Change Is Coming
How We Got Here
The dawn of the internet ushered in an era of unprecedented convenience, rewarding companies that could provide instant gratification with minimal effort. Tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Apple mastered the art of seamless user experiences, leveraging technology to eliminate friction and make consumption effortless.
What started as a mission to enhance customer experience (CX) quickly transformed into a monopolistic power grab. With control over consumer behavior, these companies grew exponentially, securing dominance in their respective industries. As competition intensified, corporations prioritized profits over people, manipulating pricing, outsourcing jobs, and using every available lever to sustain growth.
The Rise of Corporate Greed and the Consumption Economy
With their monopoly-like power, corporations flexed their pricing power against the consumer, ensuring that any increase in costs—whether due to supply chain issues, economic downturns, or inflation—was ultimately passed down.
As profit margins came under pressure, companies outsourced labor, cutting costs at the expense of American workers. Meanwhile, social media became the ultimate marketing machine, manipulating users into overconsumption. Platforms evolved into advertising goldmines, designed to keep people engaged and spending money on things they didn’t need. The result? A hyper-consumerist economy fueled by targeted ads and engineered dopamine hits.
Then came the 2008 financial crisis, an event that threatened to collapse the very system these corporations thrived on. The government intervened, introducing regulations to rein in predatory financial practices. But rather than accept limits on their profit-making capabilities, corporations fought back. They deployed armies of lobbyists, poured money into political campaigns, and used their influence to dismantle regulations that threatened their bottom lines.
How Big Tech and Big Money Took Control of Politics
The internet was supposed to be a democratizing force—a place where people could access unbiased information, share ideas, and challenge power. Instead, big donors, corporate executives, and tech elites realized that controlling the narrative was key to maintaining their power.
At first, they lost control as independent media and social platforms allowed users to question mainstream narratives. But they quickly adapted. Big money partnered with big tech, ensuring that the same algorithms that once promoted free speech now silenced dissent and manipulated public opinion to serve corporate and political interests.
Social media became a weaponized tool for shaping elections, pushing policies that favored corporations while gaslighting consumers into believing these changes were in their best interest. Politicians, beholden to their corporate donors, abandoned consumer protections, paving the way for today’s deregulated, anti-consumer landscape.
The Consumer Experience Is Worse Than Ever—And We’re Paying for It
Today, the once-great customer experience that built these tech empires is deteriorating. Prices rise unchecked, customer service suffers, and quality declines—all while corporate profits soar. Consumers, who were once the priority, have now become exploited assets, their data and spending habits monetized to extract every last dollar.
But the most ironic and tragic part? We are feeding the very beast that seeks to devour us. Every unnecessary purchase, every swipe, every click fuels the corporate machine, empowering the system that prioritizes shareholder value over societal well-being.
The Crossroads: Where Do We Go from Here?
We now face a critical choice: continue to blindly participate in this consumption economy, or take back control. Consumers must force corporations to put them first again—not through pleas or petitions, but by shutting off their money supply.
If profits are their only concern, then a collective financial rebellion is the only solution. This means:
- Spending intentionally rather than impulsively.
- Supporting local businesses instead of monopolistic giants.
- Rejecting manipulative advertising and reclaiming financial independence.
- Becoming self-reliant, even if it means temporarily adopting Amish-like simplicity.
The consumer experience in work, trade, and life has been ruined by corporate greed. The only way forward is to tear down the existing system and build something better—one where the needs of the people come before corporate profits.
It’s time to stop feeding the machine and start demanding change.