Day 118:
It’s not about you, its about the money:
Here is a the sad true fact that most American’s have not yet come to terms with. I think this fact is counter intuitive, because our intuitions have been shaped by hundreds of years of lies. But here goes.
If you are a white, male, upper middle class guy working a good job where you bring home say 85k a year, you have more in common with a poor black woman with two kids desperately trying to feed them by working two full time jobs making just over 20k a year, than you do with the CEO of your company (who probably makes millions every year). Further still that CEO probably has more in common with that poor black woman than he does with Bill Gates.
If you are said white guy however you might find yourself voting republican, thinking to yourself that they are going to pass tax cuts for you and look out for your money. You might see yourself as “rich” or “someday will be rich” and the last thing you want to do is pay more property tax, or pay more tax in the future when you get even more wealthy. You see yourself as the future CEO, the next Bill Gates. You probably think you have nothing in common with that black woman that cleans your office.
If you are said black lady, you know you are poor, you know you work hard, you know that at the end of the month the money never stretches far enough. You see the rich white guys leaving for the bar at the end of the day at the office you clean and you think you live in an entirely different world than they do. You don’t have much time to follow politics, but if you did you would probably vote democratic, as at least they give lip service to supporting people like you.
But here is the real truth, that white guy making 85k a year, and that black woman making 20k a year, are both in the same class. The class I have started calling the “prey.” As in there are hunters, and there are prey. Our current legal system, with its lax banking laws, government bail outs, upside down tax system, and financially corrupted political system has bifurcated the american population into two classes.
There are the super rich predators, and there is their prey. Sure there is still some stratification in the prey class, that guy making 85k a year is much better off than the lady making 20k, but at the end of the day the predators are hungry and its the prey they will come for.
That guy making 85k a year probably wont move up, social/income mobility in america is measured as being very low. In fact that guy will probably never be a millionaire, and almost certainly will never be a billionaire. His children will be slightly less well off than he was, and his grandchildren even worse off than his children. In a couple generations he could easily find his descendants working two jobs and making 20k a year.
He should be voting like he is that black woman making 20k a year, because to the billionaire class, 85k and 20k are just rounding errors. When they pass tax cuts, they pass them for the super rich, for the billionaires. Unless you can afford to hire an army of accountants to hide your money in offshore accounts, dodge taxes, and invest in shady lucrative deals, you are the hunted not the hunter.
All that money the rich have came from poor and middle class people, they are sucking it up and holding on to it. The problem with poor people is not that they are stupid, its that they don’t have any money. And the reason they don’t have any is because every day they go to work and make 10 bucks for the CEO but take home 1.
The real truth is that the 99% of Americans who are not the super rich should all be working together, its the only way we can financially and politically compete against these people who have become so rich they think they can have it all while we have nothing.
Their greed is endless, first they will take the poor peoples money, then they will hollow out the middle class, and then they will fight each other. You think you are well off making 85k a year, but they just see you as a juicier target. How many people making 85k a year lost their house in the last great scam? How many people making 85k a year can bribe a senator? It’s an illusion, to the super rich you are no different than the woman making 20k a year.
Don’t think for a second that the super rich don’t know that our power lies in our numbers. They know that if we all get together we can pass sensible laws, tax them for public services, and redistribute the money they have back into society. Sure they would still be fabulously wealthy even if we did tax them heavily, but like I said their greed is endless. They will do anything in their power to make sure that white guy and that black lady never make common cause with one another.
So when you see a poor person cleaning your office, remember you have more in common with them than you do with the CEO. When you are asked to vote to raise the minimum wage remember that will help your future as well. When people talk about universal health care, remember the CEO could cut your benefits at any time. You could be laid off, your house could get repossessed, and in short order you might be making 20k a year trying to feed two kids.
Unless you are on this list you are in the prey class. And you should vote like it. It is not natural or acceptable that some people should have endless riches while others suffer. Economies are not natural, they exist only as we allow them to. This distribution of wealth, where a very few have almost all of it, is not natural or moral. It is an abomination, and causes endless suffering so a very very few may prosper. It should be and can be stopped by creating a different system with less inequality in it. This is not like making gravity turn off, its not a law of nature, its simply about the choices we make. Do we all stand together and make that change, or do we allow ourselves to be divided up and picked off one group at a time.
Once we come to terms with the fact that 99% of us are prey for the super rich, and that we have artificially been divvied up into warring parties so that we wont unite against the people at the top, it gets a lot easier to see how the system is slowly squeezing us to death.
