Things are bad and they're only gonna get worse.

Why will things get worse? It's not because you can't do anything about it, it's because you won't. We don't need to talk about all the structural issues facing us to realize that we are all screwed by forces outside of us. But you either pretend there is nothing that you personally can do about it, or you wait until circumstances force your hand. I'm not trying to make you feel bad about that. I do the same thing. But, I need to send some of you a warning. 

Real Capitalism is coming:

A lot of people complain about the demands of capitalism. How archaic it is. How it isn't person centered. But we are living in a blunted capitalism right now. A capitalism that rescued the vast majority of those who wouldn't risk their lives and work during a world wide pandemic. I can't say I blame you. I wouldn't have worked if I didn't have to, but I did. I'm a heroic grocery store worker so I can't just work from home. And since I had a job I couldn't just stay home and collect benefits like those fat unemployment paychecks, sucking up those extra food stamps, the rent abatement, the free poor people healthcare, and the like. 

Frankly, I was suprised that you got to. I never thought we'd see that kind of governmental intervention again. Bill Clinton is rolling over in the vat of baby blood he used to kill big government. Biden sponged that mess up for one last push of stimulus. 

But those safeguards are going to disappear soon. That means the unemployment benefits, the stimulus checks, the rental assistance, the trillions propping up small businesses will soon disappear. All that fun money. Your thumb your nose at shitty work money. The, "I can't believe I'm getting away with this" money will soon be gone! That free cash sent lumber prices and gaming computer prices into the stratosphere. It's all about to come crashing down. 

I wonder what's going to happen. Experts insist that what we are witnessing isn't a bunch of lazy takers grabbing free government cash. They will tell you people want to work. That they are afraid of Covid-19. And they can't find child care. Let's face it, public education is mostly about child care not learning. But the talking heads on TV say, 'if we just fix those things workers will dribble back to the low wage service jobs just like before the pandemic.'

I'm not so sure. For one, I can attest, at least anecdotely, that many workers are using these benefits to take a much wanted vacation from reality and are not prepared to return to it.  After all I'm pretty sure 2020 was the first time an entire Universe jumped the shark. Just because there are a few structural impediments to returning to work doesn't mean people aren't also hesitant to leave all those juicy benefits for terrible jobs. 

Americans have been told for years that we can't afford to give minimum wage workers a raise. The last 50 years has seen the vast majority of people see their incomes stagnate. But suddenly those same self-hating Reagan democrats are seeing companies volanteer to pay more. Many people in retail and the food service industry have been tempted to quit their low paid low prestige jobs and work remotely or in new industries entirely. 

Turns out $2.15 an hour, crazy schedules, terrible customers and horrible working conditions don't exactly entice your workers to return. Customers are so terrible that food service workers have been knows to spit in your food. Think about that for a second. Karen, you've made someone so miserable they've literally spit on you. 

And now that Trump is gone, Americans have seen a government that can actually do something. The government kept the economy from collapsing. And yes that meant spending trillions for the rich and business owners. But millions of Americans have gotten hold of stimmy checks. They got bonus unemployment, they got extra food stamps. Most people kept their housing. Many Americans now understand something their European counterparts have known all along. That if government money is spent correctly, it can have a truly significant impact for the good. 

What lessons should we draw from this? Americans will ride the tide of free cash till it comes to a screeching halt. Many people are going to leave the shitty food service industry for good. Instead taking 2 or 3 gig jobs delivering shitty food to their overweight brethren. Minimum wage workers will be getting raises to 15 dollars an hour, and even though Freakonomics tells us that those wages aren't all that transformative, they don't harm the economy. There will be a rush/crash of stagflation as workers are shocked by the sudden drop of benefits. 

If Republicans and small businesses get their way though Americans will abandon their attempts at getting disability, or getting government to work and start job hunting just before or soon after the dole stops handing out its charity. 

If they do then it's back to normal in the good ol' USA. Corporations will roll back those raises and Americans will tell themselves that socialism never works. 

We could also see the working class itself organize. Not top down with unions. But bottom up. Workers file for disability, retire or simply leave employment all together. Leaving an excess of jobs that force market based increases for the first time in decades. It won't be easy. There will be a price to pay. Expect a large increase in homelessness adding on to a list of other factors like pain pill addiction that are causing massive spikes in the unhoused. 

