by Alex Hyner
my scholarly physique and delicate constitution are not well-suited to questing, but they keep me around because i’m very good at saying ominous and unsettling things at significant moments
Y'all wanna see something fucked up
Perfect.
And if we use this calculator we can see that $6,000 in 1930 had the same purchasing power as $103,533.83 does in 2023. $3,900= $67,000.
And based on the IRS report for calendar year 1930, the average net yearly income of Americans during 1930 was $4,887.
Let's take note here: houses cost less than a single year of income. on average. during the Great Depression 😃
Do you know what $4,887 income translates to in 2023? $84,328.31
As of 2023 the current average yearly income in the U.S. is $56,940.
If houses cost $103k like they did in 1930 it would take about 3 years of income to pay for. Nearly 3x as long as it would've taken someone during the Great depression to pay for the same house.
But housing prices didn't stay stable either. Those went up, too
Today the average price of a home is $416,000. That would have been $24k in 1930. That's nearly 8x the cost, time, and savings required to purchase a home.
What's that mean?
- ✨ It means if you are not making at least $85,000/year right now then you are factually and measurably doing worse than someone during the Great Depression ✨
- The debt isn't our fault. The recession/depression. Your personal debt. It wasn't. Profit driven industries have been bleeding us dry and still expect us to pay our bills? For college? We were supposed to have more.
- It means every single household in the USA has been robbed of about $30k of generational wealth since 1930.
- It means we are currently in a depression even worse than the Great Depression. This isn't just some seasonal recession.
- It means your budgeting skills aren't the reason you're poor.
- In fact, your grandparents who lived thru the depression probably have no idea what it's like to struggle financially as much as you have.
- It means corporations are trying to normalize us living on the absolute bare minimum. But asking for living wages isn't "greedy," I promise. (See bullet point #1)
What else?
Idk but I think it's very important to note that WW2 is credited for having ended the depression in 1939. I call that bullshit military propaganda. Why?
Because in 1938 FDR enacted the Federal Minimum Wage, saying this quote in his address about it (below) and I'm just wondering what's supposed to get us out if this one.
cuz to be frank Biden is too big of a pussy to do this. And his voters are quick to say "well he's doing his best, at least he ain't trump" and be grateful when he spits $10 into their hands.
Yeah we're in the worst economy possible rn, what a fkn blessing. Anyway, this is what FDR said.
"The idea is simply for employers to hire more men to do the existing work by reducing the work-hours of each man's week and at the same time paying a living wage for the shorter week.
[...] I am fully aware that wage increases will eventually raise costs, but I ask that managements give first consideration to the improvement of operating figures by greatly increased sales to be expected from the rising purchasing power of the public. That is good economics and good business. The aim of this whole effort is to restore our rich domestic market by raising its vast consuming capacity. If we now inflate prices as fast and as far as we increase wages, the whole project will be set at naught. We cannot hope for the full effect of this plan unless, in these first critical months, and, even at the expense of full initial profits, we defer price increases as long as possible. If we can thus start a strong, sound, upward spiral of business activity, our industries will have little doubt of black-ink operations in the last quarter of this year. The pent-up demand of this people is very great and if we can release it on so broad a front, we need not fear a lagging recovery. There is greater danger of too much feverish speed."
Anyone trying to enact this today or saying some of this would be called an extremist.
So what do we do?
- Get comfortable with being called an extremist
- It means join a union and learn what classism is
- It's just something they say to keep you in line. Look where staying in line got us.
- Start demanding shit that you were compromising over before. $15/hr? Nope. Its $40/hr now. DEMAND. not ask. Not compromise. The time for compromise has passed and clearly they were not interested.
- A general strike is a strike that applies to all workers across all industries. I believe even a one day general strike would be effective. It would cost the country billions, let alone the shitty corporations and bosses y'all work for.
- I also believe one day is accessible, as in most people can afford to miss a day of work without severe distress.
- General Strike for better wages
- General Strike for shorter days & weeks
- General Strike for better benefits
- General Strike for more protections
General strike
Donna Rose, The Magic of Herbs, 1979
Book Details + Condition: Mi-World Publishing (Hialeah, FL). First Edition, 1978. Stapled softcover. 28 pages. Illustrated. A list and description of herbs and their healing and magical qualities by a noted Voodoo practitioner.