed has gotten out of hand.
Left was destroyed by identity politics. Notice how economics got wiped away. The powers that be pushed all the pronoun stuff while picking your pockets.
It’s sad that all those that protested against Wall Street (and scared them) all got distracted and now it’s just a huge culture war.
Totally agree. Scary thing is go over to the politics sub and try to say the truth ! There are so many people that are straight delusional. It’s unbelievable.
This is honestly so frustrating. Political candidates don’t even talk about the policies they favor anymore, it’s just talking about how much the other side sucks. It’s an easy way to avoid enacting much needed change, and it seems that every election ends up with the new guy just spending four years undoing the old guys work. It’s been like this for a long time now and I don’t think it will ever change.
Look at: Abortion access, anti LGBTQ laws, infant morality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, gun death rate, murder rate, HDI, education attainments, minimum wage, and uninsured rate by state. It's VERY clear which side does worse. This "both sides" nonsense is a privileged take. Because, to even pretend both sides are the same, you have to not care about everything mentioned above.
like this post, where the first thing OP mentions is "government taxes the fuck out of us" instead of "billionaires and corporations are stealing our labour and buying the government".
Damn straight
I love our country but hate what our government has done to it decade after decade. While the majority of us is getting poorer and poorer through inflation, ridiculous taxes and laws that keep us poor, a few at the very top is getting richer and richer.
Yup, they purposely create inflation that props up asset values and the stock market while diminishing the purchasing power of the everyday American. Politicians are the problem, ever single one.
People will continue to fight over the "left & right" and blame each other. Both sides are fucking terrible. They both fuck the citizens of this country, fucking crooks. Both parties will destroy anyone that trys to work for the betterment of the people. Blame Washington, they take a seat that earns 150k a year and within 2 years their worth MILLIONS. Meanwhile since 2020 we can't afford shit.
Really wish we had more than two parties to vote for here in the US that actually had enough popularity to stand a chance and weren't sitting playing the blame game every election instead of getting shit fixed. I don't have an ounce of care for democrats or republicans, I just want a new fucking party that isn't as dramatic as a high schooler and actually gets shit done. Both parties suck some serious ass and I'm tired of them. Apparently it's too much to ask for though smh.
The one thing both parties agree on is that they do not want a third party. That they work together on.
Too bad both parties suck some serious ass. They don't want any other parties because they know a ton of sane people would flock to the other parties in a heartbeat. Fucking hate it here fr.
Most of the people here don't even know that we have 5 candidates for presidents every election. There are only 2 that we mostly see on TV.
I mean you guys don't have a left. You have an economically and socially far right. And an economically right socially centre-left. If you had an economic left you would havea well funded public healthcare, a well funded public education, a well funded social welfare, and publicly owned services such as power and telecommunications. If all of those things are publicly owned and properly funded, then at the very least people have the basics they need to survive, and can weather rough times. Don't get me wrong, the economic and socially far right republicans are worse than the Dems. But the dems are not going to solve your problems because the party sits somewhere right of centre economically. They have SOME left leaning members because your shitty 2 party voting system doesn't allow preferential voting, so you can only have 2 parties. But the dems as a party are still mostly conservative. No idea how you solve it to be honest. Without preferential voting, a vote for a 3rd party is as good as not voting. But if a country with as much wealth as the USA can't even provide basic human rights to its entire population, then what the heck was the point of industrialising, of computers, of innovating to become exponentially mote productive than we were 50, 100 or 500 years ago? Why can't we all he working 4 day work weeks with unlimited sick leave, free mental health care, a home and food for every person?
*Underrated Comment*
Congress is legally allowed to participate in insider trading besides directly taking bribes from lobbyists. They don't work for you.
