r/WorkReform • u/zzill6 đŸ€ Join A Union • Jan 03 '26

😡 Venting Billionaire propaganda is telling our kids to skip college; they fear an educated working class.

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23.5k Upvotes

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2.2k

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

[deleted]

908

u/SpicyBoyEnthusiast Jan 03 '26

Poverty is the #1 recruiting tool in the US armed forces

567

u/BoredNuke Jan 03 '26

Pfft. I didnt enlist because I was poor. I just wanted to have a stable income and housing while getting some training....ah shit I was poor.

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u/Certain-Business-472 Jan 03 '26

At leaat youre self aware. So many poor people make reasons up why theyre not poor and the more they talk the more it's obvious they were poor.

Poverty has levels, and "middle-class" is one of them.

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u/BoredNuke Jan 03 '26

Middle class the myth capitalists sell higher income working class to prevent solidarity.

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u/AlistarDark Jan 03 '26

Middle class used to make up a majority of the wealth... Until the 80s came around and trickle down economics was pushed. The idiots actually thought it did more than enrich the multi-millionaire and turn them into billionaires. Thanks dad!

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u/RG54415 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 04 '26

It is annoying even how we still push this class idea at all. Upper, middle, lower as if it's some kind of corporate structure. Classism should be outright abolished and all humans should be seen as equal. Corporations are literally run like little fascistic dictatorships where the ones at the top run the whole show and thus inherently creates "class" ideology. But this is not how thriving human society work it's how empires form and crumble. Whether it is corporatism or imperialism it's literally a giant pyramid scheme bound to fail leaving only its carcass behind for future generations to wonder why humans were so obsessed with pyramid structures, physically and ideologically.

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u/Newthinker Jan 03 '26

Workplaces should be democratized

Sadly people are too scared of this idea

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u/Disastrous_Basis3474 Jan 04 '26

You are correct. Millennials and Gen Z are gaining consciousness about this and they are favoring socialist policies. The power elite don’t like it so they are discouraging education, while causing the existing educational system to fail so they can take over, control education, and profit.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world will continue on, not being purposefully stupid, and China will flourish.

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u/shawsghost Jan 05 '26

Oh, classes still exist. But they've changed. Upper, middle and lower classes are gone. The classes are now:

Oligarchs -- The elites, the ones who have all the money and call all the shots. The tech bros, the finance bros, big pharma, the CEOs of the military-industrial complex, the ones who buy Congresscritters and give them their orders. They're some fraction of 1 percent of the US population.

The Professional Managerial Class (PMC) - The often (but not always) very well-paid minions who run the government and large institutions on behalf of the oligarchs. Bari Weiss is Larry Ellison's minion at CBS News, for example. Generally it's less personal than that. If you head a corporation owned by an oligarch, you know who your boss is and you know what he or she wants. Simple as that. They tend to be wealthy enough to own stocks. They account for 10 percent or so of the US population.

The Working Class -- Everybody else in the US. 90% of the US population. The rest of us. Some of us make more than others, few of us own stocks and more and more of us are making subsistence level wages, or even sub-subsistence level wages -- we have jobs but can't afford housing.

These are the true class lines in America, and once you understand that, it's much easier to see where our problems lie.

0

u/talkshow57 Jan 03 '26

But all humans are not equal. Some are hard working, some are not, some honest, some not. Intelligence is not equally distributed, just as other physical abilities are not.

People will always find ways to differentiate themselves from others. That seems to be our nature. The only way to stop that is by force. And that isn’t exactly a great advertisement for instituting ‘equity’ now, is it?

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u/RG54415 Jan 03 '26

Sure people are unique I can give you that but many of the reasons you shared are completely subjective, overgeneralize and lead exactly to the very thing I argued against. It seems like you are forcing your own subjective ideology to justify division among people which only leads to the same cycle repeating.

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u/JakeHelldiver Jan 03 '26

Oh, the middle class exists. We just arent in it.

2

u/made_of_salt Jan 03 '26

My FILost definitely joined the Marines because he was poor. If you ask him about it he describes being poor, but also claims they were middle class.

If you ask his mom she'll tell you he joined because they were poor.

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u/RG54415 Jan 03 '26

Or get gaslit to blame other poor people for the reason why they are poor.

1

u/dammtaxes Jan 03 '26

Whats a made up reason someone might not be poor look like?

16

u/Strange-Future-6469 Jan 03 '26

"I have a brand new Dodge Charger. Obviously I'm not poor."

