Domesticky

The Age of End-Stage Capitalism

Since the dawn of time, humanity has lived through grand, sweeping eras, each one defined by a dominant force shaping life on Earth.

First, there was The Big Bang, the ultimate explosion that birthed everything. Then came The Stone Age, where we figured out fire and sharpened rocks. The Bronze and Iron Ages followed, ushering in empires, warfare and the first recorded scams.

Fast-forward to the Industrial Age, where steam engines kicked off mass production and capitalism hit the gas. The Atomic Age brought nuclear power (and nuclear panic), and the Space Age had us looking to the stars. We ushered in the Information Age, connecting the world with the internet.

And now we find ourselves in the age of unchecked corporate greed, where governments are little more than well-dressed customer service reps for the fossil fuel giants, food conglomerates and pharmaceutical behemoths.

We are the product, the mark, our ever-dwindling supply of cash being sucked dry while billionaires post space selfies and tell us we’re just not working hard enough.

Welcome, dear reader, to The Big Kerching.

Let’s break it down sector by sector, shall we?

Fossil Fuels: How High Can You Go?

Oil and gas companies have entered a new golden age of profit-hoarding, largely thanks to global instability, manufactured scarcity, and the sheer gall to jack up prices while grinning at the cameras.

Numbers Don’t Lie:

• ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, and TotalEnergies made a combined $400 billion in profit in 2023.
• The price of petrol? Up 30-50% since pre-pandemic levels, despite crude oil prices being relatively stable.
• Meanwhile, public transport systems worldwide remain underfunded and unreliable, ensuring our dependence on fuel.

Kerching.

Food: The Hunger Games (Corporate Edition)

A grocery run now feels like a high-stakes game of “What Can I Actually Afford?” – a game that nobody wins except the corporate shareholders.

The State of Play:

• Nestlé, Unilever, and Cargill (the world’s biggest food suppliers) reported record-breaking revenues while food prices soared.
• “Shrinkflation” (same price, less product) has become a norm. Your 500g pack of pasta? Now 400g. Your chocolate bar? Laughably tiny.
• The global price of wheat doubled in the past two years, yet farmers are still getting screwed on payouts.
• Supermarkets are posting higher-than-ever margins while blaming “inflation” for the markup.

Kerching.

Housing: The Rent Is Too Damn High

Remember when the goal was to own a home? That quaint little dream? Well, in the US, the real estate industry, BlackRock, and private equity firms have ensured that home ownership is for the privileged few while the rest of us pay out half our salaries just to keep a roof over our heads.

The Harsh Reality:

• Ireland’s average rent in Dublin? €2,300/month. A mortgage? You wish.
• In the UK, rents are up 20% since 2020, while wages stagnate.
• Meanwhile, companies like Blackstone are buying entire neighbourhoods and pricing out locals.

Kerching.

Pharma & Healthcare: Pay to Live

The healthcare industry has mastered the fine art of turning human suffering into stock dividends.

The Stats Are Brutal:

• Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk—makers of insulin and weight-loss drugs—are now two of the most valuable companies in the world, worth over $500 billion combined.
• The cost of prescription meds in the US? Higher than any developed nation, with the same drugs costing 10x less in Europe.
• Private health insurance? It covers less while charging more.

Kerching.

Tech: The Subscription Hellscape

We used to own things. Now, we rent everything – software, entertainment, even cars.

How We Got Here:

• Microsoft, Adobe, and Apple moved to subscription models—because why let you buy something once when they can charge you every month forever?
• Netflix and Spotify keep raising prices, while cracking down on sharing.
• Your car? That heated seat is now a monthly fee.

Kerching.

So What’s the Price of Anything?

The true price of anything – your time, your labour, your security – has been rewritten by corporate interests.

We’re told “inflation” is to blame, but if that were true, why are the largest corporations in history posting record profits year after year?

This isn’t an economic downturn; it’s a restructuring of wealth upwards, a final push to extract as much from us as possible before the whole thing collapses.

The Big Kerching is much more than a moment.

It’s a racket, a swindle, a multi-trillion-dollar pickpocketing scheme dressed up as “market forces.”

And the worst part? We let them.