Crying at Work, Obama's Netflix Special, and California's New Donor Law
Tears at the office, how Americans work, and an end to bribery in California?
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California puts the kibosh on political bribes
California has a history of leading the nation through new laws that move us forward politically and economically. When America progresses forward, oftentimes it’s because California takes the first step.
A super important (like, ridiculously important) new law goes into effect this year—but it seems to have gone under the radar in news headlines. This new California legislation intends to eliminate the fiscal incentives lobbyists use to control how elected officials vote on bills.
A new California law takes aim at the practice known as “pay-to-play” in which special interests make campaign contributions to local officials to sway a decision. The state senator who authored the law calls for its preservation and expansion after a judge tossed out a lawsuit trying to prevent it from taking effect.
This seems like an obvious way to ensure a functioning democracy- politicians shouldn’t take money from individuals, groups, and corporations that are trying to sway political votes in an upcoming election in which those donors can directly and financially benefit.
But it’s just not how American politics work. Industry groups have held back progress on climate change action, workplace reform, social safety nets, and more. Politicians are beholden to their large campaign donors not their constituents who voted them into power.
So it’s not surprising that special interest groups and politicians attempted to kill the law before it came to fruition. They sued, claiming that it was an infringement on the free speech rights of donors. Unfortunately for them, the Sacramento Superior Court (located in California’s capital), threw out the lawsuit. That’s because the law was worded very intentionally.
It restricts local officials ability to vote on matters that have a direct financial impact on the interest of those that have donated $250 or more to the official’s campaign in the past year. It also restricts contributions that happen retroactively. There’s no loophole for a donor to say, “hey, vote against this bill this month, and we’ll donate next month.” Politicians have to excuse themselves from voting on that particular matter.
The reason why this law doesn’t infringe on first amendment rights is that donors are free to support anyone they want. Their free speech, through their contributions to political campaigns, is perfectly legal. The law only impacts how elected officials behave when they choose to accept donations.
How will this law impact California’s future? Will it finally help us do away with restrictive housing rules that favor high income housing development over low income? Will it help labor unions bounce back from decades of suppression? Will it deter some people from running for political office entirely?
A money grab loophole is now closing in California. The future is yet to be written, but I think we just took a step in the right direction to make California, and the rest of the country, more democratic and egalitarian.
Food for Thought
Working: What We Do All Day
I use LinkedIn, though I’m not a fan. Its algorithm thwarts my attempts to get any eyeballs on my posts because they just don’t show up in people’s feeds. I can tell because of the number of impressions I get, which are always super low.
So I was surprised that it alerted me to something politically relevant to me: a live interview with Barack Obama, former president of the United States, about his new Netflix special called Working: What We Do All Day.
As the narrator and occasional star, he says that he wanted to show that everyone, including those in minimum wage service jobs, does their jobs to the best of their abilities, even when the job only pays enough for them to survive month to month.
The series includes 4 episodes but I’m only focusing on episodes 1 and 2 this week. We start off following the lives of service workers in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi. Some of the workers are in unions, but most are not. It’s clear the difference this makes. Episode 2 covers middle America, following new people in the same locations, and even the same companies.
Why Obama made this documentary
Barack Obama read a book called Working, by Studs Terkel when he was in college. It chronicled people from all walks of life, exploring how they work. The book was one of the first times anyone bothered to ask them about their lives. Originally published in 1974, automation, offshore manufacturing, and the rise of corporate culture were starting to impact the lives of American workers.
Obama sees parallels with today. The sudden and increasing power of AI, the divide between those that can work remotely and those that can’t, and our out of control inequality. Here’s what he has to say about the perception of service jobs in this country:
“For some it's a first job…For a lot of folks, service jobs are just work. Almost half of Americans work in low wage service jobs. Jobs like home care, cleaning services, delivery. They are sometimes called low skilled jobs. Only someone who has never done the work would believe that. These jobs are exhausting, they wear you down physically and emotionally. They put you in unpredictable, often messy, and sometimes dangerous situations. It's the invisible work that the rest of us heavily rely on and tend to take for granted.” - Barack Obama
It’s been hard for me to build a business as a self employed writer. And it’s only going to get harder with AI. But I have a strong foundation in the software niche, some savings, and supportive friends and family. People like Randi Williams, a home care aide and single mom in Mississippi making $10/hour, see a different world:
“I'm hanging together by two strings. I’m not young, but I'm not old. I have time, but I’m running out of time.” - Randi Williams
Randi chose her work because she wants to do something meaningful with her life. She wants to help people. Obama comments that most people feel this way. They want meaning from their work, and ideally, to feel passion for what they do.
