Every couple of years in America it becomes expensive to just live a regular lifestyle. In 2022, the average annual prices for food at home were 11.4% higher compared to 2021. To provide context, the typical retail food price inflation over the past 20 years has been 2.0% annually. What my poster is trying to imply is we the people get taken for granted. I did some research and I found out that the majority of people gain 1,085 dollars weekly and the majority of it goes to rent and food. So much of the people's money goes away to the point where they are stuck in this cycle of giving all their money and not being able to save up and advance. By advance I mean like not being able to afford buying a house. We are living to a point where a single person who works a 9 to 5 job isn't even able to afford rent for themselves, majority of our time goes away by slaving into these companies and these are the same companies who increase everything the sell but keep cutting off people of their jobs or even giving them LESS money. That is the meaning of the picture I drew on top of my poster, the giant metal chain dragging us down while the corporations take advantage of that and use that time to milk us out of all our money. A solution I had in mind isn't to increase wages, but to cut people's expenses by providing them with the food they need to survive for free. Even though increasing the wage is the best way to solve it, I know corporations are super greedy to the point where this won't happen in any world. Now people do not have to spend their hard earned cash by buying food they are able to save that money and accumulate more throughout their lives so they can leave whatever apartment they live in and finally buy a house so they can keep progressing with ease in their lives. It might still take years but it will be finally possible and no longer a dream. In 2022, American consumers allocated around 11.3% of their disposable personal income to food, a figure comparable to the levels seen in the 1980s. The portion of disposable personal income expended on food in 2022 was almost evenly split between food consumed at home (5.62%) and food enjoyed outside the home (5.64%).
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/food-prices-and-spending/
''Art is highly effective at translating events, facts, and ideologies into stories, images,
and performances, making objective things into subjective forms we can experience, feel, and, importantly, remember.''
This is what I tried to do with my poster. The huge check in the middle of the poster showing how much the average person gains weekly awhile being divided into everyday expenses, barely leaving any money leftover for themselves.
''Artistic Activism is a dynamic practice combining the creative power of the arts to move us emotionally with the strategic planning of activism necessary to bring about social change.''
I also tried to be creative and found another way to tell the public how we are being slaved away by corporations. The picture on the top of the poster show the peoples hands which is us and the corporations hands show who we work for, trying their best to take our hard earned cash to the point where the cash is being ripped away.
Some interactions I had (Tried my best recreating what they said)
Person 1: I am immediately hit by these numbers. In my experience, I have to give entire paychecks away for necessities. I may not have it as bad as others, but there are people truly suffering! Perhaps maybe somethings should not be monetized such as food. A bigger net for the poor would ensure that minimum wage jobs could cover expenses more. My personal favorite detail is the prison chain on the left hand. It really showcases the feeling of being "weighed down."
Person 2: Although raising the minimal wage does sound nice in theory, we would not know the fullest extent of the effects that action would have. I would think that people's bread price would rise more! I wonder if these numbers are truly accurate. After all, where do these statistics come from? I do enjoy the details of the check
Person 3: When I start working, I fear that my paychecks would have to be given up for necessities. I do want other things too! I do not just want to work with nothing else to do. I do not know much about the working, but what I do know is that these corporations do not care. They only care about money. They also care a little bit about fame because that will make them more money. If corporations have a lot of money, then why should the workers be left with little? There is no way they spend all of it on maintenance.
Person 4: My initial reaction to this poster left me quite appalled. I generally distrust the bourgeoisie, and the poster reminded me of the struggle women have to face in the workplace as well, not just because of minimum wage issues. The amount we are paid is just not enough, especially when children come into the picture, and so I generally have a greater disdain for the bourgeoisie after viewing this poster. In terms of the poster's design, the line on the bottom ("stop living only to be someone else's ATM") fascinates me. I assume ATM means monetary gain for the bourgeoisie, and, in that case, we are definitely someone else's "ATM." Finally, the line below that, which reads "We want to live too," is another line I can definitely give my assent to.
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