The middle class, historically the backbone of stable economies and societies, finds itself under systematic attack. This is not an accident. It is not the natural ebb and flow of capitalism, nor is it the result of mere incompetence from bureaucrats. Instead, it is a deliberate and calculated strategy, one designed to overload the system, collapse self-reliance, and entrench dependency on the state.
Governments throughout history have understood that dependency breeds political control. The more individuals rely on state assistance, the more political power is concentrated in the hands of the ruling elite. This is why policies that encourage high taxation, reckless spending, and excessive regulation do not merely represent misguided attempts at economic management, they are, in fact, essential components of a grander strategy to manufacture economic crisis and weaken the working class.
The working class suffers the most under such schemes/scams. These individuals neither have the vast wealth of the elite nor the full government safety net enjoyed by the lower classes, whose dependence is rewarded with subsidies, housing assistance, and cash benefits. The middle class, by contrast, is squeezed, too prosperous to qualify for aid but too burdened to accumulate wealth.
This is no accident. The strategy in play is one of deliberate overload, an intentional effort to flood social services, deplete government resources, and create a crisis that justifies ever-expanding state intervention.
Policies designed to increase economic strain are often disguised as compassionate reforms. For example, expanded welfare programs, universal basic income schemes, and large-scale immigration policies all contribute to an overburdened welfare state. In the NT such schemes have been around for decades and are the main driver for the 86% of the Territory budget donated by the neighbouring states to subsidies government ineptitude and corruption.
Take, for instance, housing policies, that restrict development while simultaneously increasing subsidies for tenants. Such policies drive up rental prices, forcing the middle class to pay ever-increasing portions of their income to landlords while making home ownership all but impossible. Meanwhile, the government expands subsidised housing programs, creating an ever-growing class of individuals reliant on state assistance to keep a roof over their heads.
Excessive labour regulations, minimum wage hikes, and mandatory benefits increase the cost of hiring employees, which in turn leads to fewer job opportunities, automation, and the offshoring of production. The result? A shrinking middle class, where upward mobility is stifled, and once-solid careers in skilled trades and manufacturing vanish.
Inflation serves as yet another tool of economic destruction. By printing money at unsustainable rates and engaging in reckless fiscal policies, governments systematically devalue currency. Inflation erodes savings, destroys purchasing power, and forces individuals to rely on credit, further indebting them to financial institutions that, in turn, work hand in hand with state actors.
Those with assets, particularly the wealthy elite, can weather inflation by investing in appreciating assets such as real estate, stocks, and commodities. Meanwhile, the working and middle classes, who rely on wages and savings, see their earnings dwindle as prices outpace their ability to keep up.
The hidden tax of inflation ensures that wealth flows upward while the working class struggles to keep up. Those who were once independent find themselves unable to pay for necessities, forcing them into the hands of government programs that offer short-term relief at the cost of long-term dependency.
The most dangerous element of this strategy is the systematic destruction of small business, the last true bastion of middle-class independence. Through excessive regulations, compliance costs, and taxation, governments make it nearly impossible for small businesses to compete with multinational corporations.
Consider how the response to economic crises often disproportionately benefits large corporations while suffocating small enterprises. Corporate bailouts, tax loopholes, and government contracts ensure that only the largest players survive economic downturns, while family-owned businesses, those that provide communities with jobs, wealth, and autonomy, are crushed under the weight of bureaucratic red tape.
The elimination of small businesses further centralizes economic power, reducing individuals to either corporate drones or welfare recipients, both of whom remain within the system of economic control.
This is the Road to Serfdom Friedrich Hayek describes. This is not the natural cycle of economic expansion and contraction. It is an intentional road to serfdom, where once-independent individuals are transformed into compliant dependents, beholden to the state for their basic needs.
The consequences are not merely economic, they are deeply social. Societies with strong middle classes tend to enjoy high levels of stability, low crime, and strong civic engagement. When the middle class is destroyed, political polarisation intensifies, crime increases, and public trust in institutions erodes. A society of dependents is far easier to control than a society of self-sufficient individuals.
Those who wish to reverse this trend must resist the false promises of government intervention and redistributive policies. Economic freedom, self-reliance, and personal responsibility are the only antidotes to an engineered system of dependency. The goal should not be to “fix” the welfare state, but to remove the conditions that make it necessary in the first place.
The middle class does not have to be a casualty of this economic war. But to survive, it must reject the handouts, resist the regulations, and reclaim the independence that made it prosperous in the first place. The path forward is not through increased intervention, but through the radical restoration of individual liberty. From the author.
The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security Consultant with almost 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organizations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.
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