this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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As opposed to all those other times in the past when workers were better off than they are now...
We had it great for a very short period, and only for a few of us, in human history. And we're still better off than anytime before that.
But yes, we could be far better off than we are now.
There's a great deal of room for improvement, but I think that a person who doesn't realize that right now things are better than they have ever been is not a person whose ideas about what to change and how should be listened to. Our top priority should be to preserve the progress that has been made already but people who are ignorant of history are often willing to destroy what we do have with the naive expectation that things can't get much worse.
Here's an example of that history that was worse than today:
This is 11 year old coal miner Otha Porter Martin. This photo was taken in 1908 in Macdonald, West Virginia.
In this case, preserving the progress means continuing the ban on child labor and strong safety regulation for adult workers. Even these two things are under attack today:
"Republican Wants to Loosen Child Labor Laws"
"Johnson's Teenagers Earning Everyday Necessary Skills (TEENS) Act would change the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to adjust federal requirements for child labor laws. It would allow states to create laws allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. year-round. Currently, federal law prohibits them from working past 7 p.m. during the school year. The bill would also increase the number of hours they can work during the school week from 18 to 24."
source
"Anticipated Regulatory Changes with OSHA"
"President Trump’s second term is poised to bring a lighter federal OSHA presence — fewer rules, softer enforcement, and potential reversals of recent policies"
source
Thanks for your comment. It's important to remember that we have won on some fronts, and could win on many more.
What wonderful news. I'll be sure to alert the surviving Native Americans Indians and basically the entirety of the global south.
At a time when the planet is incinerating before our eyes, parroting "akshually things are great right now" isn't very brave.
Things are better than they have ever been for Native Americans and for the average person in the global south too.
Wow, simply off the charts arrogance.
Poverty has dropped dramatically, worldwide, since I was a kid and there was only 3.7 billion of us.
Just because the wealth disparity is radical, does not mean the poor are not better off.
Go talk to your grandparents, or great grandparents, about the Great Depression. Hell, I'm only 54 and I've seen some shit IRL. You kids don't even know what "poor" looks like. Hold onto your butts! Because you will see it, very soon.
Eat shit.
Hang tight if you want to see:
And you can see those folks in the downvotes! Even if America reverses course, which ain't happening in any meaningful way, the largest economy on Earth has gone straight retarded. And we're going to drag the planet down with us.
Sorry. Forgot where I was!
We're all persecuted and it's the worst time in history for everyone! CapItaLisM BAD!
That's not what OP is implying. How awful things were at some point is irrelevant. What matters is the incongruence of eliminating the activities that let you survive economically speaking
Nah, cavemen had it really good.
The state did the hunting so that the people could just enjoy the savannah.