cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19783920

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19768637

> The lie that Americans are inherently against socialism is nothing more than an attempt to erase the powerful legacy of socialist struggle in this country! > > From the labor strikes to the civil rights movement, our history is drenched in the blood and sweat of those who fought for justice, for the working class! > > Artist Tovarisch (https://x.com/nwbtcw) captures this revolutionary spirit in a series of posters that remind us: socialism is not foreign—it's in our bones! > > The fight for a just future rages on!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19783775

> Brothers and Sisters, we stand at the edge of a great and dangerous frontier, just as our forefathers did when they built the mighty labor unions that once protected working people from the crushing greed of the capitalist class. The power of unions has weakened in the last several decades, with membership shrinking and corporations systematically undermining the strength of collective bargaining. > > The necessity of organized labor is about to become more critical than ever. The rise of automation and artificial intelligence, and the displacement of workers will reach levels that no one—least of all those in power—are prepared for. > > Our jobs, our livelihoods, and the dignity of human labor are under siege, and unless we take a stand, we'll see a future where workers are rendered obsolete in the eyes of the capitalist elite. Look around, it's already starting to happen. > > Automation and AI are being celebrated by the wealthy as the pinnacle of innovation, promising faster production, cheaper labor costs, and higher profits. > > But let me tell you the truth. They're only promising one thing: more power and wealth for those already at the top, while workers are tossed aside like garbage. Just as the industrial revolution was used to exploit labor in the 19th and 20th centuries, AI and automation are the new tools of oppression in the hands of today’s corporate oligarchs. > > Factories, warehouses, and even offices are being retooled not to employ people, but to replace them. Already, we're seeing retail workers, truck drivers, manufacturing employees, and even clerical staff losing their jobs as machines and algorithms take over their roles. This isn’t progress for humanity—it’s regression for workers. > > Of course, not all AI and automation are bad. These technologies, like any other tool, have the potential to improve society, to reduce drudgery, and to provide workers with more time for leisure and intellectual growth. > > But in the hands of capitalists, they serve only one purpose: to further marginalize the working class and concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. > > Billionaires don’t see automation as a way to make life easier for everyone; they see it as a way to cut costs and increase their profit margins by reducing the need for human labor. > > And what happens to us, the workers, when our labor is no longer needed? We’re thrown into the streets, replaced by machines, while the profits continue to flow upward. > > The time has come for us to reclaim the narrative, to demand that these advances in technology benefit everyone, not just the wealthy few. The future of labor will not be about holding onto the jobs of the past, but about fighting for the rights of all people in an economy where machines do much of the work. > > If we don’t act now, we will see a society where millions are unemployed, living in poverty, while the rich grow richer, profiting off the machines that replaced us. Our struggle is not just about better wages or fair working conditions anymore—it’s about ensuring that the benefits of technological progress are shared among all, not hoarded by the few. > > Unions must rise again to meet this challenge head-on. We need a new era of labor organization, one that recognizes the unique threats posed by automation and AI. > > Workers across all industries must come together to demand not just jobs, but a fair share of the wealth that these technologies create. We must push for laws that protect workers from being displaced without compensation, and for guarantees that retraining and new opportunities will be provided. We must ensure that no one is left behind in this technological revolution. > > This fight is not just about maintaining employment; it’s about human dignity in a world that increasingly views workers as expendable. > > The capitalist system is not prepared for the wave of displacement that’s coming. > > They will do what they’ve always done: use their wealth and power to protect themselves, while the rest of us suffer the consequences. > > We must take up the mantle of our ancestors, who fought and bled for the right to unionize, for the right to fair wages, and for the right to work with dignity. The fight for workers’ rights in the age of automation is the fight for the very soul of our society. > > If we do nothing, we will be crushed by the gears of progress. But if we rise, if we stand together, we will build a future where technology serves the people, not the profiteers.

There was a paper by one of the conservative think thanks published in the late 70s that showed that even given the same level of income and education and class voters were far more likely to vote to the right if:

They owned and used a car rather than using public transport.

