Wage slavery is the defining fact of life in America. 90% of Americans spend their entire lives as slaves, just one rung above chattel. This creates an immense psychological toll. Burn out, misery, lives wasted. Everybody is cynical, angry, rude, on edge. Work is good. There is so much work that needs to be done in America. Near my block a grocery store closed down. Homeless addicts have congregated there. If any of them want to get clean they have to wait 10 days for an outpatient appointment. In patient rehab is at least a month waiting. Generally, they don’t wait. What if more Americans, instead of autoscrolling their mouse to look busy on an Excel monkey job for a private corporation, were paid to help these people? Why can’t rehab facilities be same day or next day? Because it’s not profitable for any corporation to do this. This is work with real meaning though. The block could be restored and those addicts might get a second chance at life. What about trash? Graffiti? Infrastructure? All of this needs so much work in America. Fixing it requires labor organizations that are actually democratic, not just corrupt tools of the Democrat party. There is meaning in meaningful work. The labor needed to fix this country could enliven our spirits rather than deaden them. We’ve seen it happen before. Populism to me means being pro work but anti slavery. When you control your work you are not a slave. The eventual goal is worker control over the means of production. The lot of wage slaves could certainly be improved in the meantime. But we should speak honestly about the condition of having to sell yourself to a private capitalist for your entire life. You are a slave. Together we could be free.