Why everyone in the USA are so calm about the economy crushing?

r/

Why there are no mega protests outside of the white house? Everyone seems chill. Even the Congress men are pretty quite. Wtf is going on? People accepted so easily there life are going into ruin?
How come we don’t see the mega tech companies protest, Wtf?!

Comments

  1. Reader5069 Avatar

    We aren’t chill. We are upset however we don’t have the money to gather together for a peaceful protest.

  2. 100LittleButterflies Avatar

    The revolution won’t be televised. They’re deliberately not showing all of the many protests going on. The party in power control the media.

  3. Slopadopoulos Avatar

    Because our lives are not going into ruin.

  4. LazyErDays Avatar

    “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

  5. Svenhoek191919 Avatar

    It would seem you don’t hahe a very firm grasp of the economy. If it was really bad there would certainly be civil unrest. That may well happen at some point, but we’re not there right now.

  6. JRshoe1997 Avatar

    Some peoples lives are really not that bad that Reddit makes it out to be. Most people are fully functional adults. Have a job, make enough to get by and have enough to have fun with friend’s. If your life is really this terrible there is nothing stopping you from going out and protesting. The reality is most peoples lives really are not that bad as Reddit or the media makes out to be.

  7. Weaubleau Avatar

    Maybe because it’s not?  You need to stop listening to the propaganda.

  8. Magician1994 Avatar

    There’s protests scheduled for April 19, just FYI. It’s not in the news, but if you look for it, you’ll find some info.

  9. GR33N4L1F3 Avatar

    Honestly don’t know what to do. Definitely falling apart inside and trying to remain positive. I have to ignore the news sometimes to gain some semblance of control over my life and my emotional state. Can’t protest when you have to work and barely have enough gas to get there. Protesting on my street corner probably isn’t enough.

  10. 154bmag Avatar

    I’m not calm.

  11. Speed009 Avatar

    more like wtf can we do?

  12. Grabatreetron Avatar

    First, people aren’t calm about the tariffs. Second, the economy has been pretty good recently.

    People always think the economy is bad regardless of how the economy actually is. Reddit is the worst for this, if you happen get a lot of your news/analysis here.

  13. FriendlyLawnmower Avatar

    Frankly, there’s nothing we can do to stop this. 

    They handed him the executive, the legislature, and much of the judicial branch. Given the last few days, he evidently doesn’t care to listen to a SCOTUS that’s mostly friendly to him. 

    He has loyalists in all the positions that could even try to stop him. He has all the power.

    Things can get much worse later, like when he tries to oust Jerome Powell and take over the fed, so I might as well enjoy what I can right now than spend my time shouting into the void. If we’re able to limp our way into late 2026 then I’ll put more effort into mobilizing for the midterms 

  14. nemesis86th Avatar

    Somebody told us Wall Street fell. But we were so poor, we couldn’t tell.

  15. Resident_Mulberry_24 Avatar

    The stock market is volatile yes, but that’s not a good indicator of economy health. Overall the present moment is OK. That being said, there are political protests taking place daily across the country about a plethora of different topics. But our economy is not crashing yet, it’s just filled with uncertainty so we aren’t panicking for good reason. The country is very hesitant, but not panicking. When things really turn, then we will certainly be more vocal

  16. FaliedSalve Avatar

    it hasn’t crashed yet. It’s heading there. We see the markets get whacked. But people think “maybe they will come back”.

    Gas prices are up, but not terribly. New car prices haven’t risen yet. Eggs are expensive, but they were before. Some people are getting laid off, but not enough to hit critical mass.

    Right now, it’s 80% people warning about what will happen and 20% things that have already happened. When that flips, people will be livid. We are seeing people march in the streets (r/50501) but the numbers aren’t quite there yet.

    Give it anther 2 months.

  17. The1930s Avatar

    We just had one of the biggest protests ever, taking place in literally every state of America like what are u talking about?

  18. yehti Avatar

    I can barely afford housing and essentials now. If I leave work to protest and get fired, I really won’t be able to afford anything. That’s how they get ya.

  19. UndeadKurtCobain Avatar

    If I freak out I’ll seize personally. Stress causes my seizures. I also think people are really good at looking the other way till it fucks then personally. Denial is a strong drug you see it especially in people who suck off politicians and act if they can do no wrong even if they just did right in front of their face. Just watch the video of the flat earthers who went to space then turned around and were like nah that’s fake. People believe what they want to.