So here is what I propose we do. First we stop electing people who care more about the super rich than us. Then we make the next batch pass laws that help the bottom 99% Including but not limited to the following: 15 dollar minimum wage, pay equity for women, breaking up and regulating of the big banks, strong environmental regulations, move to 100% renewable energy, ending the military industrial complex and its many wars, banning money from politics, paid family leave, free public college, and universal single payer medicare for all healthcare. Paid for by taking money from the super rich, mega corporations, and reckless financial trades.
Further Reading with the understanding that none of this would have happened if we made common cause against these rich fuckers:
99.8% of Americans would not receive a nickel in tax breaks from the repeal of the Estate Tax. pic.twitter.com/U71xD4NPvM
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 15, 2017
Feds subpoena records for $3.5M mystery mortgage on Manafort’s home
Erdogan’s bodyguards in violent clash with protesters in Washington DC
Trump reportedly asked Comey to consider imprisoning members of the press
Graham invites Comey to testify before Senate panel
White House rocked by allegation Trump tried to shut down FBI’s Flynn probe
Trump Officials on Comey Memo: ‘Don’t See How Trump Isn’t Completely F*cked’
Story on DNC staffer’s murder dominated conservative media — hours later it fell apart
Fox host: No Republicans ‘willing to go on camera’ after Comey memo
Trump’s disclosure endangered spy placed inside ISIS by Israel, officials say
Subpoena issued regarding fmr Trump staffer Manafort
Castro: If NYT report true, likely Congress will move to impeach
Chaffetz Says He Wants To See Comey Memo: ‘I Have My Subpoena Pen Ready’
John Kasich on James Comey memo: ‘This is not a time for Republicans to hide’
Speaker Ryan: “It is appropriate for House Oversight Committee to request (Comey) memo”
Israeli intelligence ‘boiling mad’ over Trump disclosure: report
Poll: Voters Favor Impeaching Trump by 7-Point Margin
New federal subpoena in Trump/Russia investigation
Israel Was Source of Secret Intelligence That Trump Gave to Russians, Officials Say
Israeli Official: Trump Sharing Intelligence With Russia Is “Worst Fears Confirmed”
Trump should be impeached under Amendment 25 after Russia leak, says George Bush’s ethics lawyer
Kasich on Trump: ‘This is why I didn’t support him, why I didn’t go to convention’
——————————————————————————————————-
Upcoming Action Against Trump:
June 9 – 11, Peoples Summit 2.0
Tools of change:
Feel like this is all a bunch of bullshit? Want to do something about it?
Calling your government representative:
Call your Senator
Call your House Rep (Or use this spreadsheet)
Call your Governor
Call your Attorney General
Or try this website
Fax Congress here (free!)
You can also use 5Calls.org if you are having a hard time figuring out what to say.
Tell them in no uncertain terms that you want them to fight to stop Trump from doing these things. Tell them you will be watching them closely on how they vote, and will hold them accountable during the next election if they cave to Trump. You can also call other states congress people and threaten to donate to their opponent if they don’t do what you want.
Phone Bank for Progressive Candidates:
Call the White House:
202-456-1111
Call the “White House”:
Use this website to call one of Trump’s many properties he has not put into a blind trust yet, and let them know how you feel (be polite, they are workers just like us, but be firm).
Do a little Slacktivism:
Send Some Text Messages for progressive causes (I know it says textforbernie, but its for a range of progressive candidates) Or you can have your texts turned into faxes by the ResistBot
Go to a town hall and talk to your congress person in person:
Check when the next town hall is here
Monitor your congressperson:
Keep track of how your senator is voting on cabinet picks here, so you can call them up and give them hell if they vote for any of these worthless fuckers.
See how your elected representatives are voting for or against Trump.
Elections!
Also be sure to keep track if you live in a district with an upcoming flip-able seat (flip to the left that is)
See if you have a special election in your area!
Is your mayor up for election? Find out, get involved!
Upcoming house votes:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/
Upcoming senate bills:
http://www.senateseeker.com/vote.php?upcoming=true
Monitor Trumps Conflict of Interests:
General Guides:
Guidelines by former Congress staffers on how to get Congress to listen. https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
Run For Office!:
Remove the Corporate Democrats!:
Join the fight to clean out the democratic party: Justice Democrats!
Do you want to help me continue to bring you these daily roundups of the Trump news, while also getting great rewards? Consider supporting me on Patreon!
Thank you!