Living Through the Lean Times

[leantimes]

Dear Supporter,

I hope this message finds you and your family in good health. My name is Eman Zaqout from Gaza. I am reaching you out to seek your urgent help in spreading the word about our fundraiser. I lost both my home and my job due to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and we are facing catastrophic living conditions. 💔

I kindly ask you to visit my campaign. Your support, whether through donating or sharing, will help us reach more people who can make a difference. Thank you for your continued support for the Palestinian cause. Your dedication brings us closer to freedom. 🙏🕊

Note: Verified by several people as 90-ghost and aces-and-angels. ☑

https://gofund.me/b141d50f 🔗

.

[liberalsarecool]

Remove health care from your employer. Abolish the idea of medical debt. Give everyone the freedom to change jobs and retain all health care benefits.

Remove the burden on small businesses to provide health insurance.

[politijohn]

Source

Interesting to call this “confiscating” when it’s just making the rich pay their fair share, especially considering all the stolen wealth from the bottom 99% and historic tax evasion.

[alex51324]

Besides the obvious, the hidden benefit of this is that it provides an endpoint to runaway growth.

The biggest problem with capitalism, the reason it's so destructive to the planet and to the workers and even, ultimately, to the capitalists, is that, after a certain point, the money's just a way of keeping score. The number at the bottom of the column has no bearing on what you can buy or do; as a result, there's no such thing as enough. The number can always be bigger.

Under this proposal, once you hit $1 billion, you've won capitalism. You beat the game, achieved the maximum score; you're finished. There's nothing more you can accumulate. You now have to find a purpose in life other that the relentless pursuit of profit. (And if we're really lucky, it might be something that actually benefits other people, but even if not, it's unlikely to be as damaging as whatever it is you were doing to get that $1 billion.)

Instead of companies expanding endlessly, like tumors, there's a point where, when all the major stakeholders are maxing out on profit, it makes sense to just hold steady. Keep doing/making/selling whatever it is you do/sell/make, but stop trying to do/sell/make more of it every year.

The problem with a tumor--what makes it cancer--is that it keeps growing and growing, until eventually it's taking up so much space and consuming so many resources that the surrounding tissues can't function. The tumor doesn't have to do anything better than the other tissues in order to crowd them out; it just does it faster. Stop the uncontrolled growth, and it's something you can live with.

Stopping the uncontrolled growth of capital means more opportunities for multiple businesses--big and small--operating in the same sector, since it doesn't make sense for any one company to gobble up too much of the market share. That, in turn, means more choices for customers--and workers, since they can take their skills to another employer doing similar things. It means less waste, as there's no longer an economic upside to spewing cheap goods out of a fire-hose before you even know whether anyone wants to buy them. That could mean slower, more thoughtful use of resources in the first place, but at minimum, it's going to mean not manufacturing products only to immediately throw them away.

[elierlick]

I think about this a lot.

[is-the-post-reliable]

requested by anonymous:

RATING: RELIABLE

Source: ‘The math checks out. In 2019, the median annual earning for women was $47,299. For men, it was $57,546. Averaged together, that’s about $52,423.The cost of the average home in the same time was $377,700. That is about 14 percent of the median salary.’

[hamletthedane]

As of Oct 2022, the median annual earnings for women in the United States was $50,492 (extrapolated by multiplying weekly earnings by 52 weeks). For men, it was $60,528. Average together, that’s about $55.640. The average purchase price of a home in the United States during Q3 of 2022 was $542,900.

The average salary in the US is now about 10.2% of the cost of a home.

[hamletthedane]

But that’s not even the whole story, because “income earned” means pre-tax income, and mortgage payments are not tax deductible unless you itemize (which people w/ average salaries do not do bc it’s usually less than the standard deduction).

In 1936, following FDR’s income tax hikes, the median annual salary for a single person was $830, taxed at 4% Income + 1% Social Security. The take-home median pay was therefore ~$790. The average home value was $4,766. So take-home pay was about 16.5% of home cost in 1936.