  20. datNorseman Avatar

    I can’t speak for the rest of the USA, but I try not to let headlines dictate how I feel about things. It might be a mess in some places of the world, but right now life seems rather OK in terms of daily life at home. Sure, I can easily get hooked into getting upset about current events such as with the economy, but that’s only if I go looking for it. Now if things become so noticeably bad that groceries suddenly cost my entire paycheck then of course I’ll be worried.

  21. turtleurtle808 Avatar

    What the hell am I supposed to do?

  22. tvarchives Avatar

    My guess is that Trump Supporters can’t read

  23. Available-Love7940 Avatar

    I’m only going to address the protests:

    Location and money.

    For me to protest at the White House, I need the money to get there, and the money to stay in DC. (I’m roughly 1200 miles away.) (Side note: This is also why I didn’t view the January 6 traitors to be ‘casual tourists’)

    There have been protests at more local areas, but they aren’t getting the media attention, because most of them are sucking the orange.

  24. GermanPayroll Avatar

    Which is why people aren’t really bugging out

  25. EpicCJV Avatar

    Our lives aren’t going into ruin lol

  26. ZardozSama Avatar

    Right now it is largely just numbers on a stock ticker, which only affects people with investments ‘ie ‘the rich’, which most people are not’, or people about to cash in retirement savings. For most working class people, this makes it a terrible thing happening to someone else, and not an immediate issue.

    People will start to care more as either they get laid off or day to day costs for things start to make it too hard to make ends meet. Unfortunately that is not a new problem for many people. When your drowning, it does not matter if the water is 2 feet over your head or 20,000 feet.

    END COMMUNICATION

  27. TrillyMike Avatar

    There were 100k people on the national mall in dc two weeks ago and there’s another one planned this weekend.

  28. cicatrizzz Avatar

    Because journalists overdramatize literally everything. It’s not anywhere as bad as most news outlets make it out to be, lol.

  29. Usual-Locksmith4657 Avatar

    I feel like a vast majority of citizens have kinda accepted the fact that you’d be lucky to retire in this shit economy, and as a result people are peaceful with the thought of wageslaving till death. It’s pretty sad actually.

  30. ButteredBeard Avatar

    Because Americans, especially Millennials, are completely desensitized to economic hardship. Everyone just accepts that everything will get more expensive while pay stays roughly the same. It’s certainly how it’s been all my life. What else will be different this time?

    Side note to everyone saying, “bEcAuSe NoThInG iS wRoNg”. Go back to your caves. You obviously don’t have investments or anyone close to you that needs their 401k in the next 10 years. Because that’s the damage that has been done SO FAR. We have lost 10 years’ worth of economic progress just to stroke the Cheeto’s overinflated ego.

  31. 622311 Avatar

    I don’t have anything to lose, but debt.

  32. dwehlen Avatar

    Do the little broken gears get mad that the machine outputs poirly?

  33. Negan1995 Avatar

    We already gave up. I just wanna stay home with my wife and dog and enjoy the peace I have with them.

  34. Nacho_cheese_guapo Avatar

    Because the economy isn’t crashing lol

  35. ZeusTheSeductivEagle Avatar

    Could be a number of things. Not something they care about more than other things politically. Like if you have a hatred for liberals or big government. You are probably over there eating your popcorn. We had a recession in 2008 so it’s not a new thing and some people couldn’t care less about things outside of their bubble. Some people couldn’t even tell you how many states we have and you think they are paying attention to the news? Lol

  36. kingspooky93 Avatar

    Why everyone outside the USA post dumb stuff like this? What on earth makes you think we’re calm about any of this?

  37. LivingHighAndWise Avatar

    Not my first rodeo.

  38. itsmekaribee Avatar

    Possibly normalcy bias? Also I can’t help but think the CEOS/higher ups and the Uber wealthy knew this was coming. Hence the big boom in doomsday bunkers being built 5 years ago (I think it was Times that did an article on it, immediately then I though “what do they know that we aren’t privy to knowing yet?”)

  39. Ziggysan Avatar

    Numb Depression != Calm

  40. CptSmarty Avatar

    Because its exhausting. Protests just lead to arrests and potential deportation the way things are going.