I think either case could happen for awhile. But what I think is on the horizon for sure is a dramatic and retaliatory capitalism will become resurgent. A vast array of surveillance and control is already being promoted and distributed by corporate leaders. We could see minimum wage laws repealed by Republican leaders because they don't have to answer electorally for what they do. Expect a further dramatic cut in social welfare. We could see skyrocketing inflation as the world economy surges met with union busting and robotic replacement of workers at a massive scale. Workers will keep their jobs only if they can remain cheaper than robots. Why do you think the massive increase in productivity hasn't been met concomitantly with increases in living standards for the poor and middle class? The market knows it can't sustain high growth levels for for unskilled laborers. The few jobs left after the robot replacement era will be working alongside robots. Supplanted workers will need to work with not just their dexterity of movement, but their dexterity of mind in order to keep a job. Since most of you don't know how to make change for a dollar without a calculator, or know when the War of 1812 was fought, I don't like your chances for not getting left behind by the coming robotic revolution. 

THE COMING CRUELTY. THE USA IS ALREADY A THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY 

Capitalism has survived every test we've thrown at it. So don't get cocky Generation Z. You guys haven't seen stagflation. You haven't seen desperate billionaires vote to let the people suffer. But they will if it's a choice between you and them. 10 million homeless in America? Could it happen? We're already basically there, DUDE. 69 PERCENT OF AMERICANS DON'T HAVE $1,000 IN THE BANK. Millions of unemployed have been rescued only by Governmental assistance. And this won't continue! 

Many Americans also seem to be gambling that these abatements will last for the foreseeable future. I have news for you, the press, the right wing, and corporate America are all ready lining up against you. And the average dumb American is behind them. 

Most Middle Americans are going to celebrate the day the Republicans kick you off unemployment. And those same people without healthcare vote for state Republican leaders who promise not to take free federal dollars to provide for it. 

Want things to go back to normal? Don't worry  corporate America is rolling back mask wearing and opening up whenever and wherever they can. They are going to pretend that the virus has been beat, so it's "once again dinner time in America." 

I know how normal Americans feel, because even I have had some of these dumb knee jerk reactions. I'm jealous. I never got my stimulus checks. And I have have to pay for everything in my life on my minimum wage job. I don't get food stamps. I don't get free health care. And watching unemployed people see their bank accounts rise while I literally risked my life (congestive heart failure, blood clots, cancer) while those lazy asshats sat on the couch watching Netflix and playing online video games, or baking bread while complaining in my grocery line that there aren't enough teenagers to bag your groceries is getting me pissed.

I mean if you want to use your time to organize and strike for better pay, universal health care, and a minimum income go right ahead. I'll join you on the line. But if you just want to suck at the tit of free stuff because you're tired of adulting. Fuck off liberals. Marx wanted to make society a giant fucking workshop. There is no free lunch. Get out here and get exploited like me. 

I HATE MY LIFE VOLUME 6

Then your life's gonna suck like mine. I really hate my life. I know that makes you uncomfortable, but it's not my job to make you comfortable. It's actually my job to challenge you and make you as uncomfortable as you can take. I take that job seriously. So just so you understand you need to be as uncomfortable as I am. I want your sleep disturbed because all you can do is curse knowing you're going to wake up and put on that corporate jacket. It's supposed to be black but looks off color navy because you wear the same 3 shirts every week. You wash and bleach it till it's faded because you can't afford to to replace it.

I want your work experience to be monitoring the public. Answering stupid questions that either dumb people can't figure out or lazy people to brain dead from the weekend numbing process fed by alcohol and weed to notice. I want people to spit on you and take advantage of you. I want them to look down on you and thumb their noses at you. I want the girls on tinder to swipe away from you. I want your work tasks to be repetitive, mind numbingly boring, and I want your pay to keep you in only fast food and caffeine so you're prepared to do it all over again tomorrow. I want you to realize that we just move from one holiday to another to jump start your spending habits. 

I want you to be able to tell the day of the week by your idiot customer's shopping habits. I want you to have the most inane dribble of conversation where people pontificate about ideas they never paid attention to in high school, yet these same people are so sure of themselves on matters of intense controversy, they make a mockery of Dunning/Krueger despite never having cracked open a book on any subject whatsoever in the last 20 years. I mean who needs to read that's why we got Facebook and YouTube, am I right?

Look you don't want to help yourself. I don't want to help myself. So we're just going to let these people screw us all over again, aren't we?