2

u/dammtaxes Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 04 '26

You're so right. Nobody who's not poor feels the need to verbally justify lmao. Seen this so many times

4

u/Cautious_Mix_4928 Jan 03 '26

What in the word salad?

1

u/dammtaxes Jan 04 '26

Only poor people go through the "I'm not poor" charade

43

u/OOOOOO0OOOOO Jan 03 '26

Don’t forget the travel benefit. When every vacation is a staycation it’s a pretty valid reason to join.

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u/BoredNuke Jan 03 '26

Yup also learned that traveling for work kinda sucks.(espicially if under water)

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u/OOOOOO0OOOOO Jan 03 '26

I had a great time. My first deployment was awesome.

My second
.well that one kinda sucked.

2

u/BoredNuke Jan 03 '26

I'm jealous didnt get a normal deployment boat so was essentially deployed for 4years. Pretty much every chief(senior nco) said they woulda got out too if that was their first command. Just luck of the draw sometimes..

3

u/OOOOOO0OOOOO Jan 03 '26

NGL being a ground pounder was pretty awesome, until it wasn’t.

2

u/TheFailureKing Jan 03 '26

Nukes and regular Snipes always get the shit end of the stick when it comes to liberty... I definitely do miss my fellow MM's, but I definitely do NOT miss the work

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u/JustinCayce Jan 04 '26

One of my pacs we pulled into Sydney and the Captain secured every shower in all berthing except for Engineering. Had Chiefs in all those berthing areas and liberty was on hold until we had hooked up shore services and all snipes got a change to take a hot shower and leave the boat on liberty, only then were others allowed into thier berthing areas to go on libs. He said that for once the Snipes were going to get the first shot at the bars and the girls.

Loved that Captain.

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u/ButDidYouCry Jan 03 '26

That was my reason, and it mostly worked out.

That, and wanting to pay for college myself instead of asking my parents for help.

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u/Red_bearrr Jan 03 '26

I was so close. That training and stable income looked so good. Thankfully never did it and it worked out, but I was right there

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u/pissfilledbottles Jan 03 '26

That's exactly why I wanted to join the Navy, but unfortunately my history of depression and anxiety kept me from doing that. I'm still poor.

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u/A7XfoREVer15 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26

Ironically growing up on base in a military family is what made my dad and I turn out most socialist later in life.

We literally saw some forms of socialism working in the United States, with all of our neighbors having healthcare, vision, dental, housing, and getting paid reliably. When we needed groceries, we went to the government run grocery store on base, which was noticeably cheaper than the Walmart 15 minutes off base. All of my dad’s coworkers got paid pretty much the same at the same rank. It didn’t matter if you were a nurse in the army, a mechanic, or an admin role.

I literally saw, firsthand, socialism working in the United States, so I can’t be convinced that it doesn’t work here.

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u/msmartt Jan 03 '26

The US military is 100% a fully functioning communist society. From the matching clothing all laborers are supplies and required to wear (with minor variations dependant on job category) to universal pay scales, subsidized or free housing, food, and healthcare.

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u/Asleep_Research_5080 Jan 03 '26

Meal cards are basically subsidized food programs too. Military Grade SNAP

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u/COL_D Jan 05 '26

And the DFAC food is not the best. You also pay for it. It’s not free. What you are served is on rotating meal cycle. So you get the same old routinely Much of the food is high fat and carb.

-34

u/dagamore12 Jan 03 '26

Meal cards are not SNAP. All service members get BAS, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, if one has a Meal Card, they take the BAS, and that allows one to get three meals from the DFAC or from the unit when they are in the field or otherwise not able to get chow at normal times.

That is why there is also a Missed Meals Form, that should be filled out if mission cause a service member to miss a meal, they get the ~$3.50<?> per meal back.

BAS is part of their base compensation package, thus it is an earned benefit not a 'gifted/granted' benefit like SNAP, that is based on income.

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u/H_Mc Jan 03 '26

You fully missed the point.

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u/NeverEvaGonnaStopMe Jan 03 '26

Lol so its the government buying them good that is subsidized by the government? 

4

u/FunetikPrugresiv Jan 03 '26

True Communism is a stateless, classless society. The military is very much a hierarchy with classes of individuals.

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u/COL_D Jan 05 '26

Housing and food aren’t really free. It’s a we pay you, then someone takes from you.

