This cartoon from The Seattle Times illustrates how America's economic pizza is actually sliced per capita, highlighting the massive disparity between the Top 1%, the merely wealthy, the upper middle class, and the lower 50%.
this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2026
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
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- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
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It absolutely does. You're cutting out the part with highest markup. Skipping an entire manufacturing process.
You can get the ingredients for a fraction of the cost compared to a finished product.
Maybe. But price wasn't the argument being made. That's a non sequitur.
I'm sorry where do you think profit comes from? It's not grown on profit trees, it's baked into the price. Higher markup, higher price, higher profit.
Non sequitur my ass
The idea is capitalism. As in, buying from large corporations. Whatever the price or profit, the topic was about who and where you're buying from, not for how much.
"You want to change society. Yet you participate in it. Curious...."
I buy the majority of my groceries from a local farmers market. Things I can't get there I buy from Wal Mart. I buy pizza from a local mom and pop shop, where they live above their restaurant. I do everything I can to make buying from mega corps a last choice decision. My partner and I will be starting our garden next year and growing a lot of our own vegetables. We'll be raising pork pigs so we don't have to buy factory pork. There's so many little things you can do as an individual to choke off the billionaires.
But if you want to keep bending over like you seem to be acting, more power to you. Just don't blame others for society collapsing.
Those things are all good to do, because they support your local economy, and probably have better quality food for your own health.
But Walmart doesn't care, and doesn't view your local farmer's market as competition. As you said they don't have everything, and you still go to Walmart when you need to. I'm just saying be honest about your reasons. Buying from your farmers market isn't fighting capitalism. It's just buying better local food.
Both can be true. If I spend $80 at my market, and $20 at Wal Mart, the mega corp is only getting a fifth of what I planned on spending for groceries. I really don't give a shit personally if Wal Mart doesn't feel the sting of not getting an extra $80 from me, I feel better as a person spending that locally on small individual markets.
I'm not trying to take down Wal Mart by myself. But I can do little things individually that helps.
And unlike you, I am honest in my reasons. You seem to be projecting some serious animosity against those who are doing little things to shake the bird cage.
I'm pointing out that the "little things" don't actually shake the bird cage. At best they just make some noise.
Besides, shaking the bird cage only annoys or maybe hurts the birds. You need to open the door to actually free them from the cage.
Dismissing the average person doing small things is incredibly disingenuous of you, let alone anyone, to believe.
I'm hoping it motivates people to do more, if they truly believe in effecting change.
I don't expect them to like me for it.
Affecting change*. If you're gonna criticize people from doing little things to shake up the system at least be literate.
Some people can't do more. Some people don't have the means to do more. People on disability don't have the financial means to do more. So little things like spending less at mega corps vs supporting local is a little thing they can do. I won't expect someone with severe PTSD who is on permanent disability like my actual partner is from trying to start a unionized business. But they can certainly try and spend less at the major grocery corporations.
But I'm curious. What are you doing to change society, other than vomiting bullshit on the Internet and claiming the high ground?
I'm not criticizing people for doing little things.
I'm criticizing people for over inflating those little things. I'm criticizing people for telling themselves and others, those little things are going to "shake the system".
Also
Affect vs Effect