The Middle Is a Treadmill
How working people were taught to carry everything — and blame themselves when they collapse
Why the hell do we tell everyone to “strive for the middle class”?
The middle sucks.
There’s nothing for you there.
You don’t get any of the perks,
but you pay all the bills.
It’s endless work.
Endless demands.
Schedules to meet.
Money stress that never shuts up.
And God forbid you try to take a vacation.
Fuck off with that.
You owe everyone everything.
You’re “too wealthy” to qualify for help,
but somehow never wealthy enough to cover the bills.
And if you’re struggling?
That’s your fault, apparently.
And here’s the cruel part:
being in the middle, you’re allowed to have nice stuff.
Encouraged to have it.
Told to go get it.
Be proud of it.
Just don’t miss those interest payments.
Because the moment you stumble —
the moment you get sick,
or the work dries up,
or the world falls apart —
you’re on your own.
That’s when they tell you that you extended yourself too much.
That you pushed too hard.
That you should have been more careful.
Where did you think you were going anyway?
You were never supposed to arrive.
Just keep moving.
Keep paying.
Keep proving you deserve to stay exactly where you are.
So what do we do?
We bitch about who went where,
who got what,
who’s cheating,
who’s lazy,
who’s beneath us.
We punch down.
Constantly.
Meanwhile, there’s no money at the bottom,
and the assholes at the top aren’t giving us any.
They need us fighting each other.
Because as long as we’re distracted,
nobody’s looking up.
And nobody’s there to catch you when you fall.
That house you bought? Gone.
The car? Forget about it.
Everything you were told to be proud of evaporates the second you can’t keep feeding the machine.
But the ones who actually screw it all up?
They get the bailouts.
They get the press conferences.
They get called “too big to fail.”
They never risk their own money.
Why would they?
They have ours.
When they gamble and win, it’s brilliance.
When they gamble and lose, it’s a “systemic issue.”
When you lose, it’s a personal failing.
That’s the deal no one says out loud:
risk is mandatory at the bottom and the middle,
optional at the top.
You’re told to be responsible,
while carrying all the downside.
They’re reckless,
because the net is already there —
woven from your labour, your taxes, your missed sleep.
So don’t let anyone tell you this is about bad choices or individual discipline.
The rules were never the same.
They were never meant to be.
You weren’t reckless.
You were useful.
So if you’re stuck in the middle, how do you get out?
It’s actually simple.
You stop feeding the fucking machine.
You start living like the peasants they already think you are.
Financial “aspirations”?
Fuck that.
That’s a hamster wheel with better lighting.
Take what you’ve got and keep it.
Fuck Gucci. Fuck Dolce & Gabbana.
Fuck that BMW — a used Kia will do the job and can be just as much fun.
Instead of working yourself into the ground to pay for shit you’re tired of as soon as it’s out of the box, spend your money on things that actually enhance your life.
Karate lessons.
Visits to conservation areas.
Local food.
Time with people you actually care about.
Hell, you’ll do more good for everyone by taking a walk around your block than by taking another trip to the mall.
Because here’s the truth they don’t want you to understand:
The people on top are powerless.
We hand them our labour.
We hand them our money.
We hand them our time, our health, our attention — willingly.
And they fuck us for it every single time.
They pay shit wages so we can buy back the productivity we sweated for, bled for, and died for.
And then they call it “the economy.”
I don’t like violence.
But let’s stop pretending this system is gentle.
What do you call being kept in constant fear about tomorrow?
What do you call a life where stability is dangled just out of reach and then blamed on you when you miss it?
The middle class only ever worked for a few of us — and only for a little while.
So maybe we stop pretending.
Maybe we admit what we are.
Peasants.
And then we get on with it.
Because when we stop spending, things change fast.
When money stays at the bottom, power follows it.
When we start seeing ourselves in our neighbours instead of competing with them — that’s where it gets interesting.
People love to point to Scandinavia and say, “That only works because they’re one race, one culture.”
Bullshit.
We’re one culture too.
A culture with one thing in common:
we’ve been shit on for far too long.
And now the tools are better.
We’re connected.
We can see what’s on top and who the assholes are.
They don’t even hide it anymore.
They go on TV and brag about the empires they built on our exhaustion.
So here’s a radical idea:
feed your neighbour.
Show some kindness.
Build trust where you live.
Because a revolution is coming.
I’ve said it before,
and goddammit, I’ll say it again.
And before anyone panics —
this isn’t a call for chaos.
It’s a call for clarity.
Real change doesn’t start with fire.
It starts with people realizing they’ve been lied to.
That the grind isn’t noble.
That exhaustion isn’t virtue.
That being “responsible” while drowning isn’t success.
Power doesn’t fall because people get angry.
It falls because people stop believing.
The middle is most of us.
And that’s the part they forgot.
The truth is, we control it all.
We just haven’t stopped acting like we don’t.
And history shows —
when that moment comes,
the top always acts surprised.