log entry ID: ..m.da... 2026-11-05 11:48:40 EETI remember two decades ago, during the 2008 financial crisis, when people would talk about “wealth inequality”. Over the years, these words have faded.
In a seemingly-unrelated turn of events, half a decade ago, a new expression rose to prominence: “affordability crisis”. After reading Chakrabortty’s op-ed, though, suddenly it hit me:
The “affordability crisis” and “wealth inequality” are the same thing!
I can’t believe it took me so long to see. With this realisation, I find it impossible not to see a narrative forming. Maybe it’s true; maybe it’s not. But here it is, anyway:
At first, the billionaires used their influence to systematically erase “wealth inequality” from the global consciousness. They used the culture war, manufacturing, inflating, and amplifying trivial, bullshit, piss-ant issues designed to be as infuriating, as divisive, and as distracting as possible. They changed the design of the internet, making recommendation algorithms which would send these distractions to every user’s front page.
It worked for a while, but of course, the problem persisted. And when the effects of wealth inequality simply could not be ignored any longer, the billionaire media were forced to address it. But it needed a new name. Thus, it was rebranded to “affordability crisis”. “Affordability” shifts the emphasis to high prices, away from low pay or unfair wealth distribution. It is a deliberate attempt to hide the source of the crisis, while still acknowledging its existence. Then, after this rebranding, they kept on using the same distraction tactics, now blaming all of the old non-problems of the culture war for the “affordability crisis”.
Finally, though, some politicians, journalists, and voters are starting to see through it. Just as Mamdani, through Chakrabortty, said:
[…] it’s not just because prices are unreasonably high – it’s also because their pay is unfairly low.
Regardless of whether this actually was a deliberate attempt by billionaires to hide the source of the problem, I will stop calling it an “affordability crisis”, and start using “wealth inequality crisis” instead. Thankyou, Mamdani, Chakrabortty, and the Guardian, for all of your work.