I just had a realization that hit me so hard: I have been working full-time for 35 years. Not once in my life have I ever experienced this “living wage” I hear so much about. Despite often holding down two jobs (which I guess is now considered unethical?!) I own no property, *still* have student loan debt, and really only ever work. I've always either been working, getting ready for work, recovering from work, or using my free time to acquire skills so that I can work more. And yet I've always thought of myself as “middle class”. That I didn't realize this earlier speaks to how successful capitalism has been at shaping my sense of reality. We're all living in this toxic fog of bootstrapping, capitalist naiveté, like children who believe in Santa Claus because grownups tell them he is real, and upon learning that there is no Santa, continue to celebrate him, anyways, passing the delusion down to their own children, who then do the same.