They owned shares rather than having a pension.

They owned a house instead of renting.

That is even middle-upper class voters were more likely to vote left instead of right if they used public transport, had a pension, and rented, and most importantly even working class voters would vote for the right if they owned a car, some shares, and a house, no matter how thin such ownership was.

Just fancying themselves landlords with a sliver of equity in a modest 2-up-2-down made working class voters think that their interests were aligned with those of bosses and peers of the realm rather than the interests of other workers.

I think that the original push to therefore undermine public transport, pensions, rented housing came from Keith Joseph, but it could have been Nigel Lawson who clinched the deal, or Norman Tebbit, or Malcolm Rifkind.

Whoever was, that voting attitude study has become the right-wing bible in many countries, and in the UK Thatcher determinedly targeted enormous subsidies at car, share, and house ownership, while sabotaging public transport, the pensions system and the rented sector.

The stroke of genius was of course Right-to-Buy and the legal prohibition to use for house building the meager proceeds from selling rented council housing at well below market prices to future gratefully Tory voters.

Because of course pushing up house prices and pushing down wages may be break even for a voter - but what it does is mean they have a far greater % of income coming from property. People notice when being landlords nearly doubles their income.

This was the goal of the social engineering policy, because it was a social engineering policy, not a political engineering one.

The goal was not to make working class people change their vote to that for the party of another class, it was to make them change their class identification to that of the other class.

This arguably has succeeded materially. A pithy summary by the BBC on one important detail:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19288208

"In 2001, the average price of a house was £121,769 and the average salary was £16,557, according to the National Housing Federation. A decade on, the typical price of a property is 94% higher at £236,518, while average wages are up 29% to £21,330"

Now, currently in the South-East a 230K house is a working class two-up/two-down terraces house, and 20K is a working class income, let's say in marketing categories C1-C2.

The figures above basically say that the average "working class" person in the South East got tax-free capital gains for £12,000 per year for 10 years, that is an extra 70% on top of their after-tax job income.

That’s an average between the North and the South, and it does not really apply to the North.

But even it taking it as it is, that means £12,000 a year for a decade of tax-free effort-free income for a working class family in the South earning around £16,000 after tax.

And £12,000 (likely more) a year of tax-free effort-free windfall is GIGANTIC, especially if it recurs every year for 10 years as per the above numbers; and actually it has been going on for 20-30 years. And for the millions of people with a house in London it has been even bigger than in the rest of the South. Do people here really realize what an extra £12,000 a year of (purely redistributive rentier) windfall going on for decades can mean on top of an earned after tax income of £16,000? For millions if not a dozen million families? Do readers here realize what that means to “aspirational” Southern voters and what they are prepared to vote for to keep it coming?

So if they look at their income, they are getting nearly 40% of their income from their property, for no effort whatsoever other than voting for politicians who use the word "aspiration" and dog-whistle that they will push for higher house prices and lower employment and wages.

The conclusion is that the prized swing voters in marginal seats in the South East tend to be middle aged and retired women with property and remortgages (“old aunts”) and what they want is:

*higher property prices,

*lower taxes on property,

*lower remortgage interest rates,

*lower wages for workers, especially young men,

*lower benefits for men, especially from the North.

*higher benefits and protections for women, especially older ones, especially in the South East.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19742313

> Socialist Claudia De La Cruz presidential ballot access by state so far > > California - On the Ballot > > Colorado - Write-in > > Florida - On the Ballot > > Idaho - On the Ballot > > Indiana - Write-in > > Iowa - On the Ballot > > Louisiana - On the Ballot > > Maine - Write-in > > Massachusetts - On the Ballot > > Minnesota - On the Ballot > > Mississippi - On the Ballot > > New Jersey - On the Ballot > > New Mexico - On the Ballot > > South Carolina - On the Ballot > > Tennessee - On the Ballot > > Texas - Write-in > > Utah - On the Ballot > > Vermont - On the Ballot > > Virginia - On the Ballot > > Washington - On the Ballot > > West Virginia - Write-in > > Wisconsin - On the Ballot