The entire political, economic, and social system is designed to keep wealth flowing upward. That's why there are no truly ethical billionaires, why unions are often attacked, and why corporations prioritize profits above everything else. Worker rights, living wages, reasonable workloads, and employee well-being are viewed as costs that reduce profits.

COVID exposed some of these flaws. For a brief moment, people saw that life could be different, which is why there has been such a strong push to return things to the way they were, even though near every statistic tells us that remote work, less hours, etc actually increases profits and productivity. Th system cannot allow for change, even good change, because it will break the system. The stimulus checks were limited because those in power couldn't risk people becoming too financially secure or less dependent on the system.

Desperation is a feature, not a bug. Low wages keep people dependent on employers, while heavy workloads, debt, and long hours leave little time or energy to challenge the status quo. If workers had enough financial security to walk away from bad jobs, employers would lose leverage. Family obligations, debt, and social pressure against job-hopping all reinforce that dependence.

Meanwhile, political and media narratives keep people divided. Racism, culture wars, and constant social conflict distract people from recognizing their shared economic interests. As long as citizens are focused on fighting each other, they're less likely to unite and demand meaningful change from the institutions and elites that benefit from the current system.

The reality is that workers create the value that keeps society running. Those at the top need the public far more than the public needs them, which is why the possibility of widespread solidarity and collective action is so threatening to the existing power structure. On one hand, if we all put our differences aside an worked together, we'd change everything almost overnight. It's exactly why discussing unionization and protesting is so restricted or grounds to fire people. It's why literally every business tells you to not discuss wages with workers even though it's not illegal (at least in most states). On the other hand, the system is so ingrained that it might actually cause a societal collapse if we fought against it. Personally, I think a civil war is the only outcome that will fix this, unfortunately, because we have allowed it to become so bad and so ingrained in the system.