Thread by @TheLoveBel0w

Thread: Ppl tend to forget how pervasive the war on the poor is. They also make the mistake of viewing class warfare as a separate issue from Trump's rise. But politicians like him can't truly be challenged w/o challenging the system they use to maintain power in the first place.

Not only do gerrymandering and voter suppression not get a fraction of foreign election interference's coverage, only the latter is referred to as an "attack on democracy" by the media. The silencing of minorities and the poor may not be news, but it doesn't mean it isn't real...

"In never before published memos and emails, GOP leaders come clean: Their nationwide advantage in state legislatures and Congress is built on gerrymandering. And top Republican strategists and political operatives admit to weaponizing racial data..."

theintercept.com/2019/09/27/ger…

Losing your voice always leads to losing your rights.

“Policies like the forced pregnancy bill are a direct result of voter suppression. If leaders can silence Georgians’ voices at the ballot box, they can ignore Georgians’ voices in office.” - S. Abrams

motherjones.com/politics/2019/…

Gerrymandering & voter suppression have disproportionally helped Republicans, but a weapon in the war on the poor that isn't talked about enough is Citizens United. Thx to the 2010 ruling, corporations/lobbyists could soon price the poor out of Democracy.

opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/c…

From 2014 to 2017, Fortune 100 companies spent $2 billion lobbying Congress, which turned into $3.2 Billion in fed grants and $393 billion in fed contracts. This return on investment is also why corporate interests have superseded public interests in gov.

forbes.com/sites/adamandr…

To effectively wage war on the poor, you have to KEEP people poor. This explains Republicans' relentless attack on social safety nets, but it doesn't explain it all. Quietly, public benefit suppression has become its own hugely profitable private industry.
motherjones.com/politics/2018/…

Another way to keep ppl poor is to divert funds from public education.

"$1 billion awarded by the fed’s Charter Schools Program went to charter schools that never opened or opened for only brief periods"

The Devos family is invested in charter schools...
salon.com/2019/04/23/thi…

Not only is the higher education of millions of Americans at the mercy of profiteers, Army leadership have recently announced that the student loan crisis helped them surpass their recruitment goals for 2019.

This is what happens when class warfare perpetuates armed warfare too.

"One rarely discussed feature of the 'student loan industrial complex' is the $200 billion market for student loan asset-backed securities. This is a circular business, involving lenders like Sallie Mae and big banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America"

rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

One of the goals of the war on the poor is to create a permanent underclass. That's why companies have millions for lobbying and execs get paid millions in bonuses but neither have $$$ to give you a raise. It's also why they're so afraid of unions: unions promote upward mobility.

Trump exacerbated inequality, but he didn't create it. It preceded him, and will be there long after him if we don't stop fighting individuals and start fighting the system as a whole instead. The 1% know the war on the poor's real, the rest of us should start acting like it too.