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I wouldn't call this "class war". It's more accurate to say "neofeudalism". Real wages have been relatively stagnant for 40+ years while we've seen a massive c

by jmyeet 4y ago

I wouldn't call this "class war". It's more accurate to say "neofeudalism". Real wages have been relatively stagnant for 40+ years while we've seen a massive concentration of wealth at the top. Trickle-down economics and deregulation have repeatedly shown themselves to be nothing more than tools for increasing income and wealth inequality. Every aspect of your life is increasingly financialized. College, once free or cheap, now saddles you with lifelong debt. Mortgage debt and rent as a ratio to income have massively increased. Medical debt can wipe you out in the blink of an eye. All of this is by design. It's an inevitable consequence of hyper-capitalist neoliberalism. All of this debt without a real increase in wages is designed to keep you a compliant worker. After all, with any kind of real freedom or financial independence, you're absolutely showing up for work tomorrow. Additionally, inflation could be tackled way more effectively with a windfall profits tax without indiscriminately hitting all businesses as well as individual borrowers. Even if it did it would fill government coffers so the most in need could be helped. You get the same sentiments as the Bank of England governor from Larry Summers [1]. All of this is built on the lie that wages are the real threat to inflation rather than boundles corporate greed and profiteering. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU3rGFyN5uQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU3rGFyN5uQ

marcusverus 4y ago
> Real wages have been relatively stagnant for 40+ years This is FUD. The only way to argue that this is the case is to lean heavily on a specious focus on "wages" while excluding other forms of compensation.[0] When looking at the whole picture, it's clear that real median personal income has been rising for past 50 years.[1] [0]https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-gap/ https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-ga... [1]https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N
- jmyeet 4y ago
  FEE is, by their own admission, a conservative think tank whose alumni includes Charles Koch [1]. Their claimed influences include Ronald Reagan and Rand Paul [2]. Come on. Show some media literacy. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Economic_Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Economic_Educat... [2]: https://fee.org/media/41248/fees-2021-annual-report.pdf https://fee.org/media/41248/fees-2021-annual-report.pdf
  - marcusverus 4y ago
    I made an argument. I provided two sources. You neglected to address my argument. You did not address the data within either source. You instead chose to attack the organization which produced one of the cited articles. This is plain old ad hominem and a poor substitute for actual engagement. Defending lies in bad faith and in a haughty tone? Yeesh.
eldritch_4ier 4y ago
These are tectonic plates bigger than deregulation or whatever. The surplus of the post war years was possible because the US was 50% of the global GDP as the only industrialized area in the world that hadn't been bombed to ash. Since then, the world has rapidly become more competitive. Where we are now is actually great historically speaking, the post war perfection was a blip and generational aberration, and for nearly all human history life has been a struggle. Enjoy it while it lasts.

by jmyeet 4y ago

marcusverus 4y ago

> Real wages have been relatively stagnant for 40+ years This is FUD. The only way to argue that this is the case is to lean heavily on a specious focus on "wages" while excluding other forms of compensation.[0] When looking at the whole picture, it's clear that real median personal income has been rising for past 50 years.[1] [0]https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-gap/ https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-ga... [1]https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N

jmyeet 4y ago
FEE is, by their own admission, a conservative think tank whose alumni includes Charles Koch [1]. Their claimed influences include Ronald Reagan and Rand Paul [2]. Come on. Show some media literacy. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Economic_Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Economic_Educat... [2]: https://fee.org/media/41248/fees-2021-annual-report.pdf https://fee.org/media/41248/fees-2021-annual-report.pdf
- marcusverus 4y ago
  I made an argument. I provided two sources. You neglected to address my argument. You did not address the data within either source. You instead chose to attack the organization which produced one of the cited articles. This is plain old ad hominem and a poor substitute for actual engagement. Defending lies in bad faith and in a haughty tone? Yeesh.

eldritch_4ier 4y ago

These are tectonic plates bigger than deregulation or whatever. The surplus of the post war years was possible because the US was 50% of the global GDP as the only industrialized area in the world that hadn't been bombed to ash. Since then, the world has rapidly become more competitive. Where we are now is actually great historically speaking, the post war perfection was a blip and generational aberration, and for nearly all human history life has been a struggle. Enjoy it while it lasts.