The biggest push-back I get on this kind of statement is from relatively upper-middle class liberals, whom I don't think are fully aware of their privilege. They demand "civility" & lack urgency because they actually do pretty well in this system. It's working class that suffer. https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1248065435737751552

Biden doesn't seem so bad when you've actually been doing pretty well economically. They generally think the system works as-is, so identify Trump as the main problem in an otherwise "good" system, and cannot understand why the rest of us are angry & demanding system change.

It's easy to think the system "works" when you've benefited from it -- or at least, haven't fallen into poverty. You've got a house, car, reasonable monthly bills that give you some splurge money? Then it seems like the system works.

But that's not how a lot of Americans live.

The system punishes poverty.

Poor pay higher rent than most people's mortgages (because in reality they're paying the landlord's mortgage for them + profits).

Poor get higher interest rates on loans, if they qualify for loans at all, because of their low income.

Poor work more than full time -- often 60+ hours a week -- but still don't get benefits, because it's spread over 2,3,4 jobs to make sure none of them are required to pay benefits. So no sick leave, no healthcare, because we don't federally mandate it (or have single payer).

I could go on and on, but here's the point -- in the last few decades, Republicans and Democrats put aside differences to pass bipartisan measures to basically create or exacerbate all of these issues.

Rs and Ds cater to the middle class, at the expense of the working class.

Rs and Ds came together to give bailout money to real estate business so they can buy more homes and rent them out, rather than put poor people in affordable homes.

They came together to make loans harder to bankrupt for poor, even preventing student loans from bankruptcy.

They've not raised minimum wage in a long time and have for decades prevented federal paid sick leave, parental leave, and more.

They still oppose single payer healthcare system nevermind a fully non-profit one. Legislation always about protecting for-profit insurance companies.

Here's what I had to say a few years ago, and I'm even more sure of it -- the constant catering to the "middle class" is actually not to raise everyone up, but to protect the capitalist class system itself from scrutiny. https://twitter.com/PghGreenLeft/status/930660838679162882?s=20

Democrats and Republicans talk "middle class" and "small business" as coded language for "We want to defend capitalism and exploitation of the poor".

Their policies aren't out to end poverty and exploitation -- they're looking to further it and profit from poverty.

Presidential elections especially are typically used as a tool by capitalists to keep the working class divided. Parties and politicians cater to different groups to keep us arguing with each other rather than seeing the problem is the parties themselves.

In reality, for the working class and poor, nothing fundamentally changes no matter whether the president is "blue" or "red". For the poor, the capitalist system is cruel to them either way. Neither party will do anything to help them, because their profits rely on exploitation.

For those that profit, even somewhat indirectly like the upper middle class, it's hard to see why some folks choose independent politics -- or even more commonly, drop out of elections entirely.

But it's perfectly rational -- no one is here to help them & they know it.