Five families work low-wage jobs in 21st century America. At work and at home they look for the strength to keep going. Can these Americans, young and old, afford to dream? Meet the Working Class: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.17, Endevr 2023
‘When you ask what would be my dream, I don’t have one … I have worked weekends for over thirty years.’ ibid.
‘$10.50 still can’t pay my bills. It’s overwhelming sometimes.’ ibid.
Emelia’s credit card debt is $16,000 which is just above the national household average of $15,000. ibid. caption
Only 39% of student loan borrowers are succeeding in paying down their balance. The remaining 61% are either in delinquency, deferment or forbearance. ibid.
‘So where’s the money coming from?’ ibid.
Student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt. ibid.
These myriad corporate dictatorships, or private governments, ensure American workers are docile and compliant as the superstructure of the corporate state cements into place a species of corporate totalitarianism. The ruling ideology of neoliberalism and libertarianism, used to justify the corporate domination and social inequality that afflict us, sells itself as the protector of freedom and liberty. It does this by subterfuge. It claims workers have the freedom to enter into employment contracts and terminate them, while ignoring the near-total suspension of rights during the period of employment. It pretends that workers and corporations function as independent and autonomous sellers and buyers, with workers selling their labor freely and corporate owners buying this labor. Chris Hedges, ‘The Private Governments That Subjugate US Workers’, 2019