The Capitalist Class does not give a Shit about You: Essential workers and the myth of meritocracy

I am still going to work. I work as a direct care staff person in an adult foster care home for people who have had serious injuries. I assist people with basic, daily living dynamics like bathing, grooming, using the toilet, eating and distributing medication.

The needs of the residents I work with vary, but none of them are able to live on their own. Because of the COVID 19 crisis the residents where I work cannot have visitors and they cannot attend the daily activities they normal go to.

The work is physically demanding, requires that you can stomach unpleasant things like emptying catheter bags, but more importantly, my work requires that I have the kind of people skills and empathy for those whom society has pretty much discarded. Thus, I am an essential worker.

With the current COVID 19 crisis, it should be clear to most people that the Capitalist class does not give a shit about workers, essential or not. First, if I am an essential worker, then why do I not making a living wage? I do work that many people would not want to do, which is to make sure that the daily physical and emotional needs of people with severe disabilities are met. So, if I am an essential worker, a worker who cannot work from home, then why am I not compensated justly for my work? It would seem to me right now (actually, it is clear to me all the time, not just during a pandemic) that what I do is more relevant, indeed more important, than what a bond trader does. However, Capitalism deems that a bond trader makes a whole lot more money than I do.

Second, it is clear that the Capitalist class does not give a shit about workers, because they spend a portion of their wealth buying and lobbying politicians to make sure that legislative policies will primarily benefit their interests. Go to OpenSecrets.org and you can see that campaign financing and lobbying is dominated by the Capitalist class and the industries that they own.

Third, it is clear that the Capitalist class does not give a shit about workers, because they have been using their bought politicians right now to get “COVID 19 Relief bills” passed that will primarily benefit their interests, with some minimal relief for the rest of us. Wall Street can get bailed out again, but regular folks don’t. In fact, you and I get stuck with the bill. Also, don’t tell me that this shit is all on Republicans. Yes, Republicans are the highest order assholes, but Democrats also are bought and paid for. The Obama administration decided that bailing out Wall Street was more important than bailing out main street in 2009. Just because the Trump administration is so fucking awful doesn’t mean we should ignore the shitty things that the previous administration has done.

Lastly, it should be clear that the Capitalist class does not give a shit about you, because now they are saying that it is more important to save the economy than it is to keep people safe or to provide the necessary testing and health care that people need with the pandemic. Trump, numerous politicians and media pundits have been making this claim for weeks now. In Michigan, State Rep. Thomas Albert, who represents the 86th District (Lowell), said that the Governor’s stay at home order “goes too far.”  Not surprising, is the fact that the number one campaign contributor to Albert is a member of the local capitalist class, John Kennedy. 

The Capitalist class is only interested in their wealth and how to acquire more of it. The rest of us are expendable and if that is not clear under the current crisis, then you have have internalized the values of the Capitalist system. The question for those of us who are not part of the Capitalist class, is what will we do to change this, even after COVID 19 crisis is over?