Heads up for this one, folx.

I’m going to be suggesting something for which I have no hard evidence.

But I believe it fits a pattern. And hopefully I’ll be able to explain it well enough that you’ll see it too, and be able to do something about it.

Ok, you know how the GOP in the Senate just came out with their bullshit 1 trillion stimulus package proposal?

The one that drops the increased unemployment benefits to $200 per week from $600 per week and looks to shell out another one time $1,200 payment.

(Incidentally, at the time of writing, this is still just a proposal. Negotiations in the Senate haven’t even begun in earnest yet, much less any kind of reconciliation with the House. Don’t get worried. Nothing’s happened yet – which makes this the perfect time for you to act.)

Here’s my proposition:

I believe the GOP has been stonewalling on the second round of stimulus to the people so that we’ll be grateful for whatever scraps they decide to throw us.

Why would they do this?

Ok, maybe it’s not obvious. Allow me to elaborate:

If they make us desperate, if they wait until we’re so starved and homeless and mired in debt, then we may have no choice but to accept anything they propose.

It is negotiating with a gun to our heads.

(Yes, they are supposed to be negotiating on our behalf. Anyone think they’ll do that? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)

If they keep us desperate, if they never make us whole, we can be forced to be the serf/ indentured servant class so many of the wealthy in this country appear to desire.

We can be made into good little workers, happy to almost scrape by, because if we’re even barely scraping by than that’s too much like security and we might get uppity and demand more – even, heaven fore-fucking-fend, our fair share.

I think that is why they’ve waited so long for a second round of stimulus for the people.

I think that’s why Mitch McConnell started talking about the bullshit deficit as soon as his corporate cronies got their grubby claws on billions of our money.

As soon as Wall Street got its legs again, Main Street got forgotten.

Like you can fucking eat the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Now, Why do I believe this is the case?

Look at the history our government, the fucking GOP in particular, have of “disciplining labor.”

After the Great Depression, the government’s economic goal was full employment.

A job for everyone who wanted one.

It continued that way until Nixon.

Labor unions and movements had grown large by then – maybe too large given the amount of corruption, but that’s a debatable topic for another time.

The Unions & Labor Movement built the middle class in this country.

(along with the GI bill and a number of other things – not a history lesson today.)

By Nixon’s time in office it was decided, somewhere in the halls of power, to fall in line with the GOP’s way of thinking:

Less priority on full employment and more on lowering inflation.

(and by less priority, I hope you know I mean: no priority. I knew you would. You folx are the smartest and handsomest readers a person could wish for.)

Disciplining labor is a nice way of saying: Union Busting and The Erosion of Worker’s Rights.

If you live in a Right-to-Work state you know this well and truly already.

A program of legislation and general laissiez-faire capitalist chicanery that makes it nigh on impossible to negotiate a raise, or benefits package, or even to get benefits anymore. And so on – if I keep going the blood building behind my eyes will spurt from my head, washing the monitor in a lovely shade of red and making it damned hard to keep writing.

And all that was just here at home.

For the more intersectionality-minded of you there are also plenty of more extreme examples left in America’s imperialist wake out in the world.

(please go look up some of the shit we have pulled in other countries. I don’t have the time nor the extra blood volume to even begin listing them here.)

All that to say, that I think it can be fairly persuasively argued that our government – again the G-O-FUCKING-P in especially – has engaged in a pattern of behavior that suggests making us desperate so we’ll accept less is not only par for the course, but is actually seriously fucking likely.

If you look at history it damn sure seems like the rich in this country – who pretty much own our government now, there have been studies done, go check them out – want to turn our democracy into an aristocracy with them as the nobles and us as the servants and workers.

Serfs and indentured servants.

Judge a person by how they act, not what they say.

And the actions of a the vast majority of our representatives show that they no longer represent us.

They act like we are cattle to be herded, and when necessary, culled.

Think I’m wrong?

Easy way to find out:

Contact your representatives.

Tell them your concerns. Advocate for yourself and your community.

Don’t take it for granted that they have your best interests at heart.

History shows us they don’t.

If you don’t know who your representatives are here’s the helpful links:

House:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Senate:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm

First – learn who they are if you don’t know. This is important.

Second, call them up or send a letter. Tell them what they should be advocating for on your behalf.

It’s an easy experiment.

At most it costs the price of a stamp.

Just a little time and effort – less than actually going to vote.

Do it.

See how it turns out.

I’ll be here if you want to talk about it.

Or if you need a shoulder to cry on.

I’ll dry your eyes, and then we’ll get to work fixing this shit.

I’ll be waiting for you, and working.

Until next time…