“Profits for companies in some of the world’s largest economies rose by 30% between 2019 and 2022, significantly outpacing inflation, according to the group’s research of 1,350 firms across the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Brazil, and South Africa.”
I was gonna make a sarcastic comment, but then I remembered studies are there to provide concrete evidence of common knowledge. And thank you for the word “greedflation”
You’ll find a lot of what we’re told are market forces out of companies’ control is complete lies. In reality their decisions are a voluntary result of cost-benefit analysis and not the invisible hand of the market. Like how companies say they “have to” lower wages or raise product prices.
shower. not a bath, a shower. use water as hot or cold as u like. u dont even need to wash. just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. sit on the floor if you gotta.
moisturize everything. use whatever lotion u like. unscented? dollar store lotion? fancy ass 48 hour lotion that makes u smell like a field of wildflowers? use whatever you want, and use it all over.
put on clean, comfortable clothes.
put on ur favorite underwear. cute black lacy panties? those ridiculous boxers u bought last christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? put em on.
drink cold water. use ice. if u want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.
clean something. doesn’t have to be anything big. organize one drawer of ur desk. wash five dirty dishes. do a load of laundry. scrub the bathroom sink.
blast music. listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.
make food. don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. take the time and make food. even if it’s ramen. add something special to it, like a hard boiled egg or some veggies. prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.
make something. write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. even if you don’t think you’re good at it.
go outside. take a walk. sit in the grass. look at the clouds. smell flowers. put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.
call someone. call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. talk to a stranger on the street. have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. if you can’t, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. even if you don’t say much, listen to them.
cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. take pictures of them. talk to them. tell them how u feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out.
Circulating. Seasonal depression is creeping around now.
me: “yeah I dated a guy in high school who came out as gay. it was before i knew i was a boy so needless to say it didn’t work out”
coworker: “damn dude was preordering”
other things this coworker (who is a cis guy) has done/said:
—got confused about why I’d never been a boy scout because he forgot i was trans
—told me he was gonna get top surgery scar tattoos to match me after i get mine
—laughs at all my trans jokes, even if they’re supremely unfunny
—calls me big dog (and him little dog) even though he is about as tall as two of me
— “I can’t believe she would say that transphobic thing to you. In June? Pride month?”
Once I said “My gender is whatever’s funniest at the time” and my coworker stops dead in his tracks, turns slowly and says “So are your pronouns honk/honk?” killing me instantly
idk. yesterday was a slow day and at the end of it, I still stared into a cash drawer, one of three, that had more than my rent in it, even if you only count the 20s. I spent a lot of that day trying to calculate in my head how many hours of work equal one pair of pants, let alone how many hours of work equals the fun thing I want to do next month.
I feel a cough coming on, because I work in a drug store, and all of my customers are sick. I always feel a little bit sick, now. I can’t afford to eat well enough to keep my body healthy. Cough medicine is worth two hours and 20 minutes of work. Our store probably bought a case of cough medicine for they price we’re selling one box. If this cough gets worse, I might have to call out, which will cost me more than the medicine in the long run- but that doesn’t give me the money to buy the medicine right now. I stock a case onto the shelf. I don’t buy any.
A mom wrangling three crying, sick kids enters my line and sets two types of children’s medicine down, says they’re both on sale and thank god for that. I ring her up, and she gets very quiet, because she misread the sign, and her total is twice as high as she was expecting. Her youngest screams in the cart, because she’s burning up with fever. Her mother very quietly asks, please, she’s so sorry, if I could please take the more expensive one off her total.
I agree, I move the box below the counter, and when she’s not looking, I slip it into her bag. I pray as hard as I can that if she notices the “mistake” she says nothing, because I so desperately want her to have that medicine. The store has lost profit at the cost of a child’s health. I don’t bat an eye. This is a terminable offense. If I’m presented with the same situation tonight, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.
The myth of evil employees stealing from the company falls apart the second you realize the company would shoot you dead to make a profit. This isn’t two equal players, one of whom is stealing from the other. This is someone fighting for survival versus someone fighting to make an extra million. It’s not equal.
Employees should be able to steal, actually.
Bro I teared up oh my god bro
When I worked at Walmart as a cashier almost 20yrs ago. A guy came in with his obviously sick 5yr old son. & all he was buying was a bottle of medicine for his kid. He was short a dime. A fucking dime. 10 cents. I had a dime & pulled it out of my pocket & helped pay for the medicine.
My manager comes over in a huff & angrily says, “What were you thinking?! How could you do that?! What if he expects you to cover him every single time he’s short on money??? He could be a meth addict or something.”
Me, “I’m not going to lose any sleep over helping & being out a dime. I would do it again.”
This guy comes in a day or two later, holding a dollar in the air & running towards me. He gives me the dollar & says for me to keep it. He wasn’t there for anything else, just came in to give the dollar.
When it came time for me to quit. It was still during the time a cashier didn’t need an override to discount items. I had HAAAADDD it with Walmart’s bullshit. & so EVVVVERYYYYONE got discounts over the course of a week.
A woman comes in with a couple thousands dollars worth of stuff to redecorate her house. She probably paid $300.
Moms with a basketful of groceries. 75% off.
I even told my husband (they didn’t know he was my husband) to come in when he got paid & to get as many groceries & hygiene & cleaning products as he could fit in a basket. & whatever else he wanted. & I discounted TF out of it.
I didn’t care anymore & I wanted to save everybody in my checkout money.
& to this day, working the odd jobs in retail - I internally snicker at loss prevention. Fuck that. You want to steal something? Babes, I didn’t see shit.
