Hang in there kitty.

Are you American? Because I seem to recall between five and ten years ago a particular event that changed the way we ran a lot of the government.

Have you read Cory Doctorow’s book on enshitification? I think he focuses more on the Internet but might help answer your question.

In terms of cost, the cost of doing business likely rose due to inflation over the past few years. Those costs have supposedly plateaued but costs for consumption continue to rise. My two cents are markets will continue to increase prices until demand goes down. Eventually they will lower their prices out of necessity as they compete for those who can still afford their products and services.

It was those damned churches staying open during COVID

Globalization. Exploiting developing countries, export jobs and environmental damage, hiding profits. Not so long ago corporations had to be careful not to shit where they eat. Now they can shit in Asia and eat comfortably in USA/Europe. Everyone lost on that.

I think the 2020 election and the pandemic are largely to blame for some spiraling plummets in our feelings about our system as a whole. Both of these events caused some pretty large divides in our government, communities, and even family and friend units.

War and human suffering were already there. Corporate greed and late-stage capitalism effects were already there, as well. We’re all just critically assessing everything together at this point because some of those divides removed a security net of reliability and trust.

You see it all started when some dumb motherfuckers decided to leave the relatively plentiful African Savannah for the dead-land that was the desert. Then they had to invent agriculture and it was all downhill from there.

World is as good as never before. It’s safer, more comfy and stuff. Problem is that rich people want more money, and since they have outsourced and made everything automatic, they’re now saving on materials and quality on top of making it more expensive or giving you less. Moreover, we’re dependent on them due to our own laziness. We‘ll either see them die until 2030 or little businesses and the decentralization take over their place.

Capitalism seems to run in a cyclic manner. If you remember in the 80s we had movies like Wall Street and Other People’s Money, because I think things were at a similar point then to where they are now. But, through the 90s (and I joined the workforce in the mid 90s) I recall a more customer-centric view, and even some level of consideration for employees. This has gradually deteriorated starting in the new millennium.

The last 10 years I think has seen this accelerate such that the only consideration for a company is to the shareholders (public or private), customers are in the equation somewhere but way, way after providing value to shareholders via cost-cutting in any way possible. Employees are absolutely just a cost of doing business and if they could eliminate them too, they surely would.

The only hope I have is that I’ve seen this reverse before, so it CAN happen again. But what makes me place some doubt about this is headlines like the four richest people doubling their net-worth in an incredibly short period. The economy is a zero-sum game, if they doubled their worth other people lost everything, MANY people needed to lose everything to achieve that. Those people need to lose, and lose a lot to bring us back, and I can’t imagine they will let that happen.

Maybe things will improve, maybe there will be a revolution/uprising when it just gets too bad. Who knows?

Here’s the thing… There’s always shit hitting the fan, that doesn’t change. What has changed is our perception. We see everything that happens everywhere all the time right in the palm of our hands. Our ability to have control over any of it hasn’t changed much. I was born in the 60s when a president, presidential candidate and a civil rights leader were assassinated which is pretty intense and everyone is aware of it. There were other events that were “big deals” at the time that younger people today aren’t aware of. It’s a thing that strikes me as I get older. I guess that’s how it goes, we all together stress over one thing or another. The first one I remember getting wrapped up in was the Swine Flu outbreak in the 70’s. My 5th grade class got a new textbook with a picture right inside the cover of a kid getting an inoculation shot. The needle device looked more like an industrial staple gun than a traditional needle and I was scared shirtless of it. I waited for my turn to get that shot and it never came. The next news headline replaced Swine Flu and the whole thing blew over. My point is these things come and they go, it’s nothing new. I’m not saying don’t be concerned about the state of things just don’t stress out too hard. It’s not on your shoulders to save the world at least not yours alone. You do have an effect on things just not everything.

Covid made things worse, but the fundamentals were bad.

We are in the middle of a massive tightening of the labor market as boomers retire and there aren’t enough young adults to fill the gap. This is causing major ripples in the market, with a very antagonistic relationship forming between capital trying to keep labor costs down and labor tired of the bullshit.

This is causing some mild inflation, so companies are jacking up prices since they have an excuse to. This increased inflation is making the time value of money cost more. So now you have companies that were losing money having to scramble to finally generate a profit. This is causing the enshittification of the Internet and the loss of jobs in the tech sector.

The worse economy is causing political problems as it is harder for politicians to justify their positions in power. This encourages conflict between nations and the justification to deny some people of social benefits to create an underclass to benefit voters.

Greed won.

For the US it all started (well more accelerated) with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#Opinion_of_the_court and since we have a knock on effect with the rest of the world…

Because most people have stopped giving a fuck.

I’m serious. Remember all those memes a couple of years back about not giving any fucks? Their chickens are now coming back to roost.

A lot of people have simply decided that it was no longer worth the effort to try and be a good person, and to just shut themselves off and take care of their own needs. And perhaps it was necessary at the time because they were simply tired of putting in effort while others decided to take and take and give nothing back, but clearly, this isn’t a viable long term solution. The Roots put it quite well in their song How I Got Over:

Out on the streets, where I grew up
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere
Someone has to care

The less people care, the colder the world grows. If no one does anything charitable, every interaction becomes a matter of win or lose. Now I’m well aware of just how difficult it is to be kind in a world full of greed where everyone seems to want to take advantage of you the moment you show any sign of weakness, but unfortunately, that is the only way anything will ever change.

For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:46-48