In Oct 2022, taxes are a bit more complicated. Assuming you take the standard deduction, file single, and only pay federal income tax, the take-home pay from a salary of $55,640 is about $51,584.

(Using H&R Block’s 2022 tax estimator)

So really, the average take-home pay is now 9.5% of the average home price.

Meanwhile, the person earning $2M/yr in 2022 would end up taking home at least $1,289,600. He is taxed at 35.3% of his earnings. The person earning the inflation-adjusted equivalent of in 1936 (~$95,000) would be taxed at 60% of his earnings.

Tl;dr: It’s an even more dire situation than that tweet suggests. Taxes on the middle class have skyrocketed, taxes on the ultra-rich have been slashed in half, and housing is nearly twice the ratio to income earned that it was in the middle of the Great Depression.

[elierlick]

Well this got even more depressing somehow.

[weaselle]

more depressing than the Great Depression itself

[feywildwest]

employees should be allowed to steal, actually

[feywildwest]

idk. yesterday was a slow day and at the end of it, I still stared into a cash drawer, one of three, that had more than my rent in it, even if you only count the 20s. I spent a lot of that day trying to calculate in my head how many hours of work equal one pair of pants, let alone how many hours of work equals the fun thing I want to do next month.

I feel a cough coming on, because I work in a drug store, and all of my customers are sick. I always feel a little bit sick, now. I can't afford to eat well enough to keep my body healthy. Cough medicine is worth two hours and 20 minutes of work. Our store probably bought a case of cough medicine for they price we're selling one box. If this cough gets worse, I might have to call out, which will cost me more than the medicine in the long run- but that doesn't give me the money to buy the medicine right now. I stock a case onto the shelf. I don't buy any.

A mom wrangling three crying, sick kids enters my line and sets two types of children's medicine down, says they're both on sale and thank god for that. I ring her up, and she gets very quiet, because she misread the sign, and her total is twice as high as she was expecting. Her youngest screams in the cart, because she's burning up with fever. Her mother very quietly asks, please, she's so sorry, if I could please take the more expensive one off her total.

I agree, I move the box below the counter, and when she's not looking, I slip it into her bag. I pray as hard as I can that if she notices the "mistake" she says nothing, because I so desperately want her to have that medicine. The store has lost profit at the cost of a child's health. I don't bat an eye. This is a terminable offense. If I'm presented with the same situation tonight, I'll do it in a heartbeat.

The myth of evil employees stealing from the company falls apart the second you realize the company would shoot you dead to make a profit. This isn't two equal players, one of whom is stealing from the other. This is someone fighting for survival versus someone fighting to make an extra million. It's not equal.

Employees should be able to steal, actually.

[koicifer]

Bro I teared up oh my god bro

[emperornorton47]

[lufinabina]

all workers should go on strike forever until these motherfuckers stop making these fucking steaming hot pile of garbage opinion pieces

[neil-gaiman]

At striking actors' hangout bar, tiny residual checks no longer a joke

For actors trying to make it in Hollywood, a small residual check from one of their first jobs used to prompt laughter, and at one neighborh

"It's gotten to the point where I think a lot of people can't believe it if they get a residual for $25," O'Brien said. "They're so used to opening those envelopes and it's 30 cents."

O'Brien, who has appeared on dozens of shows, from "Grey's Anatomy" to "Pretty Little Liars," shared images of residual checks from more than two decades ago worth $47.49, $87.77 and $216.25. Others, from the past few years, amounted to $1.63, 43 cents and 1 cent.

[memecucker]

Lower residual payments mean fewer actors earn the $26,470 per year needed to qualify for SAG-AFTRA's health insurance coverage, said actor Michael Spellman. The union said about 14% of its 160,000 members currently meet that threshold.

