Ah, America the Free! Where you’re free to work, free to hustle, and most importantly, free to live in constant fear that a single medical emergency will financially ruin you. That’s not a flaw, folks—that’s the design. Corporations have spent decades lobbying against universal healthcare, paid leave, and every other public safety net, not because they ‘believe in the free market,’ but because they believe in keeping you scared enough to never quit your job.
Health Insurance: The Ultimate Corporate Leash
Ever wonder why your health insurance is tied to your job? It’s not because it’s the most efficient system (spoiler: it isn’t), but because it’s the most effective way to keep you compliant. Want to switch careers? Start your own business? Take a break to care for a loved one? Haha, good luck! Unless you want to risk a five-figure ER bill or rationing insulin, you’d better stay put. Your employer isn’t just paying you—they’re owning you.
Lobbyists to the Rescue! (For Corporations, Not You)
Enter the heroic corporate lobbyists, bravely fighting against universal healthcare and paid family leave, all in the name of ‘freedom.’ And by ‘freedom,’ they mean your freedom to remain dependent on their scraps, and their freedom to keep wages low while your benefits barely keep you alive. These champions of capitalism have spent billions ensuring that you’ll never have the security to walk away from a bad job. Because a worker with options? That’s a dangerous worker.
Fear as a Business Model
Here’s the real genius of it all: they don’t even need to pay you more to keep you around. All they have to do is make the alternative so horrifying that you’ll cling to your lousy job like it’s a lifeboat in shark-infested waters. Need proof? Look at every major attempt to pass universal healthcare in the U.S.—corporations scream ‘socialism!’ while quietly cashing in on your dependence. Meanwhile, in countries with universal healthcare, people switch jobs, start businesses, and—brace yourself—actually live without crippling anxiety. Terrifying, right?
The Corporate Trap Continues
So the next time you hear a politician say we ‘can’t afford’ universal healthcare, ask yourself: Who really benefits from keeping you one medical bill away from disaster? (Hint: It’s not you.) Because as long as you’re afraid to leave, they don’t have to pay you more, treat you better, or compete for your labor. And that, dear worker, is how corporations make fear their most profitable product.
by Robert Cain
Art by WickedLocal