Worker Enslaved At SC Restaurant For 5 years

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

The fact that this wasn’t caught for five years and the relative lightness of the consequences levied (compared to those levied for other crimes) really does a lot to show you what kind of relationship there exists between the law and justice.

Namely, none.

[Galloism]

The fact that this wasn’t caught for five years and the relative lightness of the consequences levied (compared to those levied for other crimes) really does a lot to show you what kind of relationship there exists between the law and justice.

Namely, none.

You'll cry even harder when you realize that, of the $546,000, $162,000 or so is going to income tax, $7,917 to medicare, and $8,680 to social security. So that's about $178,600 in fed taxes, round number.

Plus whatever the state levies.

[Ebnious]

This is disgusting. Special needs people are not to be taken advantage of.
I once had a boss that treated my autistic older sister badly. He would get angry at her because she wasn't as fast as he wanted her to be and it was almost every single day she would get chastised by him because of that.
We kept going to his boss, the supervisor, and the supervisor kept talking with him over and over but THIS MAN wouldn't change. He still acted like a jerk to her.
One day my sister talked back to my boss ( I didn't blame her at all) and he sent her home. My sister almost never cries but that day she did. Thankfully my mom went full mama bear on him and yelled his ears off.
And thankfully he got transferred to a different place and we have a new boss. She's sweet and actually knows how to deal with special needs people.

[The Rich Port]

This is disgusting. Special needs people are not pieces of trash to be taken advantage of.
I once had a boss that treated my autistic older sister badly. He would get angry at her because she wasn't as fast as he wanted her to be and it was almost every single day she would get chastised by him because of that.
We kept going to his boss, the supervisor, and the supervisor kept talking with him over and over but THIS MAN wouldn't change. He still acted like a jerk to her.
One day my sister talked back to my boss ( I didn't blame her at all) and he sent her home. My sister almost never cries but that day she did. Thankfully my mom went full mama bear on him and yelled his ears off.
And thankfully he got transferred to a different place and we have a new boss. She's sweet and actually knows how to deal with special needs people.

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

[The Opinions Guy]

This is disgusting. Special needs people are not pieces of trash to be taken advantage of.
I once had a boss that treated my autistic older sister badly. He would get angry at her because she wasn't as fast as he wanted her to be and it was almost every single day she would get chastised by him because of that.
We kept going to his boss, the supervisor, and the supervisor kept talking with him over and over but THIS MAN wouldn't change. He still acted like a jerk to her.
One day my sister talked back to my boss ( I didn't blame her at all) and he sent her home. My sister almost never cries but that day she did. Thankfully my mom went full mama bear on him and yelled his ears off.
And thankfully he got transferred to a different place and we have a new boss. She's sweet and actually knows how to deal with special needs people.

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I... Hmm.

What do you think would change under communism? In a communist nation, disabled and mentally handicapped people would be in the same position as they are in a capitalist nation; they would be unable to work, which would make them "useless" in the eyes of the government and unworthy of aid. Their family would have to support them, just like in a capitalist society.

[Narland]

Worker enslaved at SC restaurant should get $546,000 from manager, court rules

CONWAY — A former Conway restaurant manager serving a 10-year prison sentence for forcing a man with intellectual disabilities to work more than 100 hours a week without pay owes the former employee double the amount in restitution — $546,000, a court ruled.

Bobby Paul Edwards was ordered to pay John Christopher Smith $273,000 in back pay as part of the sentencing in pleading guilty to a forced labor charge in 2019.

But the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that Smith should get the extra money because of federal labor rules that entitle him to double the pay and overtime he was owed. The final decision about how much to pay Smith was sent back to the district court.

Edwards, who is White, pleaded guilty for not paying Smith, who is Black, any wages from 2009 to 2014 while Edwards managed the J&J Cafeteria in Conway.

Years of abuse at the restaurant started in 2009 when Edwards started managing the restaurant where Smith had been a buffet cook, authorities said. Smith had worked there since he was 12.

Edwards stopped paying Smith, forced him to work seven days a week, and subjected him to racial epithets and threats, prosecutors said.

Authorities alleged Edwards also assaulted Smith to get him to work faster and punish him for mistakes. Prosecutors said Edwards beat Smith with a belt, punched him, hit him with pots and pans, and burned his neck with hot tongs.

