What is Freedom?
I’m sure you have heard of the free market. The idea of the free market is that the government does not interfere in business in any way and this allows the economy to flourish. In some ways, its correct. If there are no regulations of any kind you will see enormous profit, for a time. It turns out it does cost money to not pollute and to keep your workers safe and pay a living wage. And its kinda hard to make billions of dollars without cutting a few corners. We do not live under a free market system, and this is a good thing. This good thing is also under assault and the walls that are between the market and the regulating bodies have all but eroded and there is a lot of intermingling between the two sides.
When you finish school I’m willing to bet you are going to have a lot of debt, most people do. College prices have risen 1000 percent since 1960. And for most people it’s impossible to go to college for four or even two years without taking on that amount in debt. About 1 Trillion of the total 14 trillion dollars in consumer debt in America is just on school, and not even everyone goes. And when you want to file bankruptcy, maybe restructure some of that student loan debt, or if you bought a home and because of a failing market you have interest rates that are unmanageable , you can’t. It’s illegal for you to do so. But not so for large companies. Companies can file for bankruptcy for billions or hundreds of billions of dollars, restructure, sell off some assets, lay off a few thousand employees and be back on top. You are forced to sink deeper and deeper without reprieve, reprieve is illegal for you.
School and homes are not the only thing that has got more expensive, in fact, most things have. And not even most things, all of the things. A gallon of gas in 1976? .60 cents. In 2016 it was on average $1.96. Movie tickets in 1976 were $2.13 now on average its $8.65. A pint of beer went from $1.12 to $3.99 a ticket to a baseball game went from $5.50 to $245…. You get the picture. And most of these things are not even essential to living and inflation has happened, but let’s take a look at rent before we get to that. Rent in the 60’s averaged around $71 per month. I know looking at that you are getting prepared for a larger number. Rent has gone up, on average, 750% from the 60’s until the early 200’s and was averaging around $857 per month. It has not stopped there. In 2018 the median for rent was $1,078. Maybe you want to take on a loan and buy a house? It’s cheaper monthly to buy a house for sure, but here we go again, from 1960 the average value of a home was $11,900 and around the turn of the century that had increased to $170,319. (That’s 905% percent for you math wiz’s out there.) so you have to be thinking, surely in our economic boom of a time we are getting paid more right? Lol you thought right? Thats hilarious.
The myth of the economy being fantastic and our lives being better is a popular one, and one well told. Almost everyone is told many stories of rags to riches CEO’s and people who have paid off their student debt or paid their way through college and so on and so on. The myth of the American dream is alive and well. Trump loves to talk about his economic numbers and how fantastic they are, but how does that affect you? Were the millions of you out there who are out of work or had your hours drastically reduced aware our stock market is stronger than ever? Rejoice those waiting for unemployment! Rejoice those without healthcare because it was tied to your now existent job! Rejoice all you wage slaves for the stock market line has gone up and surely that’s good right? For some it is, not for you dunce.
Remember when I talked about inflation? It was like 100 words ago and it’s easy to forget. And it’s true. That .60 cent gas gallon adjusting for inflation would be about 2.65. Which would be sort of alright if wages have gone up with the “booming” economy and our great jobs numbers and low unemployment rates, but there is a big ole catch, they haven’t. Well, not for you anyways. More money is moving though America than in her entire history, it’s just not going to you. And I’m not just talking about Mc. Donalds workers and Walmart employees, I’m talking about every single American that does not make over 400k a year. Your money is being stolen. Or, more correctly, someone is syphoning your hard work and value to enrich themselves. Of course I’m talking about CEO’s you goober.
Now i’m sure you are prepared by now to see a number and then a bigger number so i’ll just say it. In 1978 CEO compensation started to rise, and has risen to 2019 an astonishing 1,007.5% and for us regular people has risen by a measly 11.9%. So, while everything around us, and I mean everything, is more expensive by magnitudes and scores and leaps and bounds, we don’t make any more. Not really anyways, if everything around us costs 50–900% more does it really matter about that 11%? Naa, not at all. The top boss makes 278 times what you do. The rate it’s increasing is about 100 times yours as well, so it’s not slowing down, but accelerating. Now you can stop me here and tell me that they pay more in taxes, which they do in terms of money. The dollar amounts that Amazon pays in taxes are higher. Oh wait no they aren’t, they don’t pay any federal tax and are exempt in many places from local taxes. Oh, and all those CEO’s that run the large companies that got bailed out in 2008 and again in our fun zone year of 2020? They were given large amounts of stock which have been sold back to the company that gave them the stock (Coincidentally the company they own) so that they can become even more wealthy! And my final kick to the collective proletariat groin sack in this blog is, they pay less taxes on that too. Your paycheck gets around 40% taken out of it, there is about 20%. They will probably just hoard it overseas too. (Oh how fun!)
Walmart isn’t allowed to chase you out of the store anymore if you steal. Next time you are there, take a few items, they have taken quite a few from us already.
