In this monologue, TJ Walker argues that American workers are receiving the smallest share of national income on record—just 52.9% of output in Q2 2026—while corporate profits soar past $4.8 trillion. He contends that culture‑war politics (immigrants, transgender issues, etc.) serve as a vivid distraction from the underlying economic inequality caused by declining labor share, weakened unions, globalization, automation, and policy choices. Walker then critiques the anti‑science mindset that treats the insect repellent DEET as a health threat, illustrating how confirmation bias leads educated people to reject established scientific consensus. He shifts to a political anecdote about Donald Trump and Michael Cohen reuniting, describing it as a loyalty‑driven, self‑serving partnership that ignores prior testimony and legal consequences. Throughout, Walker intersperses personal‑development advice, promoting his Ultimize platform with free courses on communication and habit building as a remedy for workers seeking to improve their marketability. The piece blends economic analysis, cultural commentary, scientific skepticism, political observation, and promotional messaging, all delivered in a sarcastic, conversational tone.
Chapters
Ultimize. Congratulations, American workers! You're now receiving the smallest slice of the economic pie since the government began measuring it in 1947. But before you complain, remember, pie is fattening. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers received just 52.9% of the nation's economic output during the second quarter of 2026. Now, that doesn't mean your paycheck was cut in half. It means that as the economy produces more wealth, less of it is going to workers and more is going to corporate profits and the owners of capital, thank you very much. Corporate profits recently reached an annualized record of more than $4.8 trillion. So, this economy is working beautifully, just not necessarily for anyone who works. But workers shouldn't be ungrateful. It's true, you can't afford a mortgage. But between 2017 and 2021, you didn't have to hear Hillary Clinton laugh from the White House. Try putting that into Zillow. Annual income: $48,000. Down payment: I never had to call her Madam President. Congratulations, you qualify for a studio apartment inside a Dollar General. It's true that childcare costs so much you couldn't afford to have a second child. But the child you couldn't afford will never have to play softball against a transgender athlete. That is peace of mind. Not the kind accepted by a bank, grocery store, hospital, or retirement community, but peace of mind. And it's true that the only inheritance you may leave your children is a shoebox filled with IOUs. But at least none of those IOUs says happy holidays. They say Merry Christmas. Worthless financially, priceless culturally. This is the great political bargain of the last 40 years. Workers received less money, less bargaining power, less job security, and less affordable housing. But politicians gave them something even more valuable: a rotating collection of people to be furious at. Immigrants, college professors, drag queens, transgender teenagers, women who don't smile enough, M&M characters who don't dress sexy enough. Every year there's a new emergency, and somehow the emergency is never that the people doing the work are receiving the smallest share of the economy ever recorded. Culture war victories are the company pizza party of American politics. Management keeps the money. You get one cold slice and permission to be angry about pronouns. And I understand why the culture issues work. They're vivid. They're emotional. You can show a frightening video clip. You could point to a person and say, that person is changing your country. It's much harder to show someone the percentages of national income quietly migrating away from their paycheck. Nobody sees labor share disappearing. There's no surveillance footage of corporate profits sneaking out of Walmart with your raise under their jacket. The robbery happens inside a spreadsheet. The economy becomes more productive, companies make more money, the stock market rises, and workers are told wonderful news: your employer is thriving. It's like your surgeon walking into the recovery room saying, The operation was incredibly successful. I feel fantastic. Real weekly earnings were essentially flat during the first half of this year. Meanwhile, productivity increased. That should be good news. Greater productivity means we can produce more with less effort. In theory, workers should earn more, work fewer hours, or enjoy lower prices. Instead, many workers received a 4th option: An email congratulating them on helping the company achieve record results. The email was sent at 11:47 Friday night. This didn't begin with artificial intelligence. Labor's share has been declining for decades because of weaker unions, globalization, automation, corporate consolidation, and policies— yes, public policies— that reduce workers' bargaining power. But if artificial intelligence could accelerate it, a company may soon be able to double its output without doubling its workforce. The executive gets a bonus. The shareholder gets a dividend. The worker gets a seminar called Remaining Resilient During Organizational Transformation. Attendance is mandatory. Lunch is not provided. Republican politicians have been remarkably effective at convincing working people that liberals are the elite enemy. And some liberals helped by speaking about ordinary Americans as though they were anthropologists encountering a newly discovered tribe. Fascinating, the diner waitress appears to enjoy country music. But whatever cultural mistakes liberals have made, the economic question remains brutally simple. Who gets the money? Not who won the argument on cable television. Not who forced a corporation to change a beer can. Not who made the other side furious for 11 minutes on Twitter. But who gets the money? If your paycheck buys less, your rent consumes more, your insurance doubles, and retirement keeps moving farther away, you did not win. You were emotionally compensated. And unfortunately, Kroger does not accept emotional compensation. I tried. They asked if I had cash, credit, or Apple Pay. I said, well, I helped stop critical race theory. They called security. So here's my personal development advice for American workers. The next time a politician tells you that some powerless stranger