Social workers caught wind of the abuse in 2014, and authorities arrested Edwards on a state charge of assault and battery.

At the time of his sentencing in November 2019, Edwards was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $273,000, representing unpaid wages and overtime computed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Federal prosecutors appealed the restitution decision, arguing Smith was owed more because of the delay in getting his pay under federal labor laws.

The appellate court agreed.

″(W)hen an employer fails to pay those amounts (regular and overtime pay), the employee suffers losses, which includes the loss of the use of that money during the period of delay,” the appeal ruling reads.

Emily Deck Harrill, Edward’s public defender, said she has not spoken to her client about an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This. This is utterly sickening.
A food service worker had been beaten, burned, abused, and forced to work without pay for 100 hour per week, for a period of FIVE YEARS.

How did this go on for so long? Why is this sort of thing even possible in the first place!?

The punishment is a bit light for forced involuntary servitude. Life imprisonment without parole or capital punishment for forced labor depending on the circumstances is more fitting. The pay due is, utterly arbitrary and may or may not be fitting to the circumstances (he probably deserves more -- I haven't read the court docs yet), but we (US Citizens) are stuck with the ill-fitting federal wage laws.

I am saddened that this happened for so long. My uncle was high functioning downs syndrome with a big heart. He was able to maintain a part time job with some supervision at a family run convenience store. He participated in Paralympics and loved Elvis and Elvis impersonators. He passed on recently at a very old age for his condition at 50 years.

Re: How did this go on for so long? My snarky reply is because it is South Carolina but that is unfair to the moral and law abiding citizens of SC. My short reply is because (in the case of the victim) he did not have someone close (a friend, relative, or neighbor) who cared enough about him to check up and make sure he wasn't being exploited.

Re: How is this possible in the first place? Again, my snarky reply, but the short answer is because (in the case of the perp) humans when given the opportunity prone to pettiness (treating others less than we would expect the same treatment for ourselves) and are more prone to get away and expand our our abuses of others. When we are not taught to consider others of equal worth and dignity as ourselves these abuses happen.

The ugly truth is that until recently this has been the norm for all of human history (and is the norm in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes today). The petty and cruel who are indifferent to the rights of others are all to happy to exploit others to their own benefit when in power and use the color of authority to do so. Thankfully we live in a country where it is both unlawful and illegal because of the concepts of classical liberalism.

[Drongonia]

Capitalism moment

[Ebnious]

This is disgusting. Special needs people are not pieces of trash to be taken advantage of.
I once had a boss that treated my autistic older sister badly. He would get angry at her because she wasn't as fast as he wanted her to be and it was almost every single day she would get chastised by him because of that.
We kept going to his boss, the supervisor, and the supervisor kept talking with him over and over but THIS MAN wouldn't change. He still acted like a jerk to her.
One day my sister talked back to my boss ( I didn't blame her at all) and he sent her home. My sister almost never cries but that day she did. Thankfully my mom went full mama bear on him and yelled his ears off.
And thankfully he got transferred to a different place and we have a new boss. She's sweet and actually knows how to deal with special needs people.

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I don’t blame capitalism, I blame awful bosses, ableists, and horrible people in general.
There are horrible people regardless what system there is. In any society across time, disabled people are always seen as a weak link, useless, or to be exploited. It isn’t “well this is why capitalism is bad” it is “oh, wow, humans can be effing evil”

[American Pere Housh]

Worker enslaved at SC restaurant should get $546,000 from manager, court rules

CONWAY — A former Conway restaurant manager serving a 10-year prison sentence for forcing a man with intellectual disabilities to work more than 100 hours a week without pay owes the former employee double the amount in restitution — $546,000, a court ruled.

Bobby Paul Edwards was ordered to pay John Christopher Smith $273,000 in back pay as part of the sentencing in pleading guilty to a forced labor charge in 2019.

But the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that Smith should get the extra money because of federal labor rules that entitle him to double the pay and overtime he was owed. The final decision about how much to pay Smith was sent back to the district court.

Edwards, who is White, pleaded guilty for not paying Smith, who is Black, any wages from 2009 to 2014 while Edwards managed the J&J Cafeteria in Conway.

