I really hope people let what happened in the last few years sink in. We had a global pandemic. Government spending had a massive impact on eviscerating povert

I really hope people let what happened in the last few years sink in. We had a global pandemic. Government spending had a massive impact on eviscerating poverty, raising some 11.2 million Americans out of poverty [1]. To keep companies afloat and to avoid the healthcare system collapsing, people stayed indoors and worked from home. Many took pay cuts or loss of benefits to do this. A lot of people realized they didn't need to go into the office at all and they could have a substantial improvement in the quality of life by not wasting hours a day in a car and/or moving somewhere more affordable. Demand did drop in 2020/2021 but it came roaring back and companies saw an ppportunity to recoup lost profits with predatory price incresaes. They saw massive profits and inflation shot through the roof as a result [2]. To compare to the oil shock of the 1970s, Nixon instituted price and wage freezes to stave off shock inflation [3]. The Fed responded to inflation by raising interest rates. They government had a far more effective tool available: corporate taxation. Some countries like Spain instituted a windfall profits tax. Taxes fill government coffers. Interest rates enrich bankers. Certain workers gained wage increases in the pandemic as they were essential. Inflation eroded much of this and employers took further opportunity to suppress or claw back wage incresaes through layoffs. Layoffs increase the workload of those workers who remain and reduce the ability for workers to demand wage increses, even cost-of-living adjustments. Return to office mandates are soft layoffs. They're cheaper too since if people quit they don't get a severance payout. The only effective wage increases gained during the pandemic were through labor organization, such as with the UAW and the Big Three automakers. So here are the lessons to draw: 1. Government policy exists almost entirely to transfer wealth from the poor to the already wealthy; 2. Employers are not your friends. You owe them absolutely no loyalty. In fact, given the trend to rescinding job offers, I would strongly advise people not to quit their job before starting their new one. Just don't show up. Two weeks notice is a courtesy not a legal or even contractual requirement. "At will" employment goes both ways. 3. Government spending is a way to redistribute wealth from the ultra-wealthy to the poor and it is incredibly effective. Post-GFC we've had many countries operate with austerity measures. This is simply propaganda to stop this wealth transfer. 4. Greed is the primary driver in inflation. Taxation would at least allow the government to help those worst affected; 5. Companies use layoffs and return to office mandates to suppress your wages; and 6. The only effective counter to wage suppression is labor organization ie unions. [1]: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/who-was-lifted-out-of-poverty-by-stimulus-payments.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/who-was-lifte... [2]: https://thehill.com/business/economy/4057722-greedflation-is-the-new-inflation-as-corporate-profits-balloon-report/ https://thehill.com/business/economy/4057722-greedflation-is... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_shock#:~:text=Nixon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_shock#:~:text=Nixon