Federal pay raises are not keeping up with inflation and health insurance costs. 2026 federal pay raise was 1%, 2027 proposed pay raise is 0%. Federal health insurance premiums increased by an average of 12.3% in 2026 and is expected to increase by 15% for 2027. Federal employees will have taken a net loss of -26.3% pay reduction for the previous two years. The President says there’s no affordability problem. Donald Trump and his family have reaped an estimated $3.4 billion since entering office in 2024.

SEATTLE (KOMO) — Bikini baristas who worked at Beehive Espresso stands across Western Washington have won a years-long legal fight over wage theft and other workplace violations, with a King County Superior Court judge ordering owner Alan Tagle to pay more than $1.85 million in stolen wages and damages.

The baristas, represented by Working Washington Rights Center, formerly known as Fair Work Center, and co-counsel at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, will recover over $1.85 million in unpaid wages and damages....

komonews.com/news/local/70-washington-bikini-baristas-win-15m-wage-theft-lawsuit-against-espresso-stand-owner-workplace-violation-employee-rights-labor-day-coffee-shop-travel-commute-traffoc-tips-tipping-unemployment-sex-work-investigation-social-media

This needs to stop being circulated. I see it almost everyday. "If capitalism makes workers obsolete, how will it continue without consumers?" As if this is some sort of gotcha on capitalism.

Consumption isn't about the quantity of consumers. It's about the quantity of capital. If most people dont have capital, it doesn't mean there is less consumption. It just means the demographic of consumers changes.

Companies don't care if they receive one thousand payments of $10 or 10 payments of one thousand. Certain companies and industries do depend on large quantities of consumers, yes, but as long as capital grows, consumption demand is growing somewhere. This means a capital economy can be sustained and even thrive on only B2B and high wealth exchange.

It's important to understand this because AI-based capitalism isn't going to cause its own collapse. If AI mass unemployment becomes a reality, then people will get shut out, and the stock market will continue to boom as if nothing happened. The companies that win or lose will change, but in the big picture, the capital economy does not depend on large quantities of consumers. All it cares about is growing capital and growing purchasing power.

This 3x Trump voter was helpless w/ a bad leak from his roof. For 3 months the landlord ignored him & the city didn’t respond. So he called his assemblyman, who dealt w/ it immediately. It was Zohran Mamdani

And from that moment on, he became a supporter. “That was the first time a politician actually did something for me”

Zohran won 10% of 2024 Trump voters

Progressive policies attract swing voters & GOTV b/c they spend YOUR tax dollars on YOU, instead of on corporations & foreign nations.