The System Was Built to Exploit You—It’s Time to Break Free
The price of nearly everything we need to survive has exploded over the last 50 years. Rents, mortgages, childcare, healthcare, utilities, food, apparel—you name it—have skyrocketed, increasing 5x to 20x. Yet, wages have stagnated, leaving many Americans struggling to make ends meet. It’s no wonder that 770,000 people are counted as homeless in the United States today. This isn’t just a crisis; it’s an indictment of the systems we’ve allowed to run unchecked for decades.
Let’s be clear: the American worker is collateral in the U.S. job market. While CEOs and investors prioritize maximizing profits and shareholder wealth, individuals producing 100% of a company’s revenue are considered expendable. In fact, workers receive less than 10% of revenue in the form of wages and benefits. The surplus? It’s funneled into stock buybacks and dividends to fatten the pockets of the wealthy. This system is a legacy of exploitation that has existed for centuries—and it is especially brutal for Black men and women, who are the descendants of a nation built on forced labor without wages.
The Legacy of Exploitation
For over 250 years, Black men and women labored without pay under the horrors of chattel slavery. The wealth generated by their work built the foundation of the U.S. economy, yet they received nothing. After abolition, systemic oppression continued through sharecropping, redlining, mass incarceration, and wage suppression. Today, these historical injustices manifest in stark economic disparities. According to the Federal Reserve, the median wealth of a white family is nearly eight times that of a Black family.
This system has always been diabolical. It’s designed to funnel wealth upward, leaving workers—especially Black workers—with crumbs. The same corporations that exploit workers today are heirs to a legacy of unpaid labor. Why do so many believe they can outwork or outlast a system designed to dehumanize them?
The Psychological Toll
The stress of living paycheck to paycheck is more than a financial burden—it’s a psychological one. For Black Americans, this is compounded by generational trauma. The constant struggle to prove worth in a society that systematically undervalues Black labor erodes self-esteem and instills feelings of inadequacy.
Studies show that financial insecurity is linked to higher rates of anxiety and depression. This isn’t accidental—it’s by design. The system thrives when workers feel isolated, defeated, and powerless. Breaking this cycle requires not just economic solutions but a psychological shift: a recognition that you are worth more than what this system offers.
The Economic Reality
Nearly 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Over 40% couldn’t cover a $400 emergency expense without borrowing. For Black families, the situation is even more dire. The racial wealth gap ensures that opportunities for upward mobility are limited.
Meanwhile, CEOs rake in massive salaries. In 1965, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 20:1. Today, it’s over 350:1, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Corporate profits hit $2.8 trillion in 2023, yet wages have stagnated. These profits aren’t reinvested in workers but in stock buybacks and dividends. In 2022 alone, companies spent over $1 trillion on buybacks.
The Social and Emotional Impact
Socially, the system isolates workers, pitting them against one another in a race to the bottom. Emotionally, it fosters a sense of defeat. For Black men and women, the message is clear: the system was never designed to uplift you. It’s designed to extract value from you while giving as little as possible in return.
The result? Communities fractured by economic despair, families struggling to break free from generational poverty, and individuals questioning their worth. This is not a flaw in the system—it’s the system functioning as intended.
A Path Forward: Entrepreneurship and Affiliate Marketing
If the system won’t value you, it’s time to create your own value. Entrepreneurship offers a way out of this exploitative cycle. Unlike traditional employment, affiliate marketing allows individuals to earn 20-40% of the revenue they generate—a stark contrast to the less than 10% revenue share most workers receive today. This model values the producer and provides a pathway to financial independence.
For Black men and women, affiliate marketing isn’t just an income opportunity—it’s a form of economic resistance. It’s a chance to reclaim agency, bypass corporate gatekeepers, and build wealth on your terms. By leveraging networks and creativity, individuals can create income streams that aren’t subject to the whims of exploitative CEOs.
The Call to Action
To those who hesitate, ask yourself: why do you trust a system that paid $0 in wages and benefits to your ancestors for hundreds of years? Why do you think you can beat a game designed to exploit you? The truth is, you can’t—but you can opt-out.
We’re not suggesting you quit your job overnight. What we’re advocating for is a shift in mindset. Recognize your worth. Understand that the current system thrives on undervaluing you. And take steps to build something better for yourself and your family.
Affiliate marketing, entrepreneurship, and alternative income models are tools to regain control of your financial future. They offer an escape from the cycle of exploitation and an opportunity to create a legacy of wealth and empowerment.
The Time Is Now
The American job market isn’t broken; it’s working exactly as designed—for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. But you don’t have to accept this reality. By embracing entrepreneurship and affiliate marketing, we can build a more equitable system that rewards effort, ingenuity, and resilience.
The question is no longer whether we can afford to take action. The question is how much more we’re willing to lose before we do. For Black men and women, for all workers, the time for change is now. Let’s build a future where everyone gets their fair share.