It’s Not Right or Left – It’s Up or Down

The killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been big news over the past several weeks, not just because of the act itself, but because of the public’s reaction. Most people -no matter what their political affiliation- ranged from unsympathetic to downright jubilant. It has been one of the most universal reactions to anything in a long time.

People across the political spectrum recognize that most health insurance companies are predatory and indirectly murder people in the thousands every year with no repercussions, while their executives live in luxury. This is allowed to go on because politicians on both sides of the aisle make money giving these insurance companies political cover and refuse to implement a universal healthcare system funded by our tax dollars, as is done in most developed countries worldwide. (You can see who is paying your representatives at opensecrets.org.)

Unfortunately, this dynamic is not unique to the health insurance industry. All across our economy, wealthy and powerful executives collaborate with politicians to ensure favorable policies that harm the general public. Just a few examples:

• Oil and gas companies pollute our environment and cause catastrophic climate impacts, like the devastating wildfires in California this month. They have rarely been held accountable, even as it has come to light that they have known their activities cause climate change for decades.
• Large companies like Amazon and Walmart exploit and underpay their workers, and then fight against those who attempt to unionize for better conditions. The government offers little in the way of worker protections, especially when compared to other wealthy countries. The federal minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation or worker productivity and is certainly not enough to live on.
• Nestle has successfully lobbied against paid maternity leave to ensure more mothers have to rely on its baby formula to feed their children as they are forced back to work, along with a host of other evil deeds that even resulted in the deaths of thousands of infants.
• Weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon get billions in US taxpayer dollars every year. Many members of congress invest in these companies, so they are incentivized to support wars and genocides like the ones in Palestine and Sudan. Meanwhile, we are continually told we cannot fund better education, infrastructure, healthcare, etc.; homelessness is up 18% over the last few years; and victims of Hurricane Helene are still living in tents.

As we brace ourselves for another Trump presidency, many people are understandably feeling anxious about what is coming. However, it’s important to note that even if he disappeared tomorrow and another person stepped in, all of the above has been true and will still be true. And we are all in this together- no matter who we voted for.

Politicians, corporations, and the corporate-backed media have a vested interest in keeping us fighting our neighbors on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Don’t fall for it–the only way out of this mess is standing in class solidarity with each other, mutual aid, and organizing to get our demands met. Imagine if all 99% of us non-billionaires refused to go to work or buy anything for just a couple of weeks, what we could demand with our power. We have far more in common than we think- let’s start talking.