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What do the Supreme Court’s student loan ruling, Netflix sharing rules, Costco aggressively checking membership cards, return to office plans, and increases in homelessness all have in common? The Economic Police State operates on a system of surveillance, control, and seemingly random rules, randomly singling out people to take economic blows, that build up silently to intimidate the working class, while setting the narrative so you, the worker, enforce the wealthy capitalists’ order for them while judging your fellow worker. It starts with little things, subtle mechanisms to increase profits by charging more and paying workers less, taking small comforts away from the customer and employee experience while blaming so-called freeloaders, so you cheer on the capitalists’ attempts to recapture their profits rather than have class solidarity with those affected. But in its more serious form it knocks the most vulnerable off the economic ladder in the hopes that the masses will gaslight them.
Episode notes (always rough, may contain errors):
- We’ve already talked quite about employers enforcing more workplace rules, no work from home, being far more picky for good jobs, but there’s bad changes on the consumer side too.
- The Economic Police State sets the narrative so you, the working class, enforces the wealthy capitalists’ order for them.
- They are using enforcement, surveillance, and “small” changes to push profits out of the working class both as workers and consumers, and for the corporate class to assert its power dynamic. And they are pitting workers against each other to fight their battles.
- Sets up the tone for “everything’s fine, it’s just you” or “you must be doing something wrong.”
- They bait the “good upper middle class worker” to look down, sneer, and taunt those who are down with ease, and accuse them of stealing.
- The “I pay my bills” comments are rampant on anything related to student loans.
- Increasing prices to pad profits is just the start
- The difference between the economic police state and straight-up recession is that the former picks off the most vulnerable and gives them the most punishment.
- Side hustles and the creator economy are drying up. Fewer DoorDash deliveries available, less capital in the tech sector. This means people are forced back into the low wage slave economy.
- Shawnee, KS bans roommates
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8e9bWVG/
- Buying a home and living with roommates can get you out of the landlord system. Email me at greyson@offspeedsolutions.com to get a great real estate agent anywhere in the USA. (Licensed by the California DRE # 02101592)
- Spying on workers to get more productivity, distrusting workers and sending them back to the office. Saying remote workers are pretending to work. Making us look like we’re working is more important than productivity.
- Companies less generous in helping customers during bad economic times. No mercy when they’re trying to recoup profits.
- Bad customer service is the fault of big companies making cuts but they use workers as a shield – More Perfect Union video explains it well: https://youtu.be/6JhobRAWDzg
- Netflix sharing issues, Costco going crazy with membership cards
- The cuts to customer service, hours from COVID have become permanent
- These things tend to be permanent
- Cuts from 2008 still in effect today
- Industry consolidation accelerates with bad economic times
- Real estate agents turning to fraudulent investment schemes, creatives turning to copyright trolling, have to keep the facade with fraud (as Patrick Lovell says)
- People doing the bidding of capitalism is a big part of the economic police state
- Promoting an “I’ve got mine” attitude. The political and business leaders are booking an everyone for themselves, Royal Rumble-type attitude. Workers fighting each other.
- Making workers a part of enforcing capital’s rule
- Call center subreddit is veers into pro-company and anti-consumer advocacy and work from home subreddit still has some anti-worker sentiment and especially gets upset at “low-skilled workers” and those with disabilities
- Politics Done Right podcast featured documentary series “The Big Con” with Patrick Lovell discussing how Americans were fleeced during the 2008 recession: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6hpelT4R3gevrqRZBarzBB?si=d2cmwVfJSvypXunZw2Pm_w
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7mXbxbZX7mxqpEiMkHvf8g?si=RABQCm7HTi657BJ0eH5KqA
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0klPQxuMlb1O00ZxUECvmn?si=JXvPbp30QYqf2bCtXUJarQ
It states that in the financial crisis some bank employees were given gift cards as incentives for foreclosing on people
- The corporations weaponize government for their own purposes.
- Legal system corruption and weaponization – judges assisting in foreclosure based on campaign donations
- Quote from The Big Con documentary: “A perfect crime is a crime that involves everybody”
- Los Angeles city homelessness increased by 10%. Another case of conomically vulnerable being picked off.
- Of course it is! We have withdrawn pandemic aid that helped people breathe and save, layoffs for good jobs, $71k is low income in LA, and done nothing for affordable housing
- Financial markets profit off of failures. Most of the money is not from investing in the real economy.
- COVID pandemic economic leniency is unlike any recession before.
Start preparing now:
- Maintain a high level of savings and an have an
“escape plan” from bad bosses
- You need to be on high alert for bad business and financial deals.
- Be ready to know the legal system to defend against any collections issues
Got questions or comments about this episode? Is there another political or social issue you’d like me to cover? How will the student loan forgiveness being struck down affect your life? Are you facing the economic police state? Have you faced oppression, have a story about bad bosses, a corrupt company, or another injustice you want to vent or spread the word about? I’d love to hear from you! Call in and leave a voicemail any time, day or night, toll free at 844-477-PUNK (7865)
Or submit your question by email:
greyson@offspeedsolutions.com
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, digital marketing, websites, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Proudly serving nonprofits, political organizations, individual advocates, media and content creators, entrepreneurs, and socially responsible enterprises. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This is not financial advice. This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.