88-Year-Old Works Till Death, While $88 Billion Funds Forever Wars
Ed Bambas, a veteran who lost his General Motors pension in 2012 (thanks, Wall Street and corporate greed, enabled by your elected officials) and was forced to work five days a week at 88 years old, can now 'finally retire' thanks to $1 million in crowdfunding. ('Finally retire,' the headline gleefully chirps. As if his situation wasn't a profound systemic failure.) This feel-good story
conveniently sidesteps the reality that, according to OpenSecrets.org, corporate PACs gave over $271 million to federal candidates in the 2022 election cycle alone, influencing policies that enrich corporations while leaving vets like Bambas to hustle until they drop. Where's the crowdfunding for millions of others in similar straits, or perhaps, a government that prioritizes its citizens over
endless wars and corporate handouts? Instead of addressing the structural failures—like how General Motors went bankrupt, got bailed out by taxpayers, and still managed to gut pensions—we're meant to celebrate collective charity as a solution. Meanwhile, Congress just approved another $95 billion in foreign aid, much of it military, with a significant chunk to Israel. Imagine if even a fraction of
that congressional generosity were directed to the 40,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. or preventing an 88-year-old from losing his pension. But why fund stable retirements when you can fund F-35s and then cheer when citizens are forced to pick up the pieces with GoFundMe campaigns?