    Also, people dont know how to protest properly. The last several MEGA protests we had resulted in an insurrection and rioting. Not to mention the message will not get through to the braindead who work in DC. They see protests, and they will bitch and complain about it vs. listen.

  41. SnowLepor Avatar

    I’m tired and just plain worn out.

  42. IceManYurt Avatar

    Frist time, eh?

  43. tavesque Avatar

    Because we still have a constant stream of entertainment in all facets like Netflix, baseball season or general Saturday night plans. Right now, the illusion is still doing its job but until his actions get in the way of the constant distractions we currently have, nothing will change. The Roman’s had coliseums and we have Tik tok

  44. KingOfAllFishFuckers Avatar

    Because the economy isn’t crashing. Sure, the stock market dipped, which people somehow think is a bad thing. Smart people bought the dip, and it’s already rebounding. I already made a nice little profit. And sure the reciprocal tarrifs are going to cause a hit, but if you don’t understand why that’s a good thing, then you don’t understand how the economy works, like at all. Love him or hate him, but trump is 100% right on how he’s working these tarrifs. And it’s obvious he’s working alongside alot of smart people, because the moves with these tarrifs and countries coming together to work deals, is pretty damn genius as it will not only benefit the US, but every country involved. Not only are the tarrifs reciprocal, they also close loopholes that countries can use to avoid tarrifs. Especially considering the end goal of these tarrifs are to make it so that anyone making under 150k a year doesn’t have to pay income tax anymore, which is 78% of the country. Maybe you guys are rich, but my broke ass would appreciate keeping that 20-30% of my paycheck every week.

  45. Sea-Coyote2680 Avatar

    just give it a little bit of time. when common grocery items become scarce, then you’ll see some reaction.

  46. Ionic3127 Avatar

    Tf you want me to do? I went out and voted against him like many others

  47. msbelle13 Avatar

    Do you realize how large america is? People can’t just show up to the white house to protest everyday – it’s expense to take time off to travel (especially in this economy), and those of us who in live in DC are exhausted (and stressed the fuck out, because everyone here basically works for the feds and is loosing their jobs by the day).

    There have been tons of protests already, btw.

  48. Riddiku1us Avatar

    Good God, “Nothing to see here! Nothing to see here!”

    Six months ago, “The eggs! Won’t someone think about the eggs! The economy is terrible, the stock market isn’t everything”

    Now the shoe is on the other foot, the stock market apparently still doesn’t matter, nothing has gotten cheaper, but everything is now fine. The world isn’t falling apart, what are you on about?

  49. Thelastfirecircle Avatar

    Honestly I have no idea, maybe they accepted their downfall with dignity

  50. Tiddiesnbutts Avatar

    Most people are overworked and under informed. The average American is 2 missed paychecks away from homelessness, people are working.

  51. BigBadBootyDaddy10 Avatar

    I’m a GenXer. According to everyone, I’m about to experience my 4th “once in a lifetime recession”.

    I’m kind of numb to this. The last two recessions I doubled down on the market. Doing ok now.

  52. Rebel_bass Avatar

    It’s going to have to actually crash for rather to start eating one another. Until they start fucking with the real money, they’re not going to see any consequences. Protests aren’t going to do shit. Burning teslas isn’t going to do shit.

    Watch how this growing season goes. Agricultural drives the US economy, everything else is fungible.

  53. Sorry_Im_Trying Avatar

    I personally am calm only because if I let any of the anger and fear out, it would be a damn that would only take me down.

    We’re powerless. We can’t riot, because that would give him reason to declare some kind of marshall law or war time bullshit that would give him more time and more power.

    I am just trying to bide my time, focusing on my little world, and hope that when this is all over, he wouldn’t have scorched the Earth.

    I also meditate on his, and the whole of the GOP untimely and horrific passing from this world.

  54. wagonhag Avatar

    They’ve shown they can do anything they want for personal gain, openly with no recourse. We have been protesting but it’s not shown on TV or anywhere that’s censored

  55. Squirmeez Avatar

    Im trying to keep going. Whatever that looks like. It changes daily.

  56. Alienkid Avatar

    Because nobody pays attention to anything that they don’t think affects them personally.

