Tim Suttle

Remember, the Jan 6 attack injured 140 Police officers (many seriously), caused $1.5 million in damage, & resulted in many deaths & suicides. These people pooped & peed on the floors & smeared their filth on the walls. There was no honor in it, only shame.

In late stage capitalism, there’s no economic incentive to be a decent human being.

Trump plans to scrap policy restricting ICE arrests at churches, schools and hospitals The long-standing policy has prevented ICE agents from arresting immigrants at so-called sensitive locations except under certain circumstances.

I've never been arrested before. It's seeming more and more likely that won't be true for much longer:
www.nbcnews.com/investigatio...

I suppose one can argue capitalism is the best economic system (ignoring environmental devastation, wealth disparity, corruption, profit over people & so on), but it is a lousy political system & an even worse religion... and today, it is the only true American religion.

That billionaires pay lower tax rates than the working class in America is both morally indefensible, and the result of careful design.

Worker: billionaires think they've convinced you that poor people & minorities are a burden on the system. But we know it's the billionaires & crony-capitalists who avoid taxes, corrupt the politicians, and hoard wealth you helped create. They are the burden on the system. #Trump won't change this.

Worker: the billionaire class wants you to believe you're powerless & stupid, that the way things are is the way they have to be. Corporations & politicians live by different rules. They think if they exhaust you, you’ll just roll over & take it. #Trump will never change this system.

Worker: remember you are not paid “fair market value.” Workers are not paid what they're worth. They're paid what they have the power to negotiate. The billionaire class, politicians, & corporations have worked for decades to break unions & diminish your negotiating power.

In today's predatory capitalism, there’s no incentive to be decent person.

Worker: the politicians & crony-capitalists don’t want economic reform. They don’t want financial regulations that require a more equitable share of profits, cuz that would threaten their power. That’s why they call anyone who advocates for change a “socialist” or “marxist.”

Worker: financial elites stay in power by dividing the working class over social issues, so we don’t come together over economic issues to put a stop to things like low wages, predatory debt, corporate welfare, and unfair tax laws that benefit the rich & their politician friends.

Worker: Any financial crisis is a cash-grab by global elites. Inflation has produced record corporate profits. The pandemic was great for global capitalists. Billionaires saw their wealth grow 70% during the pandemic ($2.1 trillion). The same thing happened during the 2008 financial collapse.

Worker: as long as corporations & the uber-wealthy can make unlimited dark-money contributions to politicians, they'll make sure working class concerns are not fairly represented. Until Citizen’s United is overturned & voting rights are protected, workers will get the shaft.

In the historical sense, our economic and political situation has been regressing since the late 1970s. The new corporate aristocracy has a lock on capital, jobs, education, and government.

Worker: remember that there’s no such thing as a free market. Markets are created & regulated by gov’t which is now controlled by billionaires & corporations. That’s why despite working hard & playing by the rules, most workers can’t get ahead and are easily swamped by a crisis.

America could easily see to it that everyone has a decent house, free healthcare, enough food, & a good education. We could end student debt and medical bankruptcies, and we could do all of this simply by asking the richest 10% to pay their fair share in taxes.

Worker: financial elites stay in power by dividing the working class over social issues. They want the working class arguing over abortion, guns, taxes, & race, instead of uniting to end low wages, predatory debt, corporate welfare, and unfair tax laws that benefit the rich.

The leading reason people file for bankruptcy in the U.S. is overwhelming medical expenses.

In the post New Deal economy, the main outcome of every economic crisis has been a massive cash-grab by global elites.

Most Americans wouldn’t know what Socialism was if it directly deposited a Social Security check into their FDIC insured bank account.

Worker: Immigrants aren’t taking American workers, robots are, computers and AI are. Politicians aren’t ruining the government, the corporations & uber-wealthy who can buy & sell those politicians are. #Trump is not a solution. He's part of the problem.

The official religion of America is capitalism. With our tithes and offerings we worship money as the sovereign god who promises safety & security. Guided by the spirit of the invisible hand, we place our total trust in The Economy. We live for it, die for it, and kill for it.

Socialism has become the term that right-wing neoliberals have chosen in order to sidetrack and derail any meaningful public discourse about how stewardship, morality, ethics, neighborliness, & brotherly love ought to impact our economic structures.

Worker, the billionaire class lives with one big fear: that you’ll take your economic struggle (economic inequality as a whole) from a question of economics to a question of morality. They fear this because they know the way our economy is now organized is morally indefensible.

That billionaires pay lower tax rates — a lower percentage of their income — than the working class in America is morally indefensible. They get away with it by paying politicians to keep the working class fighting about social issues & consumed with conspiracy theories.

Why are we surprised the U.S. is in decline? We've legalized political corruption & built antidemocratic structures. We've created institutions rife w/economic & social injustice. When we tire of this, we empower a corrupt conman & ask him to change a system from which he has profited?

Worker: if you work 40 hrs a week at minimum wage, you can’t afford a 2-bedroom rental anywhere in the U.S., or a 1-bedroom in 95% of U.S. counties. This is not because you’re dumb, lazy, or bad with $$, but because our economic system isn't designed for you, but for the wealthy.

Today’s predatory capitalist system subverts morality, virtue, & community. Anyone still governed by ethics and virtue above profits and power are viewed as suckers who deserve to be fleeced by those who are ruthlessly devoted to self-interest at the expense of the common good.

If we're going to find a way past the current cultural unrest, then corporate elites are going to have to make a little less money. They've got to allow workers more influence over companies, and give them a larger share in the profits they generate.

Worker: our economy is designed so that massive corporations can avoid paying you a living wage. The reason the gov’t has to help you out sometimes isn't because you are lazy or bad w/money, but because our economic policies serve corporations & the uber-wealthy, not you. #Trump won't change this.