Really important info for anyone thinking this is a “rich people strike”

[oldmanlogan]

can we talk about the ups strike can we PLEASE talk about the ups strike

[oldmanlogan]

i know since writers and actors are already striking thats gonna take up most of the news space on social media but like. ups has until july 31st to meet the teamster's demands and if not then theyre going on the biggest strike against a single corporation since the early 1900s. the uaw (auto manufacturers union) contract is up this fall, and i believe the alu (amazon labor union) is as well. there's a huge possibility that they might strike as well, depending on how long the ups strike lasts.

im seeing a lot of talk about hollywood going down but i want to see more talk about labor rights and working class solidarity across the board... like A Lot of shit is about to go down

we're about to see a lot more propaganda by more than just hollywood, we're about to see a lot of bullshit political moves on local, state, and federal levels. dont fall for it. workers have power.

[nuckgirl16]

[luntfontanne]

jesus fucking christ

[luntfontanne]

"i wish i could do something 😔 / i wish the wga had a kickstarter or a gofundme, i would throw money at it" good news! it's amazing how you can literally go onto the wga strike website or the wgawest linktree from their twitter and find links to support writers and other workers affected by the strike

Groceries for Writers — Humanitas

THE SNACKLIST: Support Entertainment Workers!

I just contributed to THE SNACKLIST to support Entertainment Workers!

[theconcealedweapon]

That's what always happens in capitalist societies. They say that if you don't want to be poor, there's a certain thing you have to do. But then everyone does it, so it's no longer effective. The system depends on making sure that there's always a supply of poor people to exploit.

[runcibility]

(source)

[theconcealedweapon]

[ameliafromafairytale]

“If you could press a button that would give you a great deal of money, but it would cause someone you don’t know in a distant part of the world to die, then you would have a good model for how our current economy works. Welcome to Night Vale.”

Intro to WTNV episode 105, “what happened at the Smithwick house”

[politijohn]

Source

Interesting to call this “confiscating” when it’s just making the rich pay their fair share, especially considering all the stolen wealth from the bottom 99% and historic tax evasion.

[alex51324]

Besides the obvious, the hidden benefit of this is that it provides an endpoint to runaway growth.

The biggest problem with capitalism, the reason it's so destructive to the planet and to the workers and even, ultimately, to the capitalists, is that, after a certain point, the money's just a way of keeping score. The number at the bottom of the column has no bearing on what you can buy or do; as a result, there's no such thing as enough. The number can always be bigger.

Under this proposal, once you hit $1 billion, you've won capitalism. You beat the game, achieved the maximum score; you're finished. There's nothing more you can accumulate. You now have to find a purpose in life other that the relentless pursuit of profit. (And if we're really lucky, it might be something that actually benefits other people, but even if not, it's unlikely to be as damaging as whatever it is you were doing to get that $1 billion.)

Instead of companies expanding endlessly, like tumors, there's a point where, when all the major stakeholders are maxing out on profit, it makes sense to just hold steady. Keep doing/making/selling whatever it is you do/sell/make, but stop trying to do/sell/make more of it every year.

The problem with a tumor--what makes it cancer--is that it keeps growing and growing, until eventually it's taking up so much space and consuming so many resources that the surrounding tissues can't function. The tumor doesn't have to do anything better than the other tissues in order to crowd them out; it just does it faster. Stop the uncontrolled growth, and it's something you can live with.

Stopping the uncontrolled growth of capital means more opportunities for multiple businesses--big and small--operating in the same sector, since it doesn't make sense for any one company to gobble up too much of the market share. That, in turn, means more choices for customers--and workers, since they can take their skills to another employer doing similar things. It means less waste, as there's no longer an economic upside to spewing cheap goods out of a fire-hose before you even know whether anyone wants to buy them. That could mean slower, more thoughtful use of resources in the first place, but at minimum, it's going to mean not manufacturing products only to immediately throw them away.

[left-reminders]

[artificialsugarsubstitute]

Click here for a link to the thread

[Image Transcription]

This is a series of 10 tweets posted on August 20th 2022 by user "Housing 4 All is Hot" (Twitter Handle @ahouse4all)

That thread asking people how they would get out of homelessness if they only had $20 is literally people saying "I would simply just'" and then saying something that is literally impossible, unavailable, or has been made illegal by local city governments.