  57. nikolateslasgf Avatar

    although i’m a foreigner in america all my american friends are upset and there have been many protests in the dmv area

  58. Master-File-9866 Avatar

    They are too busy trying to win a political dick waving contest about who is better to care about actually living life

  59. Capt-Crap1corn Avatar

    The ones that were for this didn’t think this far ahead and now they are stuck just like we all are.

  60. lilspaghettigal Avatar

    What are we supposed to do?

  61. lcrowso2 Avatar

    Because we’re all busy either working five jobs to support our family we haven’t seen in years or we’re homeless and doing fentanyl to escape reality.

  62. El0vution Avatar

    If everybody is calm, maybe the economy is calm?

  63. Smalldogmanifesto Avatar

    Simply put, most folks are either A. Vulnerable to propaganda, and/or B. Are too burnt out on the news and/or years of shrieking college kids prematurely crying “fascism” to be paying close attention anymore and/or C. have no idea how the economy works. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the GameStop/BlackRock fiasco over the last few years and who has seen the mask-off corruption in paraded all over the media is well aware of this.

    Either way, time to invest in gold!

  64. MeandJohnWoo Avatar

    There’s a difference between “old” poor and “new” poor. I’m old poor. Been there before so until this is over I’ll just sit here have my bowl of ice soup.

  65. WorstCPANA Avatar

    Honestly because for most people it’s not that bad. Life is normal for a lot of Americans, I absolutely agree there’s a concerning trend, and I expect massive protests if Trump actually reports us citizens to other countries.

  66. CanIGetANumber2 Avatar

    How can I protest when I have to work more to keep up with the increases?

  67. OscarDivine Avatar

    I have Lost the capacity to freak out any longer. I have been freaking out on and off repeatedly almost non-stop since 2020

  68. jthomas287 Avatar

    This is like, the 5th time? Maybe more, the economy has collapsed in my life. It just happens every few years now.

  69. knuckboy Avatar

    Theres been protests. More to come. You can add your voice in the meantime. Do something! Stop worrying and start acting! Call your Congressional representation to start with.

  70. Still_Apartment5024 Avatar

    Same reason we aren’t freaking out about the literal concentration camp Trump has outsourced to El Salvadore: Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.

  71. markergluecherry Avatar

    Things are happening, but they are deliberately and purposefully NOT being shared or broadcast

  72. SpecialExpert8946 Avatar

    Because for anyone over 35 this is like our 5th economic catastrophe that’s going to destroy the global markets. It’s old news to us. Another Y2K? Fuckin bring it. That’s kind of our mentality anymore. Plus very few of us actually have stonks or capital to invest so the market falling doesn’t hit us like it does the rich.

  73. jonesyshimtje Avatar

    There are protests daily here in DC. The media is complicit and not reporting it. Come join.

  74. Congregator Avatar

    Well, I’m going to give you the honest.

    As you’ve noticed there are people on here saying that people are in fact not calm, and yet others saying there’s nothing to worry about.

    First and foremost, most of these comments are stemming from places of political divide.

    This often times has to do with the media type being consumed. A pro Trump media source will celebrate the changes and the “up-coming” great economy. The “anti-Trump” media sources will tell of a more diabolical scenario.

    Without regard of Trump, if you live in a country that has some damages from Trumps tariffs, you’ll most likely get economic turmoil per news.

    If it is a country with less, you’ll probably have less concern.

    In this, since many people in the U.S. voted for Trump (many also didn’t), you’re not going to have a host of major media exploits that are pressing stories of fear, because the major media outlets, in part, make their income through participation.

    Standing against Trump can create a sort of problem for such and such company: many people will boycott.

    So the reality of the situation you’re asking about becomes more complicated by the fact that major networks are influenced by the presidency, and this will make more sense to American citizens, because these networks will ebb and flow in support per party power dynamic- there is a lot of money tied up in their enterprise.

    So, consider this: much of the journalistic information coming out is heavily influenced by the political powers that both influence you and others.

    The more unfortunate reality is that this muddies the waters when it comes to knowing what’s really happening.

    So you don’t hear a lot of outrage from the U.S.: and that’s because a lot of people vote for DT, a lot of people voted against him, but a lot of people in fact voted for him- and so much so that he won the election for president.

    This represents a “power dynamic”.

    Corporations like major media networks, are siphoning money per the power dynamics.

