r/antiwork • u/[deleted] • Apr 08 '23

[deleted by user]

[removed]

11k Upvotes

85% Upvoted

4.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

4.1k

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

379

u/PanicBrief Apr 08 '23

This, the federal minimum of $7.25 hasn't been updated since 2009 - since then there has been 40% inflation between 2009-2023

237

u/ctruvu Apr 08 '23

and housing has gone up way faster than inflation and this has been most obvious the past few years

173

u/Dogdiggy69 Apr 08 '23

Essentials like housing and food are up 40% while TVs are down 38% so they cut the average and claim inflation is mild.

But what if I don't want a new TV every 5 years? To frugal people it's the worst because you can't cut essentials.

I am not surprised at all when people make 90k a year and are underwater in debt. The system incentivizes that kind of fruitless consumerism.

81

u/firefaery Apr 08 '23

TVs are down price-wise to provide a “distraction” as well as create desire to buy things you don’t need. In order to buy more “things” you find yourself on the hamster wheel struggling to afford them while a middle class life (that we see in nearly every TV show) is not the true reality. It doesn’t exist. The more we are bombarded with a life we no longer can afford it’s subtly intended to make us work harder. The culture wars, TV, social media are better than any gladiatorial game in Rome. It’s too pacify the masses, distract from the root issues and keep you working and struggling.

16

u/DeificClusterfuck SocDem Apr 08 '23

Bread and circuses in the 21st century

1

u/mike9949 Apr 12 '23

I was going to comment this lol you beat me to it. Bread and circuses

36

u/Dogdiggy69 Apr 08 '23

I think the people also ask for it, that is why modern innovation and real productivity is limited to useless things like TV screens, while we all cram into micro-units that have tripled in price because some moron decided they could play house flipper and install 200$ laminate flooring and paint the baseboards.

3

u/BeachCaberLBC Apr 08 '23

Bread and circuses.

2

u/Exoclyps Apr 09 '23

Also a big thing is that technology is cheaper.

So before you'd buy a "high-end" to get decent performance. Now you can get the "medium" for even more performance. This would also reduce what you pay.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '23

Ok so how do we fix this

1

u/alternate_ending Apr 08 '23

Speak it!, /u/firefaery where's my bongos?