Oh they're definitely America. It's a problem with our culture. If WalMart goes away another one replaces it. We've decided customers are king, workers are peasants.

I have no doubt that we will eventually end up in a hyper-automated society with the lowest on the totem pole suffering the results. It doesn't have to be that way, but it's a toxic part of our culture.

it also has to be said that this efficient behavior focused on driving down prices isn't all bad. sure milk is overly priced, and most of the meat is terrible quality, and the produce is irradiated and/or preserved with chemicals. but u can buy a 70" flatscreen on even a modest budget, walmart clothes used to stand out in school but they've updated a lot and actually make fashionable affordable clothes, even their automotive service isnt half as shit as it used to be.

they fuck workers, lots of their food is shit, but its great for closing the gap in comfort items for poor people.

Bump. This deserves more attention.

In some ways, sure. However the big issue is that that extra efficiency goes into relatively few hands, which then tends to lobby for screwing over those bottom workers, which then makes things worse. Yeah it's offset by my 40 inch TV for $200, but in other ways it's actually worse. I go to a local butcher and get higher quality cut-to-order meat for the same price as WalMart. So in some ways yes, in other ways no, and when it comes to the outsized influence from concentrated wealth, HELL NO.

I agree that it's a cultural thing. If we want to solve it, we would need to drastically rewrite the American playbook. We'd need to go back to pre-boomer days when sacrifice and loyalty was actually valued and rewarded as such.

Im honestly not convinced that life for the american worker is all that much worse. worse, sure, but i think most people overblow the situation. crippling college dept, sure. but when did the average person ever have something compared to the Rockefellers? The wealth has always been concentrated. and hard working folks can still find stable living conditions in almost every county of the country. still wont ever be shit compared to the rich.

other than college debt and shrinkflation im more likely to agree with boomers than gen z kids. race not withstanding if you're sensible and work hard u can have a great life in this country. buying supreme hoodies and getting a BA in ceramics wont do it tho.

measuring oneself against the 'rich' is a ridiculous way of looking at things. they're all chasing each other in the rat race anyways as well, it's just a different playing field.
>oh he has a private g4 well im gonna get a g5

I think it's significantly worse.

Student loans are bad, and you have to take your first 4 or so years of not working to get them if you want to work in most fields anymore. Even if you want to do a trade you have the same problem but a lesser degree.
Healthcare is heavily rationed in this country. People with insurance still aren't guaranteed fast or good care since a lot of people still have disaster insurance that still costs an arm and a leg every month.
The average person didn't have something compared to the Rockefellers, but a house before 30 is a pipe dream for most anymore, and increasingly unavailable to a lot of people. Also we're working longer and harder than before, so even if everything was the same it would be worse by virtue of that alone.

My wife was working at a giant hospital system until a few months ago when she got a lot better job. Her whole team made $15 an hour, all had bachelors degrees, and all had been working in a relatively skilled position that takes about a year to train up fully. The managers all have MBAs and only made about $20 an hour. Not great, and they're one of the largest employers in my city with an absolutely massive real-estate presence. People are working their ass off and being smart and still not getting ahead.

I'm saying this as somebody who's doing pretty well for himself. I'm a little bitter about my student loans, but they're not the end of the world. Even after we buy a house next year and student loan payments go back into effect I'll still be able to invest at least 33% of my pre-tax income. Not bragging, cuz you're obviously doing better than me, just saying I'm not saying this out of some personal vendetta against the system. It's just a terribly inefficient system and my autism gets all riled out about bad systems.

No offense, but it's really ironic how you blasted someone else for his delusions and then post this stuff just 7 minutes later. You make it sound as if WalMart, Target and co. are the direct descendants of those who were swinging the whips 160 years ago.

Regarding your previous point about violence being justified because the social contract has been broken: this does not justify harming innocent bystanders. During the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis, buildings were set on fire while civilians were still inside. This kind of violence is not justifiable, ever! In the same vein, rage against "the system" does not justify destroying the livelihood of unrelated small business owners. Senseless, indiscriminate violence and destruction are neither an acceptable nor a productive way of blowing off steam.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Mar 30 2021 02:48pm

When the social contract is broken it makes no sense to talk about whats justified or not. That ship sailed. It's not that violence is justified, it's that the concept doesnt apply

This post was edited by Thor123422 on Mar 30 2021 03:43pm

Again: violence against innocent bystanders is not acceptable, even if the system is broken.

And even if it was morally or ethically acceptable, that would still be really shitty approach, strategically speaking. The fact that the BLM protests last summer ended with widespread mayhem and violence has arguably cost Democrats at least 2 Senate seats and a dozen or so House seats. If the movement hadnt overplayed its hand and provided Republicans with disastrous imagery of burning buildings to counter the disastrous image of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, then Democrats would have the majorities to pass legislation for far more significant social progress. The BLM protests had the moral high ground and the momentum. The looting and arson are the only thing that prevented the dam from fully breaking if you ask me.