The Land of No Opportunity

In Banning, the unemployment rate is 7%. Over 6,000 people (20%) live in poverty. The rest of the Inland Empire doesn’t have it much better at around 5% unemployment and 700,000 (15.5%) in poverty. Why aren’t we pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps?

Keeping wages as low as possible is of utmost importance in a capitalist economy. That’s where surplus value - akin to profit - comes from. So the lower the wage, the more money companies make. Companies compete with each other in many ways, but one of those is by keeping wages down.

That’s where unemployment comes in. Having many people unemployed pushes wages down, because the economic system in place forces workers to compete with each other for jobs. If there are 1,000 people desperate for a job in Banning, an employer can offer the lowest possible wage and benefits for life-sapping work. Of course someone desperate enough will happily accept the offer.

It’s also why companies like Amazon can afford to keep turnover high. There are plenty of fish in the sea desperate for a sip from capitalism’s hose.

Another reason large employers are incentivized to keep unemployment high is union busting. When workers get fed up enough with low wages they begin to cooperate and form unions. Companies do not like this. They’ll go so far as to close up shop to avoid this outcome. Luckily for them, with a vast unemployment pool, companies can easily find non-union replacement workers in Banning and the rest of the IE.

In this way, Banning, Beaumont, and the rest of Inland Empire are being looted by corporations. High unemployment means low wages. Corporations build giant warehouses and hire people at the lowest possible wage for work that is inhumane and dangerous.

The affluence, cost of living, and workers’ wages in most cities further west of Banning are higher and land cost is at a premium. Large developers that rely on cheap land and low-skill, low-wage work look at Banning’s high unemployment and cheap land and salivate like a snake going in for the kill.

This paints a pretty grim picture. Is it hopeless for workers in the San Gorgonio Pass? No. Workers in outlying cities in the IE like Banning and Beaumont can defend themselves from this predator instead of rolling over in defeat and thanking the snake for its generosity.

Protest bad developments such as warehouses. Vote out city council members who do not support workers or vote for bad projects. Share with fellow workers how much you are paid and what benefits you get. Companies hate that. Strive to view fellow workers not as competition but as brothers and sisters. Band together to support each other. Demand higher wages and better working conditions. Support others who are taking a stand. Defeat the viper in the bush before it can strike.

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