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Strapped: Fighting for the soul of the American working class
Did you know that originally the term “bootstrapping” was used sarcastically to describe an impossible task? Yet now, the meaning has morphed into the opposite.
I invite you to give it a try. Reach back, grab your bootstraps and pull with all your might. How did that work out for you?
There’s a reason we tell people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even though we know it can’t be done. It’s one of the ways people in power keep the rest of us from complaining that we’re being screwed. We keep trying and trying and blaming ourselves when we have trouble. Of course we blame ourselves. Who else can we blame?
This is not a self-help book because you cannot single-handedly fix what’s wrong with the system by working harder or working smarter. There’s a good possibility that some of your problems are out of your hands.
This book was not written for the top 10 percent or for anyone who had life handed to them on a silver platter.
Instead, this book is for every working-class, lower-class and even middle-class person who has done everything right but still feels strapped.
I invite you to give it a try. Reach back, grab your bootstraps and pull with all your might. How did that work out for you?
There’s a reason we tell people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even though we know it can’t be done. It’s one of the ways people in power keep the rest of us from complaining that we’re being screwed. We keep trying and trying and blaming ourselves when we have trouble. Of course we blame ourselves. Who else can we blame?
This is not a self-help book because you cannot single-handedly fix what’s wrong with the system by working harder or working smarter. There’s a good possibility that some of your problems are out of your hands.
This book was not written for the top 10 percent or for anyone who had life handed to them on a silver platter.
Instead, this book is for every working-class, lower-class and even middle-class person who has done everything right but still feels strapped.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 7, 2024
10 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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November 26, 2024
A collection of essays from Medium & Substack that take a searing look at the myths surrounding America’s middle & lower classes. If Barbara Ehrenreich were still around, she’d probably have a Substack, and this is the sort of ground she’d be covering. Think of it as “Nickel and Dimed” for the newsletter era.
Displaying 1 of 1 review