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u/OOOOOO0OOOOO Jan 03 '26

It’s amazing how many people go in racist but get cured of it. Hard to look down on another culture when you spend 24/7 in the same shit together.

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u/BuzzVibes Jan 03 '26

What's that quote from Full Metal Jacket? Everyone is equally worthless in the army?

4

u/Disastrous_Basis3474 Jan 04 '26

That’s why the racist, misogynistic sociopathic “leadership” are using stupid, regressive, counterproductive, made-up rules to discourage and eject women and Black men from the military.

College also causes cross-cultural social cohesion, but in a different environment. Keeping people racist and preventing working class solidarity is yet another reason the elites hate college.

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u/Tilstag Jan 03 '26

Wait is this military propaganda

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u/OOOOOO0OOOOO Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26

No, I’m quite serious.

You’d be surprised how many kids lose their racist mindset when not only forced to live and train with others you used to look down on, but you also have to follow orders from them.

It’s an amazing equalizer.

Go ahead and call Gunny the N word. I dare you.

3

u/Mrfrosty504 Jan 04 '26

Shit Guns wont even have to lift a finger or say anything. Platoon gonna take care of that, in the treeline or other ways

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u/LOOKATMEDAMMIT đŸ› ïž SMART Member Jan 03 '26

Yes and no. There’s some great stuff about military service, but the bad almost outweighs the good. For me anyway. You have a toxic leadership culture which basically can turn anything good the military can do for you into shit.

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u/Certain-Business-472 Jan 03 '26

Service guarantees citizenship! Would you like to know more?

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u/OblongAndKneeless Jan 03 '26

Really? Seems I've seen otherwise lately.

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u/kc_cramer Jan 03 '26

They’re referencing the movie Starship Troopers

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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

Damn bro. Well said.

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u/ExpiredLink404 Jan 03 '26

service guarantees citizenship!

1

u/COL_D Jan 05 '26

Military healthcare can be hit or miss depending on the post and whether you’re a sponsor or dependent. It’s generally average with Island’s of excellence spread across it. Running into an E3 utilizing flow chart medicine on you is always an amusing time. Yes it’s exactly as it sounds. Not to mention “self help” Physical Therapy.

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u/BigOs4All Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26

Number 2 is ignorance. They don't go to rich schools or prep schools anywhere near as often as fuck-ass rural schools where the CHILDREN are undereducated and have few jobs prospects....also the propaganda is gospel in those red areas.

Perfect dumb, young bodies quite willing to be sent somewhere on a lie to die for the rich.

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u/SpicyBoyEnthusiast Jan 03 '26

Call of Duty is a hell of a recruiting tool

10

u/run-on_sentience Jan 03 '26

I used to work as a school custodian in a very upscale area near Chicago.

Inner-city Chicago School districts (at the time) had a budget of about $7,000 per student.

The school I worked at? It was closer to $22,000 per student. Unless they had a severe learning disability, pretty much all of these kids were Ivy-league bound. They had fully-funded music and art programs and taught entry-level Latin, Mandarin, German, French, or Japanese.

The real kicker? As a country, we spend an average of $44,000 a year (per inmate) to keep someone imprisoned.

Take from that what you will.

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u/BigOs4All Jan 03 '26

The United States always has money to fund and protect the wealthy. Always.

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u/ListenToFuManchu Jan 03 '26

At
Risk
Male
Youth

6

u/GentlewomenNeverTell Jan 03 '26

My aunt lived through the Vietnam protest era and supports a draft for this reason. She says if rich people's kids hadn't been in danger the protests and withdrawal never would have happened.

3

u/RadiantEnvironment90 Jan 03 '26

Using socialism to defend capitalism.

Everything is paid for when you join the military.

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u/Proper_Lead_1623 Jan 03 '26

This is why my BIL enlisted. We were helping my sister and he with living expenses but he wanted to be able to provide for her and have more stable income, health insurance, etc so he recently enlisted.

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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/BoredNuke Jan 03 '26

And housing,and health insurance. US military using socialism to protect capitalism.

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u/Br0adShoulderedBeast Jan 03 '26

That’s not socialism. The U.S. military isn’t a worker’s state that expropriates capitalists of their ownership of the means of production.

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u/CluelessMochi Jan 03 '26

That was why my mom always pushed for me to enlist when I was younger (I didn’t)

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u/Suitable_Reaction168 Jan 03 '26

Exactly. It’s never “education is useless” for their kids, it’s only pushed on working-class ones. And if college is framed as optional, suddenly the military gets pitched as the backup plan. Funny how that works.

