EDITORIAL
In 2025
—A War Against Workers. In 2026, the Working Class Can Respond

Dec 8, 2025

As 2025 is ending, life for the working class is becoming more desperate. While Trump tries to distract people with his unhinged rants, workers are struggling with a declining standard of living.

Prices are continuing to rise, falling farther behind wages and Social Security. A trip to the grocery store means carefully calculating what you can afford, or cannot afford, to buy. Buying Christmas presents this year is more difficult. Many people have to choose between paying the electric bill or paying the rent. A recent study said that 70% of families are living paycheck to paycheck.

2025 started with Trump and Elon Musk cutting tens of thousands of government jobs. That was just the beginning. Corporation after corporation followed suit. General Motors, UPS, Amazon, Target, Verizon and many others announced layoffs. More and more, the only jobs available are part-time or temporary, paying wages that you can’t live on. Many people today need two or three jobs just to survive for another week.

The way things are being planned out, workers’ lives would only get worse in 2026. Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill means that Medicaid and SNAP will be taken away from millions of people in the coming year. Health care premiums will be going up.

While working people are struggling, Trump arrogantly says “affordability, what affordability, things are great.” What the hell is he talking about?!

Yes, Trump is a liar and a megalomaniac, but it would be a mistake to say that this is only about Trump. That would hide the real problem and hide the real enemy, because Trump is just acting as the front man for the wealthy ruling class—the capitalist class that is attacking the working class.

Corporations are cutting jobs and raising prices to increase their soaring profits. Cuts in social programs are being carried out today in order to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-rich one percent. Money is being taken from the working class in order to pay for a Trillion Dollar military budget, as the capitalists prepare to take this country to war against people in another country.

Meanwhile the capitalist class is continuing its war against the working class in this country. Part of that war is to try to divide the working class against itself. That’s where Trump becomes very useful for the capitalists. Trump terrorizes and demonizes immigrant workers, trying to convince the workers born here that workers born in another country are responsible for the problems. Trump tries to divide workers by spewing racist hatred against workers who came here from other countries, especially if they are Muslim or have black or brown skin, like his rants against Haitians and Somalians.

With Trump’s help, the capitalist class is trying to divide the working class against itself because they understand that workers, when fighting together, have the power to confront them. Right now, the capitalists understand the workers’ power better than most workers do. That’s not surprising because it has been many years since the working class here made a real fight. Right now, there is a big gap between the problems faced by the working class and its readiness to fight. But there is no reason that can’t change in 2026.

Right now, politicians like Trump seem like they can say and do whatever they want. Right now, the capitalist class seems like it can take whatever it wants from the working class. But 2026 could be the year that changes. If one group of workers starts a fight in 2026, workers could spread it from one plant to another, from one company to another, from one industry to another. A fight like that could shake the capitalist class and their politicians. A fight like that could shake the whole capitalist system.

In 2026 or another year, when workers become conscious of their power and use their power, they can even bring down the whole system and replace it with one run by the working class and for the benefit of all humanity.