"I'd find a minimum wage job and save up money while I stayed at a shelter!" Who is hiring you when you don't have an address, your ID, or a car? Shelter is full. Also you have to leave the shelter at 6am and show up at 1pm to get a bed. You also have to pay to stay there.

I would panhandle and save!" Panhandling does not pay. Most people don't have cash anymore + are hostile to unhoused ppl. It's illegal in a lot of places = huge citation or in jail. You also have to buy food and supplies daily. They get stolen or thrown out by the cops.

All while this is happening your mental health deteriorates. People don't respond to you when you speak to them and you're kicked out of shops and restaurants constantly. Your stuff is constantly getting stolen. Assaults are common. You have to stay awake at night to stay safe.

There are more people falling into homelessness every day than can be lifted out because of skyrocketing rents, low wages, lack of healthcare, mass incarceration, domestic violence, etc. There is no "just" getting out of it when you're in it.

Also to all these scenarios add more layers of oppression: Being disabled, woman, elderly, LGBTQ+, a person of color, and the more difficult it is. It's not a coincidence that even though Black people only make up 8% of the population they're 40% of unhoused people - it's racism.

LA has made it illegal to sit, stand, lie, sleep in 20% of the city. If you don't know all those areas by memory you could get arrested or fined at any moment if a cop comes by. Sweeps are constant so you have to memorize that schedule or all your stuff gets thrown out.

How do you go to any appointments for benefits if places don't let you come inside with your tent/backpack/belongings that will get stolen the second you leave them unattended? What do you do when you don't have the $35 for your ID that's been thrown away every time you get one?

Also you're unhoused in this scenario which means your credit and rental history is probably bad. Even if you miraculously saved up the $5,000 you need to move into an apartment- a landlord is never going to rent you one with bad credit/eviction history.

I could go on and on but it's terrifying how uninformed people are about how little help there is for unhoused people when the vast majority of people are just a couple paychecks away from being unhoused themselves.

[End Image Transcription]

[crashtestjeffy-deactivated20240]

This is such an important post. I was homeless. I know homeless people. There are a hundred more reasons why "I would just" doesn't work. And the people who think they know are two things. First, incredibly arrogant and assuming and have no idea how hard it is. And second, the biggest victims when the end up on the street. The predators smell their blood from a mile away and attack. I cannot stress this enough. The people who talk online about how they know just what people should do are the weakest of the weak on the skids. They know everything and think they have it all sorted out. These are the people that end up destroyed by the streets. Because out there...The world doesn't give a shit about how you think things should work. Nobody gets off the streets without help, from friends, social agencies, grass roots charities and sometimes family. But family is usually the least likely help. And the big charities with CEOs and boards of trustees and infrastructure help no one. They may try to convince you they help. But there is no one who can say "Oh yeah I was helped by Homeless Co.". Don't donate to them. Give to the people who work in store front charities and little offices in the shit. If they have a nice boardroom in a shiny tower, that's where your money is going. We need to reach out and help each other. I cannot help financially, but I can tell my story and advocate and offer the real story. And not the edited 3 minute blurb on the 6 o'clock news.

[stilljewelzz]

Reblogging again for Jeff’s valuable insights.

Knowing a few people who work for those big agencies in shiny towers myself, I can tell you that very little actual assistance makes it to the people who need it.

The lower and mid-level employees working for these agencies might be very well-meaning - the people I personally know who do that kind of work do genuinely want to help, but the whole structure of the orgs they a part of works against their efforts. And that is by design, because the higher-ups are not in it to help.

The system is fundamentally broken. If you think you as an individual could help yourself via some “I would simply just” thing, you are wrong. And you are closer to being on the streets than the folks who are trying to convince you that homeless folks are there because they are somehow “lesser” human beings. We all need to be fighting this heartless, broken system.

[animentality]

[presidentalpaca]

[saathiray]

Important to remember: Only the US Postal Service is allowed to handle certain things that UPS cannot. Live chicks comes to mind. So if UPS boxes pile up, that will be annoying but will not result in animals dying (unlike what DeJoy has been doing to the Post Office)

[pavlovadiplomacy]

[jenjensd]

[millennial-review-deactivated20]