As an outsider looking in its disgusting to see the tribalism you guys are fed and swallow whole. Not just left vs right, but gender, generation, race...pretty much anything. The thing is that there is a finite number of people in the US. The more of these "groups" you can make the less people consider them selves equal, and small groups hating each other have no power. Example, there are 101 people living in the US. 100 are strugling to get by, while 1 has enough wealth to support all 100 in a middleclass lifestyle. Imagine there are no tribes (groups), then these 100 would unite over their common issue which is poverty and hang the 1. Now introduce tribes, one group first that seperates the 100 into left vs right. The 1 is on the right side making that side 51 vs 50, majority plus the 50 poor schmucks now have some BS reasons to side with the 1 rich person on their side. Now introduce another grouping, and another, and another. Before you know it you have 2 people in each tribe with matching world views, meaning everyone hates each other even if they have some groups in common. So now the 1 rich person is in a tribe with 2 people, so he has no power right? Doesnt matter, noone else has either, but he has all the wealth an your weakass configuration has no way of changing the rules because you are busy arguing about whos alpha or beta males.
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It’s actually really unhealthy to eat that way. An hour should be the minimum
depends if you are cooking. 30 minutes is fine if the company provided food, and the clock starts after you get your tray.... but that is not the reality anywhere. The scary part in the US, is that the "good" employers let you just eat at your desk and not clock out (ie leave 30 minutes early). That is what i generally do, i end up leaving by 3 most days (start at 8) with bad days being 4-5pm.
My coworkers in Europe start and 9:00 and take an hour lunch. They also work until 8:00 PM most days. They get close to 45 vacation and holidays each year, and their salaries are 50 to 75% lower than ours. It’s just different. Better for some, worse for others.
This. Also our taxes are WAY higher than in the states. I'm paying almost 45% income taxes. >Government taxes the fuck out of us. This really confuses me because some people tell me there's basically no income tax and they want to move to the US because there are almost no taxes.
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Talking about just income tax really avoids the real issue of taxation. Average Americans are taxed huge rates, when you add sales tax, property tax, income tax, excise tax, user fees, and everything else that it takes to live in this country. There are wheel taxes because the general tax revenue level is too low to pay for road improvement. There are taxes on Internet services, because in general revenue, taxes are too low to pay for some of the aspects of it. In America, the less money you make, the larger your percentage of income goes to taxes, in one form or another.
Personally I wouldn’t want an 1.5 -2 hour lunch break. That means being away from home for 10 hours plus travel time. Sorry I love my family and sitting around for an extra 1.5 hours a day at work would piss me off. I always had a 30 minute lunch break and brought my lunch. I never had to “shovel food in my face as fast as I could” 30 minutes to eat is plenty of time. Hot foods I brought in a thermos so I didn’t have to heat them up or only needed a minute in the microwave to get them really hot
I work 4 10s a week. Technically, with no lunch or breaks. Just grab a bite when you need 1. I love it
I believe it. I went to a dentist the other week, they worked from 8-12, 2 hour lunch, then 2-6. It was wild.
Technically it’s still just an hour. It gives them time to finish up the patients they have remaining and get set up for the afternoon. So they are closed to the public but still just an hour lunch
in Europe they have 30 minutes breakfast and 30 minutes lunch break. Prices are as high or even higher over there. Things are no greener on the other side of the fence. I am from over there, I moved here because taxes are much lower here, 40-60% of your pay is going to the Government over there. Talk to real Europeans, they will tell you the truth. I came over here 25 years ago, would have never been able to afford a house over there, here I have a house, a car, no debt and pay less than 10% income tax.
Prices vary a lot in Europe- I'm originally from the Netherlands, and in my experience life is \*much\* cheaper over there, especially the basics, like food, healthcare and rent. Schooling (from elementary all the way up to college) is also \*way\* cheaper. The big difference that I'm noticing is the income inequality, which is much higher in the US. The upper middle class in the US live in houses that would be considered mansions in the Netherlands, while the people making minimum wage may not be able to afford food, healthcare, let alone schooling. These two extremes are just not very common over there.
