If they're laid off, they might take any low-wage job they can to try to avoid descending into poverty--even though that's getting harder to do.
We expect certain aspects of our lives to be regulated to avoid being taken advantage of.
We take for granted the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has inspected the food we purchase.
Likewise, we assume the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Ibuprofen or Tylenol we take for occasional aches and pains and headaches.
The same thing with the prescription drugs our doctors tell us we need.
We expect our public schools to be filled with highly educated licensed professionals who have met rigorous standards.
We want traffic lights at intersections to prevent chaos.
We expect laws to enforce infractions like speeding, driving cars without proper safety inspections, and drunk driving.
We assume when we turn on faucets, clean water will flow.
Consider what happened in Flint, Michigan, when this assumption was challenged.
Consider also the fact that wealthy corporations really have no problem with Socialism despite all their grumbling about it.
Conservatives love to blame our economic woes on social safety nets, specifically Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), aka "food stamps."
They have convinced large swaths of supporters and talking heads on Fox News that by cutting off "welfare" to low-income, mostly minority, Americans they are not hurting but helping by providing an incentive to work harder and stop relying on the government for "handouts."
But when massive transnational corporations come to Congress pleading for financial assistance, or corporate welfare, there isn't a moment's hesitation.
As myriad wealthy corporations buy back their stocks and compensate their shareholders, scores of their employees paid paltry wages are left no choice but to rely on government assistance to survive, thus qualifying the companies they toil for for federal reimbursement.
Not even Democratic Socialists want the government making their cars, clothing, or food.
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