Years of abuse at the restaurant started in 2009 when Edwards started managing the restaurant where Smith had been a buffet cook, authorities said. Smith had worked there since he was 12.

Edwards stopped paying Smith, forced him to work seven days a week, and subjected him to racial epithets and threats, prosecutors said.

Authorities alleged Edwards also assaulted Smith to get him to work faster and punish him for mistakes. Prosecutors said Edwards beat Smith with a belt, punched him, hit him with pots and pans, and burned his neck with hot tongs.

Social workers caught wind of the abuse in 2014, and authorities arrested Edwards on a state charge of assault and battery.

At the time of his sentencing in November 2019, Edwards was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $273,000, representing unpaid wages and overtime computed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Federal prosecutors appealed the restitution decision, arguing Smith was owed more because of the delay in getting his pay under federal labor laws.

The appellate court agreed.

″(W)hen an employer fails to pay those amounts (regular and overtime pay), the employee suffers losses, which includes the loss of the use of that money during the period of delay,” the appeal ruling reads.

Emily Deck Harrill, Edward’s public defender, said she has not spoken to her client about an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This. This is utterly sickening.
A food service worker had been beaten, burned, abused, and forced to work without pay for 100 hour per week, for a period of FIVE YEARS.

How did this go on for so long? Why is this sort of thing even possible in the first place!?

Edwards deserves the punishment he gets.

[The Rich Port]

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I don’t blame capitalism, I blame awful bosses, ableists, and horrible people in general.
There are horrible people regardless what system there is. In any society across time, disabled people are always seen as a weak link, useless, or to be exploited. It isn’t “well this is why capitalism is bad” it is “oh, wow, humans can be effing evil”

Which, yeah... They would be far less common if we abandoned hierarchical structures in our life, and especially so forcing people to work regardless of what they're good at or want to do with their lives. I really want to go back to college because I realized once I got into the work force that what I studied for didn't prepare me at all or inform me at all at what my work was going to be... But I can't, because student loans are usually only given to first time students and I'm still paying off the first loan. Yeah, my boss is terrible, the work is harsh, but I can't leave without going without money.

Our current system of assigning labor and education are absolutely broken. Especially so for your sister.

That awful, ableist boss... What exactly should we do about him then? Because his boss probably doesn't think firing or even disciplining him is necessary. Assholes in power like them are a little ableist, a little terrible sometimes, a little evil. Doesn't mean you should make a big stink about every time some snowflake makes a big stink about it! /sarcasm

[Grenartia]

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I... Hmm.

What do you think would change under communism? In a communist nation, disabled and mentally handicapped people would be in the same position as they are in a capitalist nation; they would be unable to work, which would make them "useless" in the eyes of the government and unworthy of aid. Their family would have to support them, just like in a capitalist society.

To be fair, the USSR and its puppets =/= communist, or even socialist.

As for the actual question of what would change? With a well-funded social safety net and UBI, the unable would not need to work (though they would certainly be able to pursue work if they felt they wanted to), and people with the traits that make them asshole managers would be identified by mental health workers from an early age, and be taught to manage those traits in a healthy way, and those that refuse would find it hard to stay in a worker-owned cooperative in the long term, but again, they would not need to work to live decently, and could go into solo work if they really hate the idea of not working.

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I don’t blame capitalism, I blame awful bosses, ableists, and horrible people in general.
There are horrible people regardless what system there is. In any society across time, disabled people are always seen as a weak link, useless, or to be exploited. It isn’t “well this is why capitalism is bad” it is “oh, wow, humans can be effing evil”

I mean, the kinds of attitudes you're complaining about are encouraged by the profit motive that is inherent to capitalism.

[The Rich Port]

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I... Hmm.

What do you think would change under communism? In a communist nation, disabled and mentally handicapped people would be in the same position as they are in a capitalist nation; they would be unable to work, which would make them "useless" in the eyes of the government and unworthy of aid. Their family would have to support them, just like in a capitalist society.

Well I'm a socialist, not a communist, so...

Workers should have more rights and more control over the jobs they get. Our financial regulation infrastructure is absolutely woeful, whether you're talking Health Inspectors, EPA agents, stock market and corporate watchdogs.

