"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow,
Modern man's dreams have turned into nightmares..."
"Modern Man," Würm
"Modern Man," Würm
I just stumbled across this graphic while surfing on Facebook, which inspires me to post it here. If you've seen a better graphic showing just how upside down life has become for most of us, I'd love to see it!
All jokes apart, though, the ability to distill complex issues into a single memorable graphic, or statement, is a quality that often eludes academics and politicians, particularly on the Corporate Moderate side of the coin.
It's important to keep on reminding them, even as we continue pressing them for action, that these issues aren't just some idle policy wonkery, but the results of devilish policy decisions and misplaced priorities that have left millions in the dust.
The U.S. Census Bureau seems to think so, amid Trump's endless attempts at manipulating it for his own purposes. As its September 2024 press release states: "Over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States for whom rent burden is calculated."
All jokes apart, though, the ability to distill complex issues into a single memorable graphic, or statement, is a quality that often eludes academics and politicians, particularly on the Corporate Moderate side of the coin.
It's important to keep on reminding them, even as we continue pressing them for action, that these issues aren't just some idle policy wonkery, but the results of devilish policy decisions and misplaced priorities that have left millions in the dust.
The U.S. Census Bureau seems to think so, amid Trump's endless attempts at manipulating it for his own purposes. As its September 2024 press release states: "Over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States for whom rent burden is calculated."
What does that mean? Cue the Bureau, once more: "Households are considered cost-burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments, and other housing costs, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Households spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs are considered severely cost-burdened."
There's plenty of other depressing, but relevant statistics, if you want them, so just click here:
There's plenty of other depressing, but relevant statistics, if you want them, so just click here:
Got that? This isn't some abstract struggle, but an ongoing emergency for millions of people, one that's made itself felt in some of these recent primary races -- as we saw in Michigan, with El-Sayed winning a brutal two-way primary, and last week, with progressive Angie Nixon doing likewise, in Florida.
For those still wondering why these types of candidates are winning, I'd direct them to Tony Pentimalli's column, "The Primary Heard Around The World," from which I'll lift this paragraph as the most succinct, in terms of summary:
"El-Sayed did not win because Michigan suddenly became a state full of ideological purists. He won by connecting problems the political establishment keeps pretending are unrelated. Healthcare and housing are unaffordable. Billionaires buy politicians. Corporations write the rules. Washington always finds money for war but becomes a collection of fiscal conservatives when Americans need doctors, clean water or a roof over their heads. These are not separate failures. They come from the same government serving the same wealthy interests while ordinary people are told to expect less." I'd post the relevant link, only I can't find the original source. So I'll refer you to a different column, written in the wake of Mamdani's mayoral race victory, which raises many similar points: https://mollystrongheart.blogspot.com/2025/07/excellent-tony-pentimalli-billionaire.html?m=1
For those still wondering why these types of candidates are winning, I'd direct them to Tony Pentimalli's column, "The Primary Heard Around The World," from which I'll lift this paragraph as the most succinct, in terms of summary:
"El-Sayed did not win because Michigan suddenly became a state full of ideological purists. He won by connecting problems the political establishment keeps pretending are unrelated. Healthcare and housing are unaffordable. Billionaires buy politicians. Corporations write the rules. Washington always finds money for war but becomes a collection of fiscal conservatives when Americans need doctors, clean water or a roof over their heads. These are not separate failures. They come from the same government serving the same wealthy interests while ordinary people are told to expect less." I'd post the relevant link, only I can't find the original source. So I'll refer you to a different column, written in the wake of Mamdani's mayoral race victory, which raises many similar points: https://mollystrongheart.blogspot.com/2025/07/excellent-tony-pentimalli-billionaire.html?m=1
In any event, whatever source you want to consult leads to the same conclusion: the hamster wheel that consumes virtually every spare dime we generate for ourselves doesn't need to keep on spinning, without letup. And the sooner we finally get its gut-crunching yoke off our necks, the better off we'll start to become. Food for thought, isn't it?--The Reckoner
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