Who do you work for, actually?

When we work, we create value. Well, most of us anyway. Others just create wind, but that's another problem. Of this value, part goes directly into the pockets of your employer, it's the famous surplus value alienated by the bosses according to Marxist theories. I say this without any value judgment, precisely: it is normal that the owner of the capital, who takes the risks by investing in a company, reaps benefits. It's the same for the shareholder who receives dividends.

What is less normal is the distribution between the added value taken by certain bosses and the remuneration that is granted to their employees. And this is all the more true if we look at the increases in salaries of senior executives over the last ten years compared to those of the masses, which have almost stagnated. We could also take into account the spectacular increase in dividends of certain multinationals. However, capitalists are not the only ones exploiting you. When your boss has taken his margin, he must pay social security contributions on your salary that go directly to the State. Just like your boss, you too are liable for social security contributions that are directly taken from your gross income.

The state doesn't stop there. Not content with having eaten a part of the income from your hard work before it even reaches your bank account, it still taxes you with an income tax. Not to mention that when you can finally spend the modest fruit of your labor, you still have to pay VAT.

Surprisingly, the political parties are divided between a right-wing vision that defends the surplus value of the bosses and the left-wing parties, which are supposed to defend the worker, but which in fact defend the share of your work income taken by the State. No one is defending your hard-earned piece of the pie.

If we further subtract all the expenses that are necessary to acquire your income, such as transportation, food and work clothes, in the end the portion of your salary that you actually need to live on is only between 30% and 50% of your gross salary. This ratio is even lower when compared to the value actually created by your work.

This means not only that you are being legally ripped off, we already knew that, but above all that you work uselessly most of the time. They say you don't get rich by working and now we understand better why. In comparison, the income of a rentier, which come from its capital

• are not alienated by the bosses (they are the owners)
• are less taxed by the State (there are no payroll taxes)
• are generally significantly less demanding in terms of income acquisition costs (management can mainly be done from home).

So who do you work for, actually?