@uncvoss Because one side has far more power than the other, and no one likes to talk about this when it comes to market and pricing.
Bro it applies to this and everything else.
My dad died Wednesday at 91. It’s never long enough. In his final hours, we took him from the hospital back to memory care so they could be together. Two months shy of 67 years of marriage.
IF YOU EXPLAINED TODAY’S ECONOMY TO A WORKER IN 1955, THEY’D THINK WE LOST A WAR. Homes went from 3x annual income to 8x. Daycare runs $2,000 a month. Healthcare takes hundreds out of the paycheck before the deductible even shows up. College leaves kids tens of thousands in debt. Both parents work full-time just to stay above water. They promised tech would buy us more time. It didn’t. Productivity exploded. Housing, healthcare, and education swallowed every last gain. LET THAT SINK IN.
Since the 1970s, US worker productivity has jumped 90%, while real typical compensation has grown under 35%.
1980s: Mainframes and PCs were supposed to give us 30-hour workweeks.
2000s: Broadband and email eliminated administrative latency.
2020s: Cloud software and AI condense week-long departmental projects into an afternoon.
BUT THE WORKWEEK STAYS LOCKED AT 40 HOURS.
That’s why we have 10x the computing power of the 1990s, a 5-day week, and a rising retirement age.
@karlinavp@uncvoss That's one of those fucking lies distributed by ancient Marlboro advertising campaigns. I can't believe people still think cigarettes relieve stress. They don't.
Strip away healthcare, and the 2026 job market looks completely different.
Most sectors are in a hiring freeze while testing how many workflows AI can quietly monitor.
If you aren’t in specialized math (actuary/stats), healthcare, or training the people left behind (remote L&D), you’re feeling the squeeze.
2026 is hiring for risk mitigation.
WHY THE JOB MARKET IS BROKEN DESPITE “LOW” OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:
Ghost Jobs: Companies leave fake listings open to inflate growth projections and stall current staff.
Expired Safety Nets: Millions run out of benefits, stop getting counted by the government, and are forced into poverty-wage gig work.
Functional Unemployment: Independent economic research (like LISEP's TRU metric) puts the true rate of underemployment near 25%.
We are living through Great Depression-level underemployment wrapped in corporate PR.
Worker advocacy isn't optional anymore, welcome to the Great Depression 2.0!