Opportunity is a Quarantine Away
Every day is exactly the same. I wake up, roll out of bed, look at memes, and mosey on over to open a barrage of emails on my work Macbook. I brew some coffee and think to myself, “Sure, I’m burned out, but at least this coffee tastes good”. I browse through the emails after mustering the energy to look for criticisms and revision requests. My quality assurance checks come back and I take a quick look. I sigh and begin the 8-hour workday. It’s not the quarantine that’s killing us. It’s the job and a criminal response from the Federal Government. It’s a failure of our bootstrap culture.
Despite mental health being at an all time low, we’re all expected to continue on like business as usual. There’s little regard for the average worker, with no extensions to deadlines and no leniency to allow for conditions like depression and burnout. There are days where I struggle to sleep obsessing over a nastily-worded email or unnecessary request. Instead of responding in 24 hours, I’ll make it 48. What’s the point? We’re all stuck inside and despite receiving the same pay, there’s nothing to spend it on. There’s no social activities to mitigate burnout and keep us satiated until the next work day. I’m sure that many of you are having the same thoughts as me, and maybe you’ve realized it.
When I was a kid, I was told that you could work hard and become anything you wanted. All it took was enough drive and self-discipline. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you can do anything! Well, not everyone has bootstraps. Some don’t even have the boots. We’re taught to spend indiscriminately yet Millennials continue to starve more and more industries. “Put your money where your mouth is”, they say. We happily continue to kill off TGI Friday’s, and Applebee’s. Why would we support the mediocre suburban restaurants of yesteryear? As much as we’re blamed for it, we don’t even order avocado toast. We watch a YouTube tutorial on how to make it at home and teach ourselves.
CRONY CAPITALISM IS KILLING US
It’s no wonder Millennials and Gen-Z are flocking toward Marxist-Leninist philosophies and the Democratic Socialists continue to grow in power and membership numbers. Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I keep getting ads to join the Communist Party of the USA. An economic, fair, and intelligent one party state seems better than the “democratic” authoritarian cronyism that we have now. Whether or not a collective society or libertarian socialism or reformed capitalism or communism is good isn’t the issue here. The issue is that our government has limited oversight and doesn’t even try to hide their conspicuous misconduct and massive provision for corporate empires all while lying to the American public.
The CARES Act provided $350 billion in small business loans across the country, but the capital has already run dry, especially with behemoths like Ruth’s Chris Steak House taking $20 million intended for small businesses. Surely, a publicly traded company with over 6,000 employees can take a hit and deserves repercussions for drying up this fund. This money should be going to true Mom & Pop shops, the local brewery, or independent grocer yet there seems to always be a way to abuse the well-intended bill. Now, this money is headed directly into the wealthy shareholders’ pockets. Why are we not outraged that the game we play is so obviously rigged against us?
Several days ago, President Trump announced a council to reopen America. Naturally, he appointed individuals with major conflicts of interests with no government experience outside of “Daddy’s Administration”. If Ivanka or Jared had any actual qualifications for the position, I wouldn’t be so concerned. But, why are we accepting the fact that Trump nominated two family members, respectively, with a failed clothing line and a shady slumlord? This isn’t the America I grew up in, but this is our new reality. It’s a Brave New World and the government’s given us enough Soma to keep us in line until COVID-19 came.
WE’RE GETTING RIPPED OFF
Auto insurance companies across the board like State Farm have decided to implement a 25% refund for premiums paid through the COVID-19 outbreak. While I appreciate my insurer’s 25% discount, I’m driving literally 90% less. I no longer commute. I don’t drive to my friends’ homes. I don’t go to bars. My only trips are to the grocery stores, 1 mile, and 1.5 miles away. While the discount is helpful, car insurance is still insanely expensive and these companies are making record profits. Despite the discount, the rate of car crashes has vastly decreased because no one is going anywhere! They’re barely paying out for settlements now that accidents are at an all-time low and pocketing the rest.
Twelve Hundred Bucks? That’s it? The CARES Act provided $1200 for anyone with an adjusted gross income under $99,000. What about the individuals who made slightly more on last year’s tax return, but subsequently were laid off? How about the folks that lost their job, got in a car crash when we were going places, and now owe tens of thousands in medical debt, just for not dying? Meanwhile, other developed nations offer much more than our merciless overlords. South Korea is offering 70% of workers’ wages, The United Kingdom offering 80%, and Canada is providing a monthly basic income of $2,000. We’ve been paying taxes for years. Don’t we deserve something more during a time of uncertainty and crisis considering we’ve been robbed blind? Is my labor only worth a month of rent?
RESOLVE
Our money will continue to be mismanaged as the uber-wealthy see fit. As long as money exists in politics and corporations’ “donations” are willingly accepted by Congress, the average middle-class earner will continue to be brutalized. When billionaires can make in seconds what an average worker will make in a year, we need change. We need a revolution now, more than ever. We need an educated society, one that is not afraid to challenge its corrupt leaders. Our society will respect science and research expert opinions. This society will say, “No more corporate welfare!” Its inhabitants will yearn for education and encourage a powerful middle class. Its voices will demand fair pay for labor!
There is little protection for workers in the United States. We have no federally mandated sick pay or vacation days. While I know I’ll be experiencing this feeling of burnout for a while, I’ll continue to sift through my meaningless emails and fill out that blasted productivity form each day. I’ll dig into the bottom of my soul to continue writing. I’ll look for hobbies that bring me joy and dream of better days. While corporate America may kill my mood and bludgeon my spirits, they cannot separate me from my hopes and dreams. Let’s start a revolution, together.
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Sources:
https://www.newsweek.com/heres-how-us-coronavirus-stimulus-package-compares-other-countries-around-world-1497360
https://krcgtv.com/news/local/is-your-car-insurance-company-offering-a-refund
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-council-to-reopen-america
Cover Photo: https://unsplash.com/@wflwong
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