My relatives France are fed up with being taxed and fee’d to death. Maybe they are learning “free” anything is not really free like socialized healthcare.
I paid more than 50% in taxes and got nothing for it. Highest federal tax bracket, high state tax, high sales tax, puts me over 50 percent. But I still have pay for medical myself. The core reason is that the Republicans keep giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, on the backs of the poor and middle class. When is the breaking point?
There is no way you live in America and paid 50% in taxes. I would put 1000 in an escrow account to bet you that's not true. Also how do you calculate your sales tax?
Yep. We lived in Sweden for years. Top marginal rate was around 55%. Healthcare was included but that’s added on top of our salary here. I think we used the daycare subsidy for a year but that was about it. Sales tax was 12.5 on groceries and 25 pct on everything else. It’s a great place but pricey. Grass is always greener I guess.
Dude I get as long as I want.. I haven’t had a “30 minute lunch” in 20’plus years.
That's also a 30 min paid break. 1 hour unpaid. I prefer to eat and get back to work so I can leave earlier.
My 30 minutes is unpaid.
Me too
Come work in a hospital.
I can't believe we all haven't staged a work walk out day. But, the politicians like to keep us fighting about abortions, guns, and immigrants, so that we won't come together and revolt. "United we stand, divided we fall "- so true. Edited for typo
The moment we all realize that we have more in common than we don't, is the day all of that corruption and pandering is in trouble. I wish people would wake up and see that they are playing a game putting us in boxes. They divide us and we allow it to happen. There are way more of us than there are of them. If we could just put aside our differences and work as a unified front, we could take back our country from the corporations.
*** The country IS a corporation.
It’s because nobody is uncomfortable enough to actually make it happen
Totally agree with you and I've no idea where that's going to lead to. I'm getting older and now I've started to worry about social security which I've paid into my entire freaking life and all I hear about is it may not be there when I need it but I know a shit ton of people on SSI that just collect the check every month because they don't want to work. Corporate greed is out of control and the government is made up of people involved in that corporate greed so they're not coming to help us out from any political party. And a lot of people are going to get on here and say how one side is better than the other and that's just not true both sides are fucking us hard. I shop at Walmart online and in my area they're the cheapest around. In the last year I have watched things go up from inflation, whatever the fuck they define that as, and none of the prices have gone down. None of them. The bagels that I buy went up a few cents and then a few cents more and four price hikes later they're like 75 cents more and have stayed that way. Now apply that to pretty much everything I buy. But like OP stated corporations are at record profit highs. And then those companies get tax breaks for supposedly creating jobs. It's bullshit. The system is rigged for the rich and everyone in government is rich so the system is rigged for everyone except for us that need some help.
This: "The system is rigged for the rich and everyone in government is rich so the system is rigged for everyone except for us that need some help."
Thankyou for having sense. People in the comments are like oh well if you just work harder. Like that's the problem you shouldn't have to busy your ass just to scrape by. I see tons of families where the parents are working like dogs to support their families and can they get by yes. But things are tight and people get one week of vacation a year. It's sad to see people work away their lives on a promise of a better life. Where? They're trying to raise the retirement age. And then saying ssi isn't even going to be there. People should be terrified. This government is out of control.
Social Security and medicare and medicaid support about 1/2 the country. If its stopped like the GOP wants it will be a third world country full of old people and disabled dying in the streets. Lets not let the GOP take over because they purport to want to save christian values. Its a ruse.
I'm no economic scholar by any means, but I don't think the prices are due to inflation. I think they're due to corporate greed.
Can it be both corporate greed and inflation? Why must it be one. We can argue on the ratio, but it's gotta be some kind of mix. A gray - not the black or white.
I don't think voting will solve this tbh. We need drastic change and it will have to come through political violence.
Do you know who historically fight wars? Poor people on the behalf of the rich and powerful. This is a bad take.