Some of the best jobs are in the federal government itself because, well, it's the law.

I would have legislation pass that says that wages also means you get a stake in a corporation in order to encourage cooperatives and maintain some financial safety nets besides gubernatorial ones. The major issue in capitalism is ridiculously massive accumulations of wealth. Nobody should have that much financial power. That's what democracy and republics are about. They're socialism-lite. A group of people or the whole nation decides how the money should be spent.

It really should not be left up to one person to decide how the hell they're going to spend... Who's the richest guy in the world right now?

Jeff fucking Bezos, gross. This man's company has been making money off of straight up theft of tips from drivers and abuse of workers. Why the fuck does he get to keep $177 billion? You're telling me he works or is more valuable to this country than... literally any other human being? Doctors? Firemen? Police officers? Soldiers? Construction workers? Literally anybody who's company isn't breaking the law in order to make a profit? The same employees whose work made his company that much money? And he has the fucking ignorant no-brain to ask how the hell he could spend $177 billion? On your WORKERS? On your COMPANY?

"But he's spending his money on things". He's spending his money on space cruises. Which is RIDICULOUSLY WASTEFUL. I can only imagine how much jet fuel, oil, metal, copper, wood, water, all finite resources and all of that shit is wasted because rich people want to go into space for 30 minutes? Let alone starting fucking space colonies. They can barely manage BEING ON EARTH, I'd hate to think what they'd be capable of doing and HOW MANY POOR PEOPLE THEY'RE GOING TO ABUSE trying to establish fucking space colonies. When do we cap wealth? When 1,000 human beings are left stranded on Mars because it turns out a space colony isn't a worthy investment? Are we even going to ARREST wealthy people anymore in order to preserve wealth? We're ALREADY doing that. Remember Jeffrey fucking Epstein and his private child rape island? You think he was the only guy in that? Pilots, stewardesses, servants, employees, his own fucking wife, they all knew.

Education needs massive overhauls in order to keep everyone competitive. Instead of spending billions keeping industries that don't make a profit afloat (like, for example, coal, which everyone keeps making a giant stink about even though... There's no more need for coal jobs. Coal jobs are drying up because coal has been almost completely replaced by other types of energy that are far cleaner and far more efficient) we should be re-educating workers and investing in the industries of the future.

Anything else, we start to become like China or Russia... Which, yeah, their economies are "healthier" than America's because they have massive gluts of lower middle class and working class poor that work low paying grunt work and generations of Chinese and Russian people work the same jobs their parents did because it's all they know. They're also not communist, despite what Vladimir Putin or Xi Jingping claim.

IMO, socialism is the future and it's inevitable... Or corporate fascism, whichever you prefer, I guess.

[Novostia]

IMO, socialism is the future and it's inevitable... Or corporate fascism, whichever you prefer, I guess.

Well No, Capitalism Does Not Seem To Go Away Any Time Soon, Accelerationism Is Bullshit, If You Accelerate Capitalism To Increase The Flaws Of Capitalism, Those Flaws Will Leave The Proletariat Too Weakened To Rebel Against Capitalism, Even If The Socialist Revolution Is Successful, How Is Distribution Gonna Be Enforced? Humans Are Naturally Greedy And Some People Will Want More Then They Need, Enforcing It By Force Will Create An Authoritarian Dictatorship And Not Enforcing It Will Lead To The Collapse Of The System, Capitalism Isn’t Perfect But its The Best System We Have So Far

[Page]

An inevitable consequence of capitalism, sadly.

It's why disabled and mentally ill people have been considered subhuman or excused away for so long. If you are not a profitable worker, you're inherently worth less to corporations because they can't milk as much money out of your labor.

It's harder for disabled and mentally handicapped or otherwise mentally ill people to get jobs as a result, even if they're educated while toxic assholes and exploitative managers can keep their jobs even after several incidents: they make money, they're skilled, and sometimes they're even industry leaders, ergo it's more profitable to figure out ways to keep them employed than to address the fact that they make the other workers around them miserable, either directly (an asshole manager who abuses you in order to get you to work harder) or indirectly (a worker who sabotages the work of others or is otherwise responsible for a hostile work environment).

I... Hmm.