is destroying your life, ask one empowering question. Wonderful, but who got my raise? If the answer is another culture war speech, that's not a solution. That's wage theft with a soundtrack. Would you like to be the sort of successful person who is dominating news, at least in your industry? Well, if so, it's time to up your skills. At ultimize.com, I've created online courses to help you do that. Now, here's the thing. No obligation. You can get a free course on communication skills, a free course on how to build better habits. All you have to do is go to ultimize.com. That's ultimize.com. No obligation. Go there now. Okay. Some people proudly follow the science right up until the science smells like bug spray, DEET. Has been used by billions of people over nearly 70 years. The Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly reviewed it and says normal use according to the label does not— I repeat, does not— present an identified health concern to the general population, including children. And yet I know intelligent, educated people who treat one spray of DEET like you've booked a non-refundable room into the cancer ward. These are people who spent years telling vaccine skeptics, trust the evidence. Then they see DEET on a label and become anti-vaxxers with reusable shopping bags. Suddenly it's, I don't put chemicals on my body. Really? What do you put on your body? Moonlight? Everything is chemicals. Water is a chemical. Oxygen is a chemical. Your expensive all-natural lavender lotion is chemicals wearing a sundress. Their belief usually begins with a perfectly reasonable observation: some corporations have lied. Some chemical companies have concealed dangers. Therefore, every synthetic chemical must be dangerous. Sorry, that's not science. That's a Netflix documentary searching for an ending. Chemical companies have created dangerous products. They've also made antibiotics, anesthesia, insulin, and polio vaccines. Corporations sometimes do terrible things is true. Therefore, mosquitoes are practicing holistic medicine is less established. DEET can irritate your skin or eyes. You shouldn't drink it, inhale it, spray it into your mouth, or bathe a toddler in it. This is why the label says use as directed. People hear that and think the company is hiding something. No, they're hiding nothing. They're asking you not to eat the insect repellent. DEET can also damage certain plastics, watch crystals, synthetic fabrics, and painted surfaces. Sounds terrifying. Nail polish remover can damage furniture. Nobody finishes a manicure and calls an oncologist about their fingers. I once sprayed DEET on my wrist and immediately lost all sensation. From mosquito bites. That's what it was supposed to do. Meanwhile, mosquitoes and ticks spread Lyme disease, West Nile virus, malaria, and Zika. Those are not corporate narratives. Those are real diseases. And the mosquito does not care that your alternative bug spray was handcrafted by a woman named Willow during a full moon. If you prefer lavender because it smells better, feels better, and doesn't attack your sunglasses, terrific. That is a rational consumer preference. But I dislike this product is not the same statement as science proves this product will kill me. This is what confirmation bias looks like. When evidence supports our worldview, we call it science. When it contradicts our worldview, we call it industry-funded propaganda. And keep scrolling until we find a yoga instructor who agrees with us. The next time someone scolds you for using DEET, pull out your phone. Ask an AI tool to identify the strongest current scientific evidence about DEET. Then check the actual EPA review and underlying sources. And make your friend listen. Don't summarize it. The person wanted natural protection. Now they're getting 38 minutes of organic peer review. Here's today's affirmation: I follow the evidence wherever it leads. I'm not frightened by unfamiliar syllables. And today, the mosquito is the one entering a hostile chemical environment. Okay, Donald Trump and Michael Cohen are back together again. Finally, A Hallmark reunion movie for people under federal investigation. Michael Cohen was Trump's lawyer and fixer for years. He once said he would take a bullet for Trump. Then he pleaded guilty to federal crimes, went to prison, testified against Trump, wrote books attacking Trump, and helped prosecutors convict Trump on 34 felony counts. Now Cohen is calling him boss again. That's not a relationship. That's a loyalty program with no expiration date. During their friendly radio interview recently, Trump praised Cohen for supposedly recanting everything he'd ever said. There's one small problem. Cohen has not recanted everything nasty he said about Trump. Cohen has claimed that prosecutors pressured and coerced him. He has criticized the way they built their cases. But he's not withdrawn the core testimony he gave under oath about Trump. Cohen didn't recant his testimony. He recanted his career strategy. This is a man who testified before Congress that Trump was a racist, a con man, and a cheat. He described Trump in his book as an organized crime don and a master manipulator. And now he's essentially saying, He's the sleaziest, shadiest, most manipulative criminal I ever worked for. And is he hiring? Michael Cohen is the son Donald Trump always wanted— loyal, aggressive, legally vulnerable, and eventually willing to come home and say, Dad, about that pardon. Because Cohen has resubmitted an application asking Trump for a presidential pardon. What a coincidence. I also reconcile with everyone who has complete legal authority to erase my federal conviction. That's one of my core spiritual practices. Cohen says this is about forgiveness. Oh, and I believe him. He has forgiven Trump. Trump has forgiven Cohen. And both men are hoping the legal system will forgive everybody. This isn't reconciliation. It's 2 men reopening a business because neither one enjoyed working independently. Trump says Cohen recanted. Cohen lets Trump say it. Cohen wants a pardon. Trump enjoys having a former enemy return, bow down, and call him boss once again. Everyone receives something except the truth. The truth is still waiting in the lobby because it forgot to bring a gift. So here is today's relationship affirmation: I release the anger of yesterday. I embrace the opportunities of tomorrow. And I FedEx my pardon application with tracking. I'm TJ Walker. Thanks for joining me. Ultimize.