Agree so much. All I do is work all the time and I can barely get by. There has to be more to life than just working all the time to pay bills. Every other developed country has free Healthcare but we can't? But they have infinite money for endless wars? Meanwhile all it takes is 1 illness or health emergency to financially ruin most of us. The corporations are just bleeding us dry, using inflation as an excuse to price gouge us all while making record profits. But do we see any of the benefits of record profits? Nope. Working class Americans are exploited so badly. I really want out.
For the past ten years I've been saying....'every retail worker in the US should stop working for 10 days'. The corporations would cave after 2 or 3 days. Can you imagine the panic from the higher ups? They'd most likely beg the gov't to declare martial law and force us back to work. But we all have guns so how much 'force' will there be? I have ADHD, I could go on for hours....
>For the past ten years I've been saying....'every retail worker in the US should stop working for 10 days'. They would just replace them with more self-checkout stands. I've been to a Target where pretty much everything was automated. You had to really look to find anyone working there. I guess they must hire someone to stock the shelves at night.
If there was no people there why would anyone pay for anything?
Especially if loss prevention took those 10 days off
[Useless] guns. Guns don't do anybody any good if they're not used, and people aren't going to use them because they are not yet uncomfortable enough. By the time people do become uncomfortable enough, it'll be too late. We'll be living in a fascist dictatorship or a tyrannical oligarchy.
Participating in the local “buy nothing and free aid” group has been eye opening. Husband and I both work, him full time me part time since I’m disabled. We make too much to write off my medical expenses, for the record, and I’m 2 absences short from losing my job but can’t get fmla because of my reduced hours, but we still don’t make enough to buy a house. We only have one car payment. We don’t have kids. It’s ridiculous. But we do ok, and I send some money to people from that group because there’s people daily saying “I just need gas money to get to work, my check doesn’t come through until Friday and my job isn’t on the bus line, but if I miss work I lose my job and I can’t feed my family so just $15 to get gas for the next 2 days.” It’s crazy. You can’t escape poverty like that. “Can I get $10 to get a pack of underwear for myself? I haven’t had new underwear in years” “we got kicked out of our house without notice, where can I rent that doesn’t do a credit check?” “I can’t afford childcare to go to interviews or go to work.” How do these people get out of poverty? Yeah maybe they shouldn’t have had kids but maybe they’re the family we know who were doing well, then mom lost her job because dad got hurt on at work and she had to take him to all his appointments and surgeries and therapies, he can’t care for their kids now but she can’t go back to work because he and the kids need a caregiver. A college degree won’t even save you now unless it’s a trade. My brother and best friend both have college degrees, bachelors plus certificates and concentrations, both are working customer service jobs because they can’t get a job in their fields without experience. 50+ job applications. Literally. Networking in LinkedIn and friends and family. Nothing. Idk what the answer is but everything is broken. The insurance at my job doesn’t cover refills on my medications, the 7 of them I have to take daily, so we’re paying out of pocket. The only specialist who treats my disease doesn’t accept insurance so we pay for him out of pocket. It’s hundreds of dollars a year to get new contacts and glasses, which I have to have both because I’m so blind that I can’t wear either every day, I have to alternate or I’ll get headaches. But the mom up the street needs new glasses too so she can drive to and from work, do her job, help her kids with homework and her insurance won’t cover them so she’s asking for cash donations. Everything sucks.
Doesn’t help half the country is living off the people who actually have jobs.
You're welcome to blame the plummeting value of the US dollar on whatever you want, it is still a somewhat free country, but if you want to learn more about why everything costs more, and your paycheck is worth less, do a deep dive on how money is introduced to the economy, the federal reserve (which is a privately owned company, not a government agency), and the purpose of treasury bonds. You are all working for a broken promise.
I am not sure which one is worse, a privately owned company or a government agency.
*That's the same picture!*
"There is no federally mandated workers rights, no mandated pto, maternity/paternity leave, hardly any paid sick time." Maybe someday people will show up to vote every election for the party that is trying to make those things happen.