When contrasted with the exceedingly annoying phrase loved by some business owners that, “no one wants to work anymore,” it’s clear how out of touch they are with the real lives of their employees.
Obama asserts that it should be possible, in this country, to see a future that includes economical security. Instead, millennials will be the first generation that will not do better than their parents.
We need community more than ever
I’m not going to summarize the documentary for you in this newsletter. I encourage everyone to watch it for yourself. Instead, I want to address some of the themes that Obama focuses on.
Just like in his presidency, he hopes that things can be resolved within our existing system. I don’t share his belief.
Look, I’m not an anarchist, communist, or any other politically charged label. I just want the democracy and opportunities that we were promised when I was growing up. Instead, it feels like we have a new ruling class made up of capitalists rather than royals.
I’m more angry than Obama appears to be in this series. But I also truly believe that we can change and make things better. It’s not going to be through the generosity of capitalists and corporations though.
We’re in a re-awakening of class consciousness, something that pushed our country forward in the 1960s and 70s, and that has been suppressed since. America may be bought by the rich, but we’re still a democracy.
I hope that community organizing and activism brings more people to the polling stations and helps people organize and protect themselves at their workplaces. I believe that 90% of people in this country, and in the world, wake up each morning, go to work, and strive to be a little bit better every day. It’s simply just propaganda to say that people are inherently lazy.
Living paycheck to paycheck is exhausting. We don’t have time or financial stability to pursue passions. If we did, I think we’d see a new renaissance of small businesses. We’d open our own restaurants, create our own fashion brands, invent better ways to live.
When we aren’t forced to rely on CEOs and investors for our job stability, we can take back power in our communities, states, and the country. That’s scary for the 1%, but it’s a promise of something better for the rest of us.
The Lighter Side of Working
Crying in the women’s bathroom
I’ve always been sensitive. Whether it was on the playground as a kid or in the office as an adult, I’ve cried a lot when something bad happened. I used to be embarrassed about it, but not anymore. To quote psychologist Susan David in her Ted Talk in 2018:
“Only dead people never get unwanted or inconvenienced by their feelings. Only dead people never get stressed. Never get broken hearts. Never experience the disappointment that comes with failure.”
I’ve embraced the idea that there are no negative emotions, just human ones. And sometimes I’m going to cry, even if I don’t want to. But there’s an interesting bond that develops when we show vulnerability at work.
In my experience as a woman, when something upsetting happens at work, like a bad meeting, a rude interaction, or news that isn’t even work related, we beeline for the outdoors, or if that isn’t possible, the women's bathroom before we start crying.
The amazing thing about dipping into the communal bathroom when you’re about to lose control of your tears is that there’s usually another woman ready to talk you through it. Sometimes it’s your friend who saw you looking upset and guided you to the bathroom to let it out. Other times you end up surrounded by a group of your peers who happened to pop in at the right time.
It’s a unique type of bonding, crying in the bathroom. Someone can give you advice about how they dealt with a similar situation in the past. Or they can just listen as you talk about how embarrassing it was when someone denigrated your work in a meeting full of people.
It definitely wasn’t just women who helped me out when I cried. Male colleagues and friends walked with me outside to talk it out too. But there’s just something so special about women stopping to help each other away from curious eyes. I have treasured memories of the women who loitered in the bathroom until I had it together enough to leave.
Not everyone needs or wants to cry when something bad happens. For me, I don’t have a choice, tears are coming either way! I’m fine with that today. We’re living, breathing humans. The only people that don’t feel sad, angry, or hurt…are dead people.