Brian Kemp, Joe Manchin, President Biden & Other Faux Leaders Want You Off Unemployment and Back On Exploitive Slave Wages.
2020 is the year we would all collectively like to move on from. It was traumatic on a global scale. We endured a lot from the lynching of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. Covid-19 ran rampant with over 900,000 people in the United States alone dead due to the negligence of the previous administration. Millions of working-class people lost their jobs and went on to collect Unemployment Insurance to stay afloat. This was a lifesaver for many during this continued rough patch during the pandemic which it still has not gone away unlike popular belief. Yes, we have vaccines to fight The Covid-19 virus. Yes the cases here in the U.S. have decreased however it is still a long road ahead for us all in this nation. There are more contagious variants that are also more lethal which creates a cause for concern. This push for “normalcy” is coming at a cost and the leadership in charge is willing to sacrifice the working class in the name of capitalism and the love for the economy and bottom line of the rich.
President Biden’s American Rescue Act had provisions for extending Unemployment benefits till September 6th with an extra $300 from the federal government. This was already within itself a concession to get the bill and stimulus out to people as “quickly” as possible. Originally the plan was to last till October with $400 extra. You can thank Joe Biden’s Lord and Savior Joe Manchin for every concession and about-face the democrats in the senate make to royally screw over the constituents that elected him into the oval office for a reason. The argument over Unemployment benefits being “too generous” has spewed out of the mouths of Mitch McConnell, Fox News personalities, and “moderate” Manchin (Great company to be in Joe). This has led to giving individual states the power to opt out of helping the people that still need the extra money to stay afloat. Georgia being one of them announced today Via Governor Imposter Brian Kemp.
Unemployment Insurance is a program all Americans that make a paycheck pays into in the case of a rainy day or month. It’s rightfully our money as taxpayers and there is no way around that. Do not allow these old rich men in power to have you forget that fact. America has not had a minimum wage increase in 12 years. However, the cost of food, goods, and living has skyrocketed and continues to do so with no remorse completely disregarding the cries of the working class which consists of many Black and Brown people of color. This class consists of college graduates in piles of student loan debt. Trickle-down economics popularized by The Infamous Ronald Reagan has been proven to be a failure, yet it continues to be the default economic theory Republicans and Neo-Liberals salivate on.
Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Labor Secretary Mark Butler, along with so many others point out that there is an abundance of jobs available. If you go to the employga website thousands of jobs are available that isn't a lie, however, are the jobs reliable? Do these jobs offer a livable wage of $15 (which should be even higher than that due to inflation) an hour? Are there sick days and pay available? Are the jobs full-time? Will I be exploited for my labor here at this job? Will I be heckled and harassed by toxic white supremacists? These are all extremely valid questions that Americans are having currently in their job search. Gone are the days of people not realizing their worth. If this pandemic taught the working class anything it’s that life is short and we Americans spend so much time day in and day out slaving away while these rich employers reap all the systemic benefits. The first businesses that resurfaced were dine-in restaurants. Servers make $2.13 an hour plus tips with no benefits. If the building is not at max capacity that already limits just how many tables a server has during a shift. Meaning they are at the mercy of the American People who have been proven to be selfish egomaniacs who either will not tip or wont tip well. But Karen and company will surely make that servers life a living hell for the 90 minutes it takes them to eat and the extra 60 minutes they sit back holding the server from receiving a new table that may be a new opportunity to possibly leave work with enough cash to possibly have enough for gas to return back to the same dead-end job within a wash rinse repeat cycle.
In all honesty, the pendulum is swinging in the working class favor even with Brian Kemp putting an end to unemployment extensions. If we can collectively use this time to fight for the better I am confident we can receive it. Just because a shitty job paying $7.25–$11.00 with no benefits of any kind in sight is sitting there doesn’t mean you have to accept those terms. Now is the time to hit the streets marching for an end to starvation slave wages. Now is the time to shed light on all of the leaders that want to go back to work so they can go back to brunch. I smell good trouble so I am more than ready to fight for this cause give it my all. I hope you are too. Remember just last year employees at grocery stores and fast food joints were considered “essential” and if you consider yourself essential then demand essential wages and benefits that match other developed nations. We have to apply pressure to get these businesses to budge. It worked on Chipotle and it can work across the board if we don't settle for less. The road ahead is going to be tough but in the words of Kendrick Lamar “ We gon be alright”. Keep your head up and continue fighting. WE ARE STRONGER IN NUMBERS never let the 1% divide and conquer again. Also, Brian Kemp and many other leaders are up for re-election in 2022 let us stay on top of finding a suitable replacement for him and all the others that stand in the way of societal progress.