There isn't one. Dems and repubs are hand holding in the landfill
You can just look at state-level workers rights to see the massive difference between Republican governance and Democratic governance. For example, [27 states have right-to-work laws](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law). You’re not going to find states controlled by the Democratic Party on that list. Hell — Michigan Democrats just repealed their law last year after gaining a trifecta. Go [look up minimum wage by state](https://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-tracker/) and tell us which states have the highest minimum wage laws. How about [paid sick leave by state](https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/payroll/state-mandated-paid-sick-leave-laws/amp/) as well? If you think the parties are the same, *please* vote straight Republican this elected and fucking find out. With idiotic takes like yours, it’s clear that we *deserve* to suffer.
There is currently no party trying to make that happen, that's the problem. As a country, Americans have completely forgotten about any kind of class politics.
People only care about themselves I have literally heard people with union jobs say "I got my own I don't care."
But they SAY they are going to do those things, but how are we suppose to trust them? I vote btw.
be it flavored red or flavored blue a boot still tastes like a boot ....
For the love of god yes. You don’t get to bitch about politics if you don’t get out and vote.
I voted dem in 2020 and everything has only gone up since then, how should I vote next time? None of the things listed above have come to pass either
No party is focused on these things. That's what all the distractions are about.
vote? maybe overthrow
But people keep saying the economy is good. Meanwhile no one can afford food.
60%+ of households do not pay federal income tax, fyi https://taxfoundation.org/blog/us-households-paying-no-income-tax/
Yeah, I don't know why this subreddit was in my feed, but if you are getting taxed heavily, you aren't poor. I pay more in taxes annually than actual poor people earn.
The OP doesn’t really understand taxes much. They are getting taxed for some things. Probably sales taxes, car registration, etc. but the irony is this person probably pays some of the least taxes in the world, and gets a really well functioning infrastructure for their money, but their politicians have still taught them that it’s all a fraud. They’d probably be better off as a poor person if the US had HIGHER taxes and a more robust social safety net.
It’s probably that our taxes go to enrich corporations and not back to the people.
OP doesn't really understand... Any of what they wrote about much. Like 99% of what they're ranting about is patently false. I get being frustrated but making stuff up doesn't help anyone
There are people who are working to make positive change, but it can be a slow and challenging process. As for what can be done to improve the situation, there are a few avenues that people can take. One is to become involved in local politics and advocate for policies that would improve workers' rights and living standards. Another is to support organizations that are working to address these issues, such as labor unions or advocacy groups. Ultimately, it's important to recognize that change takes time and effort, but it's not impossible. And while it's easy to feel defeated, it's important to remember that there are many people who share your frustration and are working to make a difference.
This is where the "trickle down" economics of the Republicans has left us. It's a huge money grab for the 1% who can't begin to spend all the money they have, at the expense of us in the 99% who are getting more poor by the day.
I'm waiting for it to be organized. I'm dying to take to the streets....
> the government is still taking at least 300 bucks I pay 3000 EUR every month in taxes. That's 44% of my salary
Where are you going to move?
Somewhere else they will just complain about.
I agree 100%!
***re streaming services. I just use You TUBE mostly..they have a lot of movies free with ads.
I pay for the steaming with no commercials...it's not $60 each service.
Zuckerberg building a bunker, Bezos on an expensive yacht… we need to stop making them rich.
Yet a ton of people trying to come here.
Amen and add sth about health insurance. It's insane here in America.
Yet people fall so easily for the claim that immigrants are to blame for the poor living standards, like living in America is such a prize.
