14 Comments

Yes, I believe our economic system is rigged, as evident by our tax system. Why should businesses get more tax breaks than the minimum wage worker? Shouldn't the producer get equal tax breaks as the millionaire gets? This system affords the richer to get richer and the poor get poorer.

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Obviously this doesn’t apply to all white women. Further, I’m not going to dig for statistics, which are usually biased in one way or another anyway. These are my generalized opinions based on my own experience. And some of these opinions are harsh:

1) White women (with or without children) who are married to men who support them (fully or partially) don’t risk having hard conversations or taking bold actions with regards to systemic poverty because they don’t want to lose their own financial stability.

2) White women (with or without children) who are married to men who support them (partially or fully) promote the values of hustle culture in the digital marketplace, a form of small business entrepreneurship, the latest version of harmful capitalism, as a means to financial success. When in reality, these women only can afford the instability and risks that come along with hustle culture because they have financial security via marriage.

3) White women who are financially stable have gone so “woo-woo” that they bypass current social inequities by prescribing magical thinking to those who are experiencing poverty. For example, they may judge others for not having a “money mindset” and not being able to “attract abundance” via psychological manipulation.

4) White women, financially stable or not, are simply ignorant of their privilege in the scheme of our society.

5) White women believe that the limits of charities and religion are ample resources to assist the poor.

6) White women hate conflict and therefore hate examining their own hypocrisy.

7) White women who are financially stable feel victimized enough, that they are already doing enough, and don’t want to take on anymore causes such as poverty.

7) White women who are financially stable still chase thinness, which supports a caste system of our food supply.

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I'm a white woman without stability of marriage. I prefer to support my own needs and not depend on a man. And yes, there is still gtrat inequality in wages between men and women.

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I think this should be “rich women,” not “white women.” It definitely doesn’t describe me.

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Yes, it does describe you. There is no cultural or political 'right' or 'left' at the top. Power in America derives from wealth alone. The elites in America regard issues of politics and culture as silly games which they watch with amusement from their lofty heights. Your book - your ideas and experiences, mean nothing at all until the money made from its publication gives it stature. Because you feel powerless and want to gain power you have no choice but to grab-on to issues that have been allotted to 'your side' - the left. You HAVE to be 'pro-Covid,' for instance, because this is kryptonite to the right - therefore you are a hypocrite when you bemoan issues on the right that 'prevent' you from 'uniting in your common interests to escaping poverty.' And yes, hypocrite is the right word - a rich white lady, like my sister, can be forgiven for being 'pro-covid' because her monetary stature directly depends on it. But the poor or working class white woman who is pro-covid and doesn't see the reality of the 'essential worker,' for instance, is a disgusting and vile creature. The elites don't need either of you on their side and LOVE it that you kill each other over completely made-up issues. I'm a plumber. I'd install a toilet in your neighborhood for $150 for a MAGA guy (and a particular scummy one), but I wouldn't do it for ANY price for you if you wanted to see 'my vaccination status' before considering hiring me. I'd take Sanders for president ANY day over Trump - ANY DAY, but it's because I'm called 'scum' by you, a racist or whatever you're programmed to hurl at me on a particular day that despite myself, despite EVERYTHING I believe in, I'm happy to see you poor, scared, and always failing to gain any economic power over me.

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This sounds like some heavy duty psychosis. “Pro-covid?” Demanding I let you into my home even if you are a risk to my health? And simultaneously saying it applies because I’m wealthy (I’m actually working class) and that you are happy to see me poor? You’re so full of anger you can’t think straight. Please stay away.

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I'm speaking to you as a 'working class poor-person,' and I'm not 'demanding to be let into your home' and I'm not angry or psychotic. You're demonstrating the exact insane behavior that makes us divided into these camps and that keeps the masters happy and you poor. I'd rather you be poor and therefore harmless to me than both of us get our way, tax the rich, and mutually benefit.

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it doesn't describe me either!

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Some of my opinions are harsh, too, Elizabeth. Thanks for your detailed response here. I wasn't looking particularly for statistics, but rather for you to flesh out a bit why you believe white women are generally complicit in a rigged economy and that is exactly what you did.

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White women are totally complicit in this equation. We don’t want to lose the financial privileges that we have so we don’t discuss how we are part of the problem.

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What financial privileges do I have as a working class white woman? Certainly white privilege exists in many forms, but financial privilege does not always equate to race. I completely acknowledge that I don’t have to fear traffic stops, etc. But I fail to see any financial privilege whatsoever.

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Interesting, Elizabeth. Can you explain how white woman are complicit? I don't disagree, but would love to hear your take on this—it's a pretty important part of the equation.

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I do think the economy since Reagan is operating under the trickle down theory. The more the wealthy prosper, the more trickle down there is supposed to be. Good luck with that. Tell it to young people who’ve resigned themselves to never being able to own a house. The facts are unmistakable.

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Thanks for your comment, Terry.i agree this inequality can be traced back to President Reagan's economic (and other) policies. And I certainly agree — the facts are unmistakable, and indisputable, I would say.

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