They Love The Trades. They Just Hate The Trade Workers.

We live in a society that worships billionaires. Not because the majority are billionaires, but because billionaires have convinced the majority that they are all important. They’ve convinced the poorest members of our society that it’s the billionaires who give them their jobs, that it’s the billionaires who keep the economy going. The rich and the elite have convinced the masses that without them, the wheels would stop turning.

Is it true? Of course it isn’t. But they sure as hell love to play that card.

The Billionaire Tantrum

Every time a city or state threatens to raise taxes on the ultra wealthy, what’s the first thing the billionaires do? They stomp their feet like little children. Then they get angry and try to threaten people into compliance. “Well we’ll just take our money and move then.”

The majority never do. In the 60’s and 70’s they were taxed at rates that would make their heads explode today. They didn’t leave then. And they won’t leave now. It’s a bluff, and we keep falling for it.

The 1099 Scam — And I’ve Lived It

The ultimate goal for the billionaires is to make everyone a 1099 independent contractor. They want everyone under that pay model. And I’m not guessing here. I’ve lived it.

I was working as a machinist. Legitimate shop. Employee. Benefits. The whole deal. Then one day they tell me the company is in financial crisis and I’m laid off. Just like that. So I find work at another shop. But this time it’s different. This time I’m a 1099 independent contractor.

The boss set our pay, set our hours, set our schedule. Every single thing about that job was controlled by someone else. That’s an employee. That is the textbook definition of an employee. But on paper? We were independent contractors.

You know what that means? No healthcare. No workers’ comp. No unemployment if they cut you loose. I had just been through a layoff. I had just lost a job. And now if it happened again? There’s no unemployment to fall back on. Nothing.

You’re in a machine shop, running mills, running lathes adnd one bad day and you lose a finger, maybe a hand. And if you’re a 1099? That’s your problem. No claim to file. No safety net. Nobody owes you a thing.

I knew it was bullshit. I happened to be starting my own business at the time so it didn’t matter to me the same way. But the guys next to me? They were stuck. And the worst part? Some of them bought into it. They actually repeated the line, “I’m my own boss.” Standing at a machine they didn’t own, on a schedule they didn’t make, at a rate they didn’t set. Calling themselves business owners because that’s what the paperwork told them.

That’s exactly how they sell it. That’s the play. Why do you think they don’t go after Uber? Uber drivers are not treated like independent contractors, but they sure as hell won’t classify them as employees. Because once that model works, every corporation in this country is going to want the same thing. No benefits. No protections. No obligations. And they’ll wrap it in a bow and call it freedom.

That’s What “Again” Means

Trump ran on a slogan of Make America Great Again. But his idea of “great again” is not the same as a majority of Americans. His supporters thought he was talking about them, their lives, their future, their hopes and dreams. They thought he meant a better life for them.

But Trump sure as hell was not talking about making America great again for you. He was talking about himself. His pocket. His future. His kids. And of course, all of his billionaire buddies. He’s even said it, the gilded age, the so-called golden age.

You want to know what the golden age actually looked like?

Twelve hour days. Six, sometimes seven days a week. No overtime. No minimum wage. No safety regulations. You got hurt on the job? Too bad. You got fired for getting hurt on the job. Children in factories. Kids in coal mines. Exposed to chemicals, to machinery, losing fingers, losing limbs before they were old enough to read. No unions. No collective bargaining. You took what they gave you and you shut your mouth. And if you tried to organize, they sent men with guns to make sure you didn’t try again. Company towns where your boss owned your house, owned the store, owned everything. You didn’t just work for them. They owned you.

That was the golden age. That’s what “again” means.

And if you’ve been paying attention, you already see it happening. The 1099 economy. The gutting of education. The war on unions. The rollback of every protection working people ever bled for. Trump’s plan for America isn’t new. It’s already been done before. That’s why he uses the word “again.” And his billionaire buddies know exactly what he’s talking about.

The Education Scam They’re Running On You

They will continue to gut education. They will cut funding. They will bring this country back to a time when only the wealthy could afford an education. And they’re already doing it.

But here’s what really pisses me off. These same people — the same Republicans, the same talking heads, they stand in front of cameras and tell you that college is a scam. That universities are just liberal indoctrination centers. That your kids don’t need that.

And then they send their kids. Every single one of them.

Trump himself tells his base that college is a waste of time. Then sends Barron to NYU Stern, one of the top business schools in the country. Let that sit for a second. It’s a scam, but not for my kid. Just for yours.

Then they hit you with the other line. Learn a trade. Skip college. Go work with your hands. And I want to be clear, I’m a machinist. I’ve worked the trades. There is real value in that work and I will never talk down about it. But there’s a difference between choosing a trade because it’s your calling and being funneled into one because they made damn sure you couldn’t afford any other option.

And here’s the part they don’t tell you. They want you in the trades, but they don’t want to pay you a living wage for doing them. They want you swinging a hammer, running a machine, breaking your body, but the second you try to organize, the second you try to form a union so you can negotiate for what you’re actually worth, they lose their minds.

They love the trades. They just hate the trade workers.

They don’t want educated workers. They want obedient ones. People who show up, shut up, and don’t ask questions. Because an educated population is a dangerous population. An educated population looks at what they’re doing and says no. That’s why they gut the schools. That’s why they tell you education doesn’t matter.

Yet they continue to send their kids. Do you ever stop and ask yourself why?

No. Of course not. As long as you believe, you will never question.

Wake Up

If you truly want a better future you need to act now. Not tomorrow. Not next election. Now.

Take the blinders off and see what is really happening. They are counting on you staying asleep. They are counting on you fighting each other instead of looking up and seeing who’s really robbing you blind.

The time for party politics is over. Republican. Democrat. None of that matters if every candidate you vote for answers to the same billionaires. Vote for candidates who support real change. Who don’t take corporate money. Who don’t take money from lobbyists. Who actually give a damn about the people they represent.

This may be our last chance. And I am not being dramatic. Look around you. The 1099 economy. The death of public education. The rollback of every labor protection your grandparents fought and bled for. This is not a warning about what might happen. This is what is happening. Right now.

Wake up.

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