    They are in there business of making money, so the news you get from them are about making money- the news you get is about what influences you to make someone money

  75. yourname92 Avatar

    We are not. A lot of us are stuck working check to check. The rest are protesting but the news are not showing it.

  76. C1sko Avatar

    It’s not our first rodeo.

  77. mephisto_uranus Avatar

    We’re not calm. Only morons who drink the kool-aid are calm. They believe they are a part of the grand plan, but they are not.

  78. RManDelorean Avatar

    Because the US economy is already a runaway train wreck and its collapse is probably a necessary step to moving on from it currently is

  79. PureTemptation_ Avatar

    Because most of us are trying to survive day to day. We joke about eating the rich, cry during lunch break, then gone back to work.

  80. l_hop Avatar

    Because there have been bigger losses in recent history in terms of the market. And also “the sky is falling” people have been screaming about the sky falling for so long normal people just kind of tune them out and live in reality so they actually know if it’s falling.

  81. EatsOverTheSink Avatar

    They’re not feeling the effects yet. Wait for Q2 and Q3 earnings this year and consumer spending data to come through. Once they see how the tariffs are actually affecting things and the mass layoffs begin they’ll get it. It’ll be way too late by then, but they’ll get it.

  82. pudding7 Avatar

    I’m not calm. And I’m getting less calm by the day.

  83. Uranazzole Avatar

    I’ve never seen people protesting the stock market.

  84. Sea_Situation_2874 Avatar

    I guess a lot of people were already struggling before Trump took office so they don’t feel it as much or people are in denial or people are just bad with their finances 🤷🏻‍♀️

  85. Avbitten Avatar

    did you not see the huge nation wide protests last week about tarrifs?

  86. indaburgh Avatar

    Most are worrying about keeping their families fed, a roof over their head, while spending over 50% of their pre-tax income on housing and healthcare.

  87. ruby_hacks Avatar

    A large chunk of them don’t think anything bad is going to happen to them.

  88. Luckypenny4683 Avatar

    This kind of question keeps getting posted over and over, and it’s really getting annoying.

    Clearly, you’re not paying attention. There have been multiple protests. There’s another large scale protest scheduled for May 1. There are smaller protests and individual cities. There’s continual pushback.

    I’m not sure what else you expect. Just because you don’t see it on the 5 o’clock news doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

  89. romulusnr Avatar

    We’re not calm. We’re busy frantically trying to stay not homeless and broke. Aint nobody got time to skip a day’s pay for yelling at old fascists who ain’t listening.

  90. ninjabreath Avatar

    congress has already positioned their trades and portfolios long before the recent crash. they dont give a fuck about anyone else.

  91. dlc9779 Avatar

    Lol, because it’s been burning down for over a decade now! This didn’t just start. How about paying attention to something other than politics fir a change. I swear, it will make you smile.

  92. iqueefkief Avatar
  93. danathepaina Avatar

    Everyone I know is freaking the fuck out. People ARE protesting and calling their representatives. Other than that what can we do?

  94. GregorSamsaa Avatar

    For the same reason it got to this point.

    The average person doesn’t have that kind of time. They can’t even take PTO when they’re sick because they’re afraid of being fired or may not even have PTO and it would be leave without pay which they cannot afford. When they’re living hand to mouth, you can’t expect them to muster up any kind of energy to go out and protest for something that they think will affect little change.

    70M+ people voted for this.

  95. awkwardaznbabe Avatar

    Because people are too afraid or too apathetic. They might cite other reasons, but that’s what it boils down to. Not enough people are pissed enough yet. And it’s stupid because how can you be totally okay with 47 taking over? And I know this will get downvoted to hell because people will get defensive, but I don’t care. We need to have the passion we had when George Floyd died. People need to start getting that pissed.

  96. Harpuafivefiftyfive Avatar

    I’m not calm. Lol.

  97. Remydope Avatar

    Defeat. They either don’t know or don’t understand what they can change.

  98. checker280 Avatar

    Every Rachel Maddow show this year has 20 minutes devoted to all the protests that happened in the past few days.

    If you aren’t seeing the protests, change your news sources.

  99. blutigetranen Avatar

    There’s been loads and loads of protests, hundreds of thousands of people. No one is calm. It’s just not being televised.

    Where are you from?

