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Three Steps Every American Can Take to Support The 99%

By: Sarah JonesOct. 24th, 2011more from Sarah Jones

We the Corporations

Nov 5 is the day I will make my move from Bank of America.

Nov 5 is the day we the people move our money out of big banks. This is no small feat, and it’s not intended to be a threat. It must be done. It’s time to put our money where our mouths are, no matter how inconvenient it is.

Would you be willing to give up Internet banking if you had to? Would you be willing to give up direct deposit or a bank you can access in Europe? What if we just had to plan a little bit more, but in return we would be treated like human beings? What if we got off of our Bushian consumer-culture behinds and took a good look at where we put our money and really made the decision: NO MORE.

No more buying Koch brother toilet paper by mistake. No more staying with Bank of America because I’m too busy to move my money. No more buying things for the house at “if retailers don’t donate to Republicans they should to be shot” Home Depot (whom you can thank for their generous donations to the Republican House) just because they have everything and it’s easier and slightly cheaper. After all, is it really cheaper?

And to you Wal-Mart shoppers, I know how hard it is when you live in a small town (please city dwellers, you have no idea how limited the shopping experience can be once Wal-Mart moves in, so spare the judgments), but would you be willing to give up most Wal-Mart purchases in return for our democracy and your economic liberty? Yes, it sucks because Wal-Mart is convenient and cheap and not many of us are rolling in money these days. But what if this were the way we fought a revolution?

Would you be willing to stand up for your country and say no more?

Say no more to big banks that treat you like crap. Say no more to funding the enemy because their store is stocked with everything and will save you five dollars. Stop funding the Koch brothers war on liberty just because you forgot which paper towel is safe to buy (Cottonelle® and Scott® are not Koch). Move your money on Nov 5.

Bank of America serves as a perfect example of how many corporate entities have become an enemy to economic freedom, between their well documented treatment of people whose homes are being foreclosed on (foreclosing on the wrong home, foreclosing on a home it does not have a loan on etc), their computer “failures” leading to losses of transactions that they then blame on the consumer, and their general lack of accountability.

Bank of America does not succeed based on the demand for their product. They succeed because they bought up subsidiaries with our money, made very profitable “mistakes” and used our money when the down side of risk came calling. They succeed because they are so big (especially after the 2008 merger with Merrill Lynch) and hold so much power both over our economy and over our politicians that they call the shots.

Bank of America’s business model is nothing to be proud of – that is, if one is a true free market conservative. They’ve only succeeded because they were “chosen” by the government to succeed. When you’re allowed to operate as if you were a monopoly and you have the taxpayers funding your mistakes while the government holds your hands, rolling out few billion dollars of bailout red carpet for you, you don’t need to show care for the customers. The customers become the marks of the Big Con. When Bank of America makes a mistake, we pay. They run their business as if it were a royal establishment that cannot be taken down.

But this only works as long as we are too tired, too over-worked, too stressed out to deal with putting our money where our mouths are. The one secret they don’t want us to know is that we really and truly do have the power. It’s OUR money they need.

We have the one thing that drives big business – our needs and our desires. We allow them to tell us what we want and need. They set the frame for the discussion through ads, product placements and clever marketing.

It is time to put our money where our mouths are.

If we want our democracy back, we have to be a part of the movement. We might not be able to be in the streets, but those of us who still want to do our part can do so by speaking with our money. A few ideas are to buy locally at mom and pops when you can (go to your local hardware store and enjoy being reminded what customer service was like) instead of big box stores and keep the list of the Koch Brothers products saved on your phone as a “do not buy” (will someone make an app for that?). When you stop for gas, avoid the Koch empire’s Chevron, Union, Union76 and Conoco. And take your money out of that big bank.

Money talks, bullsh*t walks. Let your money talk for you. You might only have x amount, but put together with all of your friends and neighbors and family, suddenly you matter. Suddenly you have a voice. Suddenly you are making a statement.

You want to be a part of Occupy but you can’t get off of work, have a family, or other obligations? Move your money. Talk with your money. We don’t need half the crap they sell as a need. True power comes from economic freedom and we must be willing to go to the mat for our power. We must rip it out of their hands the only way we can, which is to stop handing it over to them every time we buy something.

Would you hand the Koch Brothers your paycheck every week knowing that they were spending it to destroy you? That’s what we’re doing right now. That is our mistake and something we have full control over. And while most of the politically aware try to be careful, the time has come to go out of our way to ensure that we are not funding the enemy of democracy and the enemy of our own economic freedom.

Reward those who treat their employees well, their customers well, and pay their fair share of taxes. While it’s true that no corporation is perfect, it’s a matter of degree of threat to our freedom at this point. Collectively, those of us who can’t be at an Occupy movement but want to support the cause, can do so on November 5th by moving our money out of the big banks.

And we can keep on showing our support, our insistence on economic liberty, by taking a few minutes to think before we buy something. Take a stand, America. Enough. Show them we are united in this cause and we demand to be treated as citizens of a democracy, we demand the opportunity to make a living wage and we will fight with every penny in our wallets.

The revolution has come and you can fight it with your wallet even if you can’t get to an Occupy event. Say no more to corporate entities who seek to destroy our hard fought for democracy. Today, you can do three things to support the 99% and be a warrior for economic freedom: Move your money out of a big bad bank, stop shopping at big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot and stop buying Koch Brothers products.

You own your money, you own your purchases, and you own your destiny. Through your wallet, you can own a part of the revolution.


Please feel free to leave in the comments links re where to shop/not shop, suggestions for alternatives, etc. And in the rare case of those who are fortunate enough to be buying a new home in this buyer’s market or remodeling, you can insist that no Koch brothers Invista products be added to the home via carpets, etc. If you’re building a new home, you have even wider control over getting the Koch out via their Georgia Pacific brand.

Image: Jak’s View of Vancouver

Three Steps Every American Can Take to Support The 99% was written by Sarah Jones for PoliticusUSA.
© PoliticusUSA, Oct. 24th, 2011. All Rights Reserved

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