> unless their employer is signaling to them that they value their contributions 6.2% less than last year
Not getting a raise doesn't mean your employer necessarily values you less - it could just mean others value you less so your employer has less competition for you.
Supply and demand. If nobody's buying hammers and the price of hammers goes down, that doesn't mean the value my hammer brings me has gone down, but if I need to buy a new hammer I pay less.
Yeah, that sounds cool and all, but somehow I ended up with a job that pays over $100K a year, that makes me work for about 3 hours a week from home and has been paying me for years to do that. And I'm pretty sure my manager knows that.
If I were to quit, I'd end up with another job that makes me work for 30+ hours a week, for the exact same salary. And that's just one example. I know many more like that.
Your supply and demand can't explain that, yet it is my daily reality in a capitalist society. Capitalism is just another lie we tell each other to make each other believe we live in a just world.
Sometimes I want to spend money on things that I think are morally right, but the credit card companies/paypal won't let me buy.
You can search for lists. I'm doing things that aren't even on most lists (things like buying medication - not drugs - at a discount). A good consumer will never be in that situation, they'll stick to the paths well traveled and stick to whatever laws they happen to think exist and apply to them (often without actually checking those laws or applying civil disobedience to laws they don't agree with).
An independent mind will sooner or later get into situations of wanting to do things that the established corporations don't want you to do and then you'll find out how little you can actually do with your corporate approved currency.