  100. malik753 Avatar

    Who says I’m calm? I cried myself to sleep last night, and then I still didn’t get any sleep. I’m basically waiting for the revolution to come and dreading that I might have to be fighting against my own family members. I’m usually fairly stoic, but we are officially beyond what I can handle.

  101. forwardaboveallelse Avatar

    Explain to me what, exactly, I’m supposed to do about it. 

  102. nememess Avatar

    I’m protecting my mental health. I can’t go down the dark road of being terrified of life every single day. I won’t stick around. I’ll cross the bridges as they get here.

  103. JJHall_ID Avatar

    Lots of protests are happening all over the country. The news just isn’t giving them the attention they deserve.

  104. sammysfw Avatar

    We’re not calm; it’s incredibly stressful. There have been protests all over. That being said, the US is huge. In a smaller country, there’s only a few major cities, one of which is the capital. One big protest can easily shut the entire country down and force change. Here, 100000 people can go hold a sign on the mall in DC but it doesn’t really do anything. The government ignores it, unless they really don’t like what you’re saying, in which case they send out riot police. But they’re not going to say “wow people don’t like this, we need to change”. Maybe in the 1960’s, but in the 21st century they don’t care.

    It would take something like a nationwide general strike to force change here, which would take a considerable amount of cat hearding to pull off.

  105. NoAddress1465 Avatar

    Shock. Frozen.. not sure what to do?

  106. wth214 Avatar

    We’re not but what would panicking about it daily do? There are so many stresses everyone is already dealing with on the daily

  107. OminOus_PancakeS Avatar

    I imagine that people feel powerless when it’s you against the president of the United States and the American police and the American military.

  108. Dying4aCure Avatar

    Shock and disbelief.

  109. hermeigh Avatar

    If everyone collectively stopped going to work, buying things, and didn’t pay taxes.. shit would change overnight. I’m not saying the protests aren’t a good idea. They’re a great idea. But, they work slowly. So, when they go low, citizens need to go lower. Right into their wallets. People seem to gloss over the fact that the government works for the people. Not the other way around.

  110. zRustyShackleford Avatar

    It’s wreaking in the business world right now, and to be honest, many people are not motivated until it directly impacts their life. So quarterly earnings will come out very soon, if not already, they will make decisions based on that, then lay offs, or other hard business decisions, it takes time to filter down… Youbare seeing the big headlines now, and waves in the market, we just haven’t seen it yet, a lot of people have a wait and see attitude right now. They just Haven’t got to the “see” part.

  111. lewisae0 Avatar

    I mean there were protests! But I don’t know what we are expected to do?

  112. suaculpa Avatar

    Daddy T has told them all it’s gonna be ok eventually so they believe him in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

  113. Roggie77 Avatar

    Either I survive it or I don’t. I’m out of energy to care about it anymore.

  114. FishSandwiches Avatar

    It’s important to remember that in smaller countries, when everyone protests it’s easier for a lot of people to gather in one place, thus making the protest more impressive and effective. If a large country like the US has millions people protesting at the same time, but they are all scattered across the country, it’s not as impressive looking (i.e. newsworthy). Protests are happening, but it’s going to take more.

  115. PretendAirport Avatar

    The s—t hasn’t hit the fan yet. The clearest and undeniable economic markers are probably still about 1-2 months out, and while the gestapo moves are getting some attention, Trump is currently going after groups the average American doesn’t care about.

    The country is divided between the aware and the unaware. The unaware are the majority, which includes both Trump supporters and the “average” American. They think that things are going great and/or this is just “normal” fluttering as a new President takes power.

    You’re on Reddit, which means that by default you’re more aware than the average American.

    Half of Congress are complicit fascists or complicit cowards. The other half are the minority, of whom none were elected for their skill at anti-authoritarian political-street-fighting which the situation demands, and many are too old to learn.

    As for the aware folks, it’s been a retreat since Trump took office, and (to his credit? I guess?) his blitzkrieg attack on EVERYTHING simultaneously came as a shock to even the most pessimistic among us. But, there are protests, there’s growing noise, and the aforementioned s—t is about a month or so away from the fan.

  116. BookLuvr7 Avatar

    Did you miss the recent protests?

  117. menotyourenemy Avatar

    I’ll tell you why.  Because a lot of us can’t afford to take the time off.  My power company isn’t going to take “protesting high prices” as an excuse.