Quid Without Quo Pro.

I think it was Comrade Stalin who famously said, "It's not who votes, it's who counts." 

If you read a lot of history, you'll quickly realize something of a parallel construction exists in most social and political organizations. In most agencies, for instance, and in fact, in America, "it's not the laws, or regulations, or standards that matter, it's which ones those in power decide to enforce."

For instance, in days of yore, in England, it was against the law for workers to unionize. It was also against the law for businesses to fix prices and wages. The laws against unionization were enforced. The laws against price and wage collusion were not. So rank-and-file workers got poorer and owners got richer.

Today, in the ad industry, four Holding Companies that control about 80-percent of all advertising jobs. It's clear to anyone who works in the industry that price collusion is in effect. If you freelance for a living, as so many of my friends do, you're quickly told "this is the max we'll pay." It doesn't matter which of the four holding companies you work for, the wages are virtually the same no matter what.

Price fixing is illegal. Whether it's perpetrated by the three or four petroleum and chemical companies that control 80-percent of the fuel sold in amerika, or by the two or three telcos and ISPs, that control 80-percent of amerikan bandwidth, or the three or four airlines that control 80-percent of amerika's travel, or the four holding companies that rule our industry.

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Of course, the law, as it's written, has an out. We can abide by the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law, and I suppose, most people can sleep at night with that sort of malfeasance. The 'out' in this instance, is the word "unreasonable." Since little people, people like you and me, no longer have any government representation, there's no one who will fight to treat people well
--there's no one willing to enforce the laws that are already on the books.

As we enter yet another election cycle, we're sure to hear all kinds of reactionary blather about how the rich shouldn't have to pay taxes because they are "job creators." trump paid $750 in taxes over the four years he was president. He will probably be reelected. 

We'll also hear a lot about how workers are greedy and ungrateful and lazy. When workers quit, the reactionaries call them lazy. When workers strike, or sick out, or as the New York Police Department did one year, 'blue flu,' they're called by the radical right 'bloated and entitled.' The illegal monopolistic practices of corporations are deemed ok. 

It's no wonder people hate their jobs. And so much of the work that we produce sucks.

Why should anyone care.

No one cares about us.