greed

AI and Greed

5 Brutal Truths About Why We Talk to AI Instead of Each Other

We blame technology for pulling us apart, but that’s the wrong story. People are turning to AI not because they prefer machines, but because our culture made human connection unsafe long before AI existed. In a world where vulnerability is treated as failure and relationships are reduced to transactions, trust collapses—and loneliness becomes the only safe option. AI isn’t replacing community; it is revealing how deeply community has already been broken.

Written by: Rod

Published on: December 10, 2025

Shrinkflation in America

It’s Not in Your Head: The Real Story Behind Shrinkflation and Why You’re Paying More for Less

You’re not imagining it. The cereal box got smaller. The chips bag has more air than snacks. The toilet paper roll has mysteriously lost an inch or two. Yet the price remains the same—or worse, it went up. This isn’t a quirky industry trend or “supply chain adjustments.” Shrinkflation is a deliberate strategy engineered to protect corporate profit margins while disguising price hikes. The end result: you pay more for less while executives congratulate themselves for “efficiency.” The real story behind shrinkflation isn’t limited to groceries and household products—it’s a symptom of something bigger. A culture that accepts silent extraction as normal, where customers are played like fools and essential goods become games of psychological misdirection. Instead of transparency, companies bank on fatigue, confusion, and the belief that you won’t notice. But you have noticed—and you’re not crazy for questioning why everything feels engineered to take just a bit more from you each year. Shrinkflation isn’t in your head. It’s the quiet tax of a system designed to squeeze you, one millimeter at a time.

Written by: Rod

Published on: December 9, 2025

systemic inequality vs personal responsibility

What I Learned as a Raft Guide. The Bootstrap Myth No One Talks About

We like to think that anyone — if they just work hard enough — can lift themselves out of hardship. We call it “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.” But what if that idea is nothing more than a comforting fiction? In a raging river, no amount of grit will save you — only the boat, the guide, and the people working together. Life isn’t a solo climb up a ladder — often it’s about staying afloat, and helping each other stay in the boat.

Written by: Rod

Published on: December 6, 2025

How Corporate Greed Is Hollowing Out America’s Middle Class

How Corporate Greed Is Hollowing Out America’s Middle Class

The middle class is not shrinking — it’s being hollowed out. Piece by piece, paycheck by paycheck, hope by hope. And while the pundits shrug and call it “market forces,” the truth is simple: extraction is the business model. Housing has become a casino. Healthcare a toll booth. Groceries a slow bleed. And ordinary people — the backbone of this country — are being drained to feed record profits. Families aren’t struggling because they failed. They’re struggling because the system was redesigned to take more and give less. We’re not crazy. We’re not imagining it. We’re living it. And we’re done being quiet about it. We’re naming the problem. We’re calling it what it is. And we’re choosing connection, truth, and community over the cold, hollow logic of greed. This is not a collapse. It’s a reckoning. And it starts with us refusing to look away.

Written by: Rod

Published on: December 2, 2025