That's why I said functionally. Like yeah I know I'm nowhere near enduring what actual historic slaves did.

I'm simply breaking it down to "forced to work without consent" and you could argue that I have the ability to not consent and therefore not work.

But wouldn't ya know it food water and housing all cost money! And wouldn't ya know it the people that sell these things are the same people that sign my paychecks!

I have to work for the money just so I can give that money right back to my employer. When slavery was first abolished in America slave owners created sharecropping. Where you're still functionally a slave but technically you're not you just have to keep working in order to afford enough money to pay for the "housing" they provide. You have to eat but they deduct every bite taken out of your pay.

This is what is happening to a large number of people in modern day America the only difference is you have the illusion of choice between employers. Even though most of those employers will do practice the exact same policies.

This is all coming from someone who's poor af who lives paycheck to paycheck because prices keep going up while my wage stays the same causing me to not have any real life outside of work because I can't afford more than 2 days off a week.

I am functionally a slave. I'm a well treated slave but still a slave.