this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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Because the economy is not good. That's why. The media wants to say it's good in hopes that by saying it, they can manifest it and make it so. But that's not how real life works.
Okay, this is outside looking in, but economic indicators seem to be all good. However, the spreading of the gains is what's totally wrong. It all flows the a small section of the population. Tax cuts for the rich and the like didn't help with that, and the richest people in the country are pushing for an even larger share of the gains.
The economic indicators are not indicators that work for the populace at large. We need better indicators.
Just look at china's economic growth. They have built entire ghost cities and values all they built at market prices, as if they where in hot demand. And this skyrocketed the economy. It was a massive ponzi scheme., but the numbers looked great.
In western Europe, housing is scares, skyrocketing the house prices, this adds to the value of the housing pool, in turn to the total value of the economy.. and we call if growth and increase in wealth. But no one who owns their house will be able to cash in that value increase until they die. Stupid indicator if you ask me.
The indicators are correct. People are working very hard and money is flowing around. In this case it doesn't matter if that's sustainable growth are not, people are still working hard even if it is to build ghost cities.
But that other indicator like the Gini index is also correct. There is a lot of money earned but it doesn't go to the labor class. And that's where usually unions come in. In my country unions were started to negotiate because the labor class started to torch the mansions and factories of the owner class, sometimes with said owners still inside. Negotiations and some strikes were preferred above the torch and pitchfork style of handling things.
That's history of course, and especially in USA the owner class if very good at dividing and gaslighting the labor class to keep this from happening, so members of the labor class start pointing at ghost cities in China instead off what's happening and who's pulling their strings.
It all depends on what you measure and what you don't.
Selective measuring of the economy will let you say whatever you want.
"More jobs!!!11!!1!1!!!1111!1!1!!!!!"
"More precarity and high turnover, high pressure, shit conditions, shit pay, shit flexibility, shit benefits, no real pension commitment, underemployment."
Even if all the measures do exist, you don't have to report them if they go against the narrative.
And how many of these jobs are real full-time jobs instead of people looking for a second or third job as a Uber driver and how many of them are government jobs, which of course just suck people dry and are unproductive because they are paid by theft called taxes
Taxes are not theft.
So people demanding a ransome from your paycheck to fund atrosities around the world is not theft.
Well then be active in your politics on what the money is spent on, but you rely on stuff paid for by your taxes every day.
Just imagine how much "the strong" will run roughshod on you if the government did not exist. The Republican hellscapes that allow companies to poison communities, exploit workers and more are good examples.
The things that I rely on my taxes for are way smaller than the things my taxes are spent on. For example, why is my tax money being spent on weapons to kill people halfway across the world when no Americans are being threatened? We could eliminate somewhere around 3-4ths of the military industrial complex right now and not have any issues and get some of that money back. I consider myself a libertarian, not a republican. Big difference is Republicans still want to tell you how you can live.
If you are truly interested in learning why, I could link you some resources.But the long and short of it is, the US is as rich and powerful because one of their big exports is safety for their allies.
You can bet your ass thatany US allies are watching the shit show in congress regarding Ukraine and wondering if they will be left out to dry if push comes to shove, and will hesitate to back US plays in the power competition with China.
Profit is theft.
Economic rent is theft.