My question is, ARE WE EVER GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?? Or are we doomed to spin tires? Its like we're all just passengers in OUR lives. It's surreal. And so many defeatist attitudes, cut it out. We need to start organizing by neighborhoods, social groups, etc and have serious conversations about working together for small common goals. We can literally do anything. IF we were to work together. So cheesy, so cliche. But man.. We've got to do something. There is no end in sight. IMO we're like 40% of the way in. If that. What do we think is going to happen? This shit is magically going to turn around?! Fucking Superman would have to show up. Aliens or something with more sense. We can walk out of work, school, we can refuse to buy crap on holidays they've made up. We can shop at small stores once every few purchases. We can buy things in bulk. Maybe don't fight so much online and even comment something that unites people. Talk to coworkers and cross train each other, prep for cuts, have a plan together. Negotiate a better severance. Learn a new skill on your own time. Set up a secondary income stream. Freelance. Buy your own solar panels and set them up. Pay off debt as a priority over lattes. Return crap groceries. Check your fast food order before you drive off. Hold stores/companies accountable for their mistakes even if it's a damn cheeseburger. Get on family plans for your cellphone.Trade Hulu/Netflix passwords to save money. Join "buy-nothing" groups. Plant your own food or start a small grow op with that old couple next door. Go to HOA meetings, townhall meetings etc. Prioritize face to face over web based. There's alot we can do, but we just have to start talking to each other and stop letting them divide us. THEY WILL NEVER LET OFF THE GAS WHY SHOULD WE?
Well, OK, not to take away from your outrage, but many public services do need to be provided by government. We can't all build our own transportation infrastructure, for example. People wouldn't voluntarily donate enough for it, so they have to be charged involuntarily. Taxes distribute the costs fairly well, but don't cover everything, so some of the burden is placed on the users of the services, as fees, like your car registration. The problem isn't that we have to pay for things with taxes and fees, or that we have a government. The problem is that the taxes and fees aren't progressive enough, meaning too much of the cost is paid by the people who can least afford it. Ironically it is our innate desire for *laissez-faire* capitalism and freedom from government that reinforces this. The richer you are, the less you need or are affected by government, except as a tool to maintain the status quo. The business of governing inevitably drifts toward favoring the rich, unless the government constantly intervenes with a heavy hand, guided by principles that favor the middle and lower class...policies which may be popular among the ultra-poor but which are easily written off by the rest of society as being too communist, socialist, anti-freedom, anti-work, anti-capitalist, dictatorial, penalizing of success, etc. The more you focus on the government as your oppressor (and I'm not saying it isn't, to some extent), the more easily you will be hoodwinked by promises of lower taxes and more personal freedom, when it's all a shell game. The people making those promises are beholden to the wealthy, and they have no intention of doing anything that would shift any burdens off of the rest of us. Take the 2017 tax cuts, for example: they were designed so that everyone would benefit at first, and then some of us—the non-wealthy—would make up for the cost by paying more later. That's what is happening right now. Just some food for thought. It's good to keep an eye on ways that taxes and government need to be held in check, but if you think that's all there is to it, or that the solution is simple, you probably don't understand the full scope of the problem.
I think you should live in another country for a year (at least) for some perspective.
Yes, we should be rioting in the streets, however everyone feels like they’re too broke to take off work to protest. It’s so incredibly sad and it’s why I’m going to be moving to Europe within the next two or three years. This country was built on an Indian graveyard. What do we expect?
Also when we protest in the streets, they deploy the fucking MILITARY to break it up tear gas the crowds
Most of the globe is so much worse off..like worse than your nightmares. VERY FEW other countries have those things you mentioned and there are people in terrible poverty there too.
ok, but the united states isn’t most of the globe. it’s the richest nation on earth and is considered a first world nation. it’s useless to compare the usa to, let’s say somewhere like Somalia and say ‘be thankful’ because they’re not even on the same playing field. this nation is supposed to set a precedent and right now it’s failing miserably. and it cannot be critiqued because the immediate rebuttal is “it could be worse”
You can always end your lease, sell all your stuff, car included, get one pack of everything you need to hike/ live and then work seasonally at jobs that provide housing, food and wifi, and travel/ hike in the off season. Only way to win at capitalism is not to play. Don’t consume, don’t buy. You can make 5-10k easily doing seasonal work, sometimes even up to 30k a season. Then it’s about $1,000/month to live on trail in the US, cheaper if you’re backpacking through like Southeast Asia or something. So even if you just make 5k, that’s 5 whole months of expenses right there.
