@ungzilla has it right. We pushed inequality down in the USA and then Reagan, Von Hayek, Friedman, and Ayn Rand brought in their free-market/neo-classical/neo-liberal economics "government and unions and workers are the problem" horseshit and big surprise life got harder for the average American. Who would have guessed that the right attacking workers would be bad for... workers? Who would have guessed that destroying the unions that protect workers would be bad for... workers? Who would have guessed shifting the tax burden away from shareholders and corporations and on to workers would make things harder for... workers? Who would have guessed that pulling away tax support for universities and pushing the burden on to students would make life hard for... young workers? The right attacked unions and the government because they are the only institutions strong enough to challenge and curb their power. And, somehow, these dumb ass conspiracies continue to attack the interests of workers by pretending the self-made legal problems of a near billionaire who lied, cheated, and abused his workers, his family, and the American public are somehow the problems of the workers.
The right taught us to hate workers, unions, worker protections, a social safety net, and government (except the police, the key group that has the right to use actual physical force against US citizens). The right has only ever cared about creating a world where the businesses, shareholders, and landlords are making lots of money. They promised us if the rich get richer and we voluntarily give up our power via unions/government, it'll somehow make our lives better.
And now that life has gotten harder for decades, their solution is to double down on these stupid ass ideas. It is not that the left's protection of social security, medicare/medicaid, food stamps, unions, environmental regulations, etc. have provided a minimal defense from this continual attack, it is because of these minimal government protections that the distribution of rewards from our economic growth primarily goes to those at the top. If we only further attacked labor and the safety net, the better world we've been promised will magically appear. If we further weaken labor, labor will get a bigger piece of our economy's rewards.
@Lenny Fatface, what do you mean by the economy? The economy has never been about individuals. GDP is up, unemployment is down, industrial production is at pre-pandemic levels, consumer spending is up, and so on. Most of the indicators that the economy is humming along are there. If people are happy; if people have time for their friends, hobbies, and family; if people can pay back their student loans; if people can afford a new home; etc. all have nothing to do with the economy. The right taught us in the late 70s and early 80s, the economy will go upwards and the stock market will continue to grow not inspite of inequality or individuals struggling, but because of inequality and struggle. The right saw that giving more to those on top and making life harder for the average person would increase their wealth and increases the economy.
Finally, we aren't at an end of times, aside from obvious environmental issues, but we approaching a bad situation as YouTube, TikTok, AM radio, and QAnon nuts peddle stupid right wing answers while demonizing those who are actually trying to help. We are approaching a bad moment, because people like Alex Jones can teach Americans to hate the parents of children who die in school shootings, because Steve Bannon wants to see things crumble so he can gain power, and because Americans will believe the stupidest fucking half-baked ideas because it makes them feel smarter than everyone around them, despite not doing the hard work required to actually gain knowledge.
USA GDP
USA Inequality
Topic: end times (Read 3921 times)