the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jan 6, 2025
When the New Year came around, a lot of workers said Good Riddance to the dumpster fire that was 2024.
From the beginning of the year on, we were told constantly that the economy was doing better than it was—that inflation is low again, and the unemployment rate is down and average wages are up. What worker believed that?
But real wages kept dropping, even with pay increases that were sometimes called ‘historic.’
The last of the pandemic-era assistance ended in the fall of 2023, and many working people continued to feel the lack of that throughout 2024. No more expanded Medicaid or SNAP coverage, no more student loan moratorium, no more rent aid, etc. All things that people depended on, but that the government, Republicans and Democrats alike, thought was too expensive and frivolous to continue.
And the effects were seen in statistics: Housing prices and rental prices skyrocketed. Homelessness jumped 18.1% in 2024, to 770,000 people, a new record. This included 150,000 children, a 33% jump from 2023.
And what was the U.S. government’s answer to all of this? They increased military spending, of course, by 2.6%, to 842 billion dollars. Because no price is too high for the military and its corporate contractors!
They continued to support the slaughter in Gaza, and the war in Ukraine. Not to mention all the other regional wars they keep pushing.
But some people did do well this past year. Corporate profits are higher than ever. The stock market keeps going up, and dividends for shareholders are through the roof.
And then, we had the endless reality show that was the election, which dragged on from January into November. By the time it was done, over 5 billion dollars had been spent by both sides, second only to 2020.
Since the election, Democrats and Republicans began gathering in Washington, D.C., jockeying for position to line up at the trough, with all the corporate, tech and finance bosses whispering in the politicians’ ears for their pieces of that public money.
This past year was a very good demonstration of one very clear fact: These capitalist rulers of our society, and their government servants, are completely unfit to run a society! Certainly not a humane one, not one that can serve the needs of the vast majority of people in the United States or the world.