From a capitalist perspective it’s ideal if your workers are on the verge of poverty, living paycheck to paycheck. That’s exactly where you want them.

People in that situation won’t complain. Won’t stand up for themselves or their rights. Will take poor treatment and deal with it. Will work in unethical or even illegal ways and keep quiet because they have no choice.

Even better if you can tie people’s health insurance to their job, then you’ve really got them by the balls.

I've got a pretty decent job, and earn pretty good money. But I'm the only earner in a family of four and no, we haven't made all the best financial decisions at times.

What you have described is exactly where we live, and while there isn't that much I want to stand up to at work in the first place, 100% I don't make any waves that don't have a basis in the hard facts of my job, and for this very reason. I'd like to go in an ask for a merit based raise, I'd like to fight harder for more people to be hired in our (spread very thin) department, and there are a few other things I'd like to at least ask for and feel OK about standing firm on.

But I don't, because I don't want to jeopardize what I've got.