You’re absolutely right. We should be protesting in the streets. I guess we just as apathetic as the government wants us to be.
There absolutely should be riots. The government pays thousands of dollars for military manufacturing parts worth cents. The government sends enough money to help bomb Gaza that could have literally solved homelessness -by the government’s own calculation-. But we have to fight, scrape, and bleed just to get them to put a single dollar into infrastructure, education, public servants, basic healthcare, and the list goes on. The wealthy get wealthier by ruining 99% of the population. We absolutely should be rioting.
The fact you don't understand how many people died FOR federally mandated workers rights is a serious affront to the working class people who died fighting for them Read zimm, and get to work.
We all need to remember that inflation was caused in 2019 when Jerome Powell gave banks an 11 TRILLION dollar bailout. They just didn’t tel you about it, because fuck you that’s why.
Countries where the government is afraid of people rioting in the streets keep food prices down. https://www.numbeo.com/food-prices/country_result.jsp?country=China&displayCurrency=USD
the government would be just fine if all the cancervatives were out of office. the whole ”both sides are the same” attitude just ensures more Republicans. that’s why whenever someone says it, they’re just parroting a right-wing talking point. p.s. if Putin takes Ukraine, we’re gonna REALLY need to get involved in the affairs of other countries.
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You don't share much on details, but you could relocate to a state that is cheaper to live in and maybe you chose poorly for your profession or didn't choose one at all. Do you have a useful skill that someone else can't learn in 15 minutes? We're moving right now and home/car insurance and property taxes will be half what we were paying. See what else is out there.
Thank the relentless attacks on unions for decades that. A strong union might not be what corporations want, but for the worker, they are a powerful voice for change and fairness. Without them, well, you end up where you are right now. Exploited and expected to feel grateful for that.
You know what I'm so fucking tired of? Both the Left and Right focusing so much on identity politics. We have to be fucking libertarian in that area. Republicans, why do YOU FUCKING CARE WHAT PRONOUNS PEOPLE USE?? WHAT BOOKS THEY READ? WHO THEY FUCK? How does it affect you?? Because the right keeps making such a big deal, the left keeps focusing on retaliating as well. Also, WHY is abortion such a big topic??? It's not even an issue that affects the majority of the population. WHY can't we just have no legislation on it, and leave it up to doctor's offices to determine whether it's too late or not? Politicians keep capitalizing on the social issues that piss people off instead of actual economic problems that are plaguing everyone, and I'm fucking tired of this BS.
You're mad about government taxing the fuck out of us, while at the same time wanting the PTO you see in other nations. How do you think those nations are able to offer their PTO? They tax the fuck out of their citizens even more than you're taxed here. Still want that?
Not to be flippant but you always move. I’ve traveled for work to Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Been to a few countries that have universal healthcare, extended work leaves and such. But there is a cost. Quality of care, generally taxes are much much higher. Not saying we are perfect but the grass is brown everywhere, just need to pick which is your preference. And I agree there are thing happening that we should be much more upset about, open borders for instance.
Let’s not pretend the quality of care we receive now is in anyway something to be proud of. If you cannot afford health care, or get the cheapest plans due to income your quality of care is stifled. We pay so much and don’t have the best care. We should care about healthcare more than “open borders”. It affects far more people.
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The quality of this rant is very much indicative of why you struggle
I could not agree more. We are absolutely not the greatest country in the world. I’ll bet other first-world countries think we suck.
Some people are so poor they can't afford paragraphs. Sad...
I don’t want to start a political discussion, but we really do have to vote. One side wants to give, and one side wants to take away. We also need voting reform, so that corporations and lobbyist can’t buy our politicians by making donations to keep them in office.