this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2026
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A Boring Dystopia

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Thousands could be coerced into "unpaid labor" in Louisiana under new bill | HB 211 would make sleeping outdoors in public illegal and force unhoused people to "choose" between prisons and workhouses (www.newsweek.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by stabby_cicada@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
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“HB 211 is a debt trap. It creates a population of people who are, by definition, unable to pay. And then converts that inability into a labor obligation,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek. “The ‘streets to success’ framing is deliberate misdirection. No legitimate treatment program requires the patient to work off their bill under threat of incarceration."

I'm morbidly fascinated by how carefully this article avoids using the obvious term. But slavery. It's slavery. It is a bill that would literally, legally, enslave a population (of predominantly Black men, fucking surprise) for the "crime" of being poor.

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[–] Flower@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't open the spoiler tags or you run into a wall of text.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Capitalism is a very complicated machine with many moving parts, so explaining how society changes as a function of capitalism in a written medium requires quite a lot of words, but just for you, I'll try to summarize:

  • The more money you have, the easier it is to make yet more money.
  • Money = Power.
  • Power corrupts.
  • Those with power want to keep it.
  • Best way to keep power is to avoid blame for your bad behavior.
  • Best way to avoid blame for bad things is to attribute it to someone else.
  • People have an innate bias against those different from them.
  • Result: The ruling class (the most wealthy and powerful people) blame minorities for the problems in society instead of accepting the blame themselves, because they don't want to give up any of their wealth or power, and they use various tools including the media to shape the popular zeitgeist and lobbying to keep politicians on their side.
[–] Flower@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Okay, so circuit 1 is an ever increasing circle of money > power > corruption > more money

Circuit 2 is powered by the first and grows with it: corruption > abuse > afraid to lose power > need to hide actions > scapegoating minorities + media capture > more corruption

The end result is a corrupted society ruled by a few insanely rich sickos.

[–] TheJesusaurus@piefed.ca 3 points 19 hours ago

God damn, I hope they don't all get together on an island somewhere to discuss their disgusting conspiracy while snacking on children or something or we will be in REAL trouble