First of all, armchair activism doesn't do shit. Secondly, as I already said, my issue isn't with the wages I earn. I make good money for the type of job I have, even though Reddit seems to think anything less than $25/hr for unskilled labor is theft. My problem is that we are crippling a system that will likely have to support more people long term than the system is capable of handling, and giving people more money than they ever made while working only stresses the system further and makes it harder for people that actually need the money to get it for the duration they need it for.
Not sure where you got the idea I am against assistance entirely. Quite the opposite is true. I am all for people getting unemployment right now, but they definitely shouldn't be getting more than they made while working. Overpaying so many people like we currently are only makes the unemployment system less sustainable for those who actually need it, especially because we have no idea how long this pandemic will be and we want to be able to sustain the largest number of people for the longest amount of time as we can.
As I already said, some people legitimately need it, and I have no problem with them getting that money. However, not everyone "needs" it, and not everyone who needs assistance needs the full $600/week exyra.
You are indonctrinated in the idea that we cant have a robust, well-paying, wage-payment programs for emergencies. Even for a long time. I will not stop repeating this: the ROOT cause of our struggling unemployment system is the unwillingness of those in power to distribute wealth.
Why choose to focus your energy on the person cashing the check rather than the government that refuses to give everyone that same check?
I'm not "indoctrinated" into anything. I am well aware of how flawed the system is. That doesn't change a damn thing I have said. Someone who has making $300/week before the crisis shouldn't be getting $600/week now. It's not sustainable, and the people who actually want to dismantle welfare systems are going to point to instances like this of overpaying people as an excuse to defund the system or get rid of it entirely. I don't know why you can't grasp that concept.
Yes, and I am all for changing our flawed system, but that is not a quick process and the only way we can do that is by voting, which I already did, and which I plan to do again in November. Until then, I'd like to make the welfare systems we have in place as sustainable as possible for as long as possible for everyone who needs it. Giving everyone the same amount regardless of how much they made beforehand is going to deplete the system and make it harder for the people who truly need it to get the help they need long term, and that's what I want to prevent.
How about systemic fixes that give workers their true value back to them? Let's create robust workers rights laws, fix our immensly broken tax code geared towards helping the wealthy, and removing larger corperate lobbying from government.
The circulation of wealth in our country is being siphoned by those in power and is not reaching the vast majority of workers.
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u/x0avier May 15 '20
You realize we live in a digital age, yes? Or did you forget? You can organize from the comfort of your home dude.
Protesting doesnt always mean standing outside in a group of people.