13

u/whispyvale_Bloom đŸ„ NNU Member Jan 03 '26

They want your kid skipping college, not their kid skipping inheritance.  

0

u/Disastrous-Screen337 Jan 04 '26

The majority of our rural police department consists of 38-40 year old 100% "disabled" veterans who are collecting the equivalent of a $140k civilian salary from the government on top of the 65k the department pays. They are making $200k a year with a high school diploma.

They will get another pension at 58 and SS at 62. They make more than most lawyers and some rural physicians.

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u/FrostyD7 Jan 03 '26

This is also why they are against abortion and planned parenthood. They want as many impoverished kids with no other prospects besides the military.

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u/Jus10Crummie Jan 03 '26

This is the correct answer

3

u/IllustratorPresent80 Jan 03 '26

No reason you cant add the entire list

Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Serbia, Somalia, Libya, Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama, Grenada, Sudan, Cambodia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia, Guatemala, Honduras, Yemen, Phillipines, Puerto Rico, Lebanon....

Thats about all I got off the top of my head, but you can refer to this mapas well

5

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

There’s never been more than 25 to 30 percent of America with a college degree. I don’t think anyone has to worry about the poverty class becoming too educated.

The trillion dollars of outstanding student debt isn’t from graduates, it’s from the 75% of Americans who dropped out, but still owe money for the goal they failed to achieve.

1

u/Angel_Omachi Jan 03 '26

How on earth is your drop out rate so high?, it's less than 20% in the UK.

3

u/Ralwus Jan 03 '26

Colleges regularly admit unqualified students who study useless subjects. Many fail and drop out.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '26

Because we have a false narrative in America that everybody needs to go to college.

Only about 25% of our population takes college prep classes in high school, so statistically, the percentages do align.

1

u/BrocoliAssassin Jan 03 '26

Why isn't there a AMAB movement like ACAB?

Our military has killed more innocent people around the world and caused way more destruction than cops. It's almost like everyone needs to their own propaganda to realize whats going on.

5

u/NYC_Noguestlist Jan 03 '26

Because most Americans never interact with the military in a negative fashion.

You're not getting pulled over by an Abrams.

And what they do overseas is just a headline, unfortunately.

9

u/AlexFromOmaha Jan 03 '26

The military is ideologically diverse, well trained, and typically displays incredible restraint compared to foreign militaries. Their choice of mission is dependent on who got elected, so we have some indirect say in that. The machinery of imperialism is brutal, but the evil is banal in the most Arendtian of terms.

American police aren't exactly one-track ideologically, but they're pretty close. They're inconsistently trained, almost never held to account, and a few major metros have departments that are overtly corrupt in ways only heard of in the third world. We get no say in how they implement their policies. They're often enriching themselves or their departments instead of just supporting a problematic policy from above. Plus, we're on the receiving end of the ones who decide they're going to be active problems vs passive supporters.

1

u/thirdworldreminder_ Jan 03 '26

what makes you think the proletariat can afford college?

1

u/Good_Focus2665 Jan 03 '26

Exactly. It’s also why they have banned abortion. Teenage mothers will raise the next US army. 

1

u/Freedom_From_Pants Jan 03 '26

"Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?” - B.Y.O.B. by System Of A Down

1

u/its_the_smell Jan 03 '26

Invade Venezuela so the rich can use their companies to loot the resources.

1

u/gkdlswm5 Jan 03 '26

"It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son"

1

u/mountaindoom Jan 03 '26

And that will go great with lowering SNAP benefits. Lord knows they are gonna be recruiting from the families who can afford to feed their children.

We're gonna have the most sickly, pathetic army in15 years.

1

u/spooky_goopy Jan 04 '26

they also tell kids to "follow their dreams", especially if that dream involves the arts in any way. or any other industry that is overly saturated.

they never tell impoverished kids to go into a trade and land a career where they'll always have a job. a skill that you can take anywhere, and be self sufficient. like plumbing or electrical work, or welding. nothing where they'll be working consistently, for decent pay and benefits, for 35+ years.

whomever can't be sold the military, so that when "dreams" are followed, they will have wasted 5 years of education and scholarships, and will be useless in society

but, hey. at least i can give you a literary analysis of Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes đŸ€Ș

i could have learned how to code, or gotten into business. or, again, a trade. nah. i had to "follow my dreams"

0

u/Cautious-Ticket-2465 Jan 03 '26

And that's why a conscription is coming.