What do you think would change under communism? In a communist nation, disabled and mentally handicapped people would be in the same position as they are in a capitalist nation; they would be unable to work, which would make them "useless" in the eyes of the government and unworthy of aid. Their family would have to support them, just like in a capitalist society.

"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need." That is a foundational principle of communism.

Treating people as state resources and denying them what they need to live if they can't contribute labor, that isn't communism, that is state capitalism.

[Grenartia]

I... Hmm.

What do you think would change under communism? In a communist nation, disabled and mentally handicapped people would be in the same position as they are in a capitalist nation; they would be unable to work, which would make them "useless" in the eyes of the government and unworthy of aid. Their family would have to support them, just like in a capitalist society.

Well I'm a socialist, not a communist, so...

Workers should have more rights and more control over the jobs they get. Our financial regulation infrastructure is absolutely woeful, whether you're talking Health Inspectors, EPA agents, stock market and corporate watchdogs.

Some of the best jobs are in the federal government itself because, well, it's the law.

I would have legislation pass that says that wages also means you get a stake in a corporation in order to encourage cooperatives and maintain some financial safety nets besides gubernatorial ones. The major issue in capitalism is ridiculously massive accumulations of wealth. Nobody should have that much financial power. That's what democracy and republics are about. They're socialism-lite. A group of people or the whole nation decides how the money should be spent.

It really should not be left up to one person to decide how the hell they're going to spend... Who's the richest guy in the world right now?

Jeff fucking Bezos, gross. This man's company has been making money off of straight up theft of tips from drivers and abuse of workers. Why the fuck does he get to keep $177 billion? You're telling me he works or is more valuable to this country than... literally any other human being? Doctors? Firemen? Police officers? Soldiers? Construction workers? Literally anybody who's company isn't breaking the law in order to make a profit? The same employees whose work made his company that much money? And he has the fucking ignorant no-brain to ask how the hell he could spend $177 billion? On your WORKERS? On your COMPANY?

"But he's spending his money on things". He's spending his money on space cruises. Which is RIDICULOUSLY WASTEFUL. I can only imagine how much jet fuel, oil, metal, copper, wood, water, all finite resources and all of that shit is wasted because rich people want to go into space for 30 minutes? Let alone starting fucking space colonies. They can barely manage BEING ON EARTH, I'd hate to think what they'd be capable of doing and HOW MANY POOR PEOPLE THEY'RE GOING TO ABUSE trying to establish fucking space colonies. When do we cap wealth? When 1,000 human beings are left stranded on Mars because it turns out a space colony isn't a worthy investment? Are we even going to ARREST wealthy people anymore in order to preserve wealth? We're ALREADY doing that. Remember Jeffrey fucking Epstein and his private child rape island? You think he was the only guy in that? Pilots, stewardesses, servants, employees, his own fucking wife, they all knew.

Education needs massive overhauls in order to keep everyone competitive. Instead of spending billions keeping industries that don't make a profit afloat (like, for example, coal, which everyone keeps making a giant stink about even though... There's no more need for coal jobs. Coal jobs are drying up because coal has been almost completely replaced by other types of energy that are far cleaner and far more efficient) we should be re-educating workers and investing in the industries of the future.

Anything else, we start to become like China or Russia... Which, yeah, their economies are "healthier" than America's because they have massive gluts of lower middle class and working class poor that work low paying grunt work and generations of Chinese and Russian people work the same jobs their parents did because it's all they know. They're also not communist, despite what Vladimir Putin or Xi Jingping claim.

IMO, socialism is the future and it's inevitable... Or corporate fascism, whichever you prefer, I guess.

While I fundamentally agree with literally everything else, space travel is a worthy investment. But not as the Billionaires' Playground. Space colonization is absolutely necessary to ensure the survival of the species at a quality of life meeting or exceeding that found in most 1st world countries. And I'm not talking about that standard of living being some lofty, pie-in-the-sky goal that only those who win a birth lottery should be entitled to. I'm talking about it being the bare minimum for all humans, everywhere. The only alternative standard of living in the long-term is 3rd world or worse, via ecofascism.

But I digress. Humanity must leave the cradle, or die in it. Which is not to say "fuck the environment". We can, after all, do space colonies while preserving (and perhaps even restoring) the environment, as well as replicating it wherever we go.