So growing up, I had this idea that the American dream was about that if you put in an honest amount of work, you would be rewarded with a good life. This would mean you would be able to take care of yourself and your family, afford a car and a house. In my view, working one job would probably be enough.
Nowadays, I get the idea that the American dream has become about working your ass off in order to have a chance to become a millionaire. Somehow glorifying “the grind” appears to be a part of it too now.
We’re in a second Gilded Age. Things will not change until the mega corps are broken apart again and taxes go up on the mega rich.
The Hollywood strikes are a good example — they’re fighting over residuals (scraps), but they should be fighting over a handful of companies owning the production studio + the programming + the streaming channel + the cable channel + the broadcast channel + the internet service + the set top box. It’s basically the pre-1940s studio system all over again. All of these outlets should be separate to introduce competition, and allow people to shop their work to multiple vendors.
