need ways to take personal action against "the system"

[ButterflyBreath]

Not sure if this is the forum for this. BUT, what I need help with is LEGAL ways individuals can do things that will make corporate america sit up and listen to the 99%. I found a great one: http://youtu.be/ZgkSiyIUz_w

another one...
Make slips of paper that convey ideals we want to spread, go to big box bookstores and discretely place them in pages of books. This will get the word out to the general public. The slips of paper (smaller than the book so they don’t stick out) can say move your money and list the websites where you can find reputable local financial institutions, could say buy local or invest local, could list local bookstores, or something inspiring so that people get involved. Is this illegal?!


this is a great one but i'm pretty sure it's illegal:
Make stickers that say something like "you can buy this for 1/4 the price at a thrift store," go to retail clothing stores and sticking them on the tags.


SO WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO YOU HAVE TO "COMBAT" THOSE WHO ARE RUINING OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS?

[bae]

SO WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO YOU HAVE TO "COMBAT" THOSE WHO ARE RUINING OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS?

Don't do business with them. Withdraw your labor and capital from their clutches. Engage in commerce with like-minded individuals. Vote out politicians who transfer public funds, lands, and resources to The Bad Guys.

[mrsflib]

Don't do business with them. Withdraw your labor and capital from their clutches. Engage in commerce with like-minded individuals. Vote out politicians who transfer public funds, lands, and resources to The Bad Guys.

Yup! Also, write 'letter to the editor' pieces in local newspapers.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I think that junk mail idea is pretty hmm what is a nice way of putting it: lame. So who opens the mail? Some mail clerk with some rather awful job probably. Probably NOT EVEN an employee of a bank or credit card company. Businesses do outsource business services to other companies that specialize in such. You could research who actually processes these, I don't actually know, but if I was some bank bigwig it would seem the type of thing I'd considering outsourcing, it has little to do with the core business etc.. Plus now fuel is wasted shipping chips of wood back and forth across the country or something I mean not the worst waste of fuel out there but ... quite a ridiculous one!

The slips of paper is kind of cool.

I don't know the usual things: bank at credit unions, shop at farmers markets when you can, build community (I really don't expect anyone to be 100% on this stuff because I'm not, if you buy groceries at the store it's not some horrendous unpardonable sin, it's just life. It is merely that other alternatives help so support them when it makes sense)).

Maybe something one could do to take action against the system is worry a little less about what is and is not legal Just don't get caught, and do worry about what is moral of course.

I do like this topic a lot (even if I don't think wood slabs in the mail is so great). So I'll be back if I think of other things.

[sweetana3]

Figure out just who you are mad at. Most, if not all, pension funds invest in corporate stock and bonds. 401Ks are usually invested in corporate stock/bonds. The company that makes your PC or Mac is a corporate entity. Your doctor/dentist is most likely set up as a corporation. Every grocery store you buy from (except from some stalls at a farmers market) are corporate entitities. I could go on and on.

Just who is the "corporate america" you are fighting with? How many are based in other countries?

[flowerseverywhere]

The "system", ie corporate America has done a great job of convincing us that all of these holidays mean presents, cards, eating to excess and going into debt.

Host Thanksgiving at your house and serve a simple meal and advise everyone you are going to give the extra money you would have spent to a local food bank.

Don't celebrate Christmas or do it very simply. Same for Halloween, Easter, Valentines day. Put the true meaning of the holidays back in focus. Advise others what you are doing and why.

Another is to drive as little as possible. Walk, bike ride, car pool, stay home.

Don't pay interest on anything, or as little as possible. We haven't paid interest in years, and bank at our local credit union. Cars are what we can afford with cash and we save up for appliances etc.

Don't eat at big chain restaurants that make everything offsite and just reheat frozen stuff locally. Instead if you decide to eat out go to a locally owned restaurant where someone is cooking in the back and local people are employed. Better yet, invite friends over and make a locally produced meal.

Buy American. You can't find a set of dishes made in the US at walmart. But you can probably find a local potter that will sell you some plates, cups and bowls. Instead of buying a cheap comforter from China make a simple one yourself or find a quilter to make you one. Way more expensive but money will go to a local person. Buy farm raised beef and vegetables from local farmers markets instead of stuff shipped around the world that was made to withstand shipping, is doused with chemicals and hormones and does not nourish you or taste good. Your table and house won't look like most people you know but it won't be filled with junk.

Being a good example is the best start. I don't think you have to risk being charged with an illegal act to make a huge difference in this world.

And I think we are ruining our financial system. Taking on more debt than we should and then defaulting, buying things made with slave labor in other countries, because we don't want to pay for quality produced goods made by people that are working in safe conditions. I went for a prescription today and walked the aisles of the pharmacy, filled to the gills with worthless junk. As I drove by the big box stores people were coming out with big bags of junk. I want to yell "STOP IT"
We have allowed the banks to treat us like we do. So many people pay a ton of interest and all kinds of fees to banks because they think they have to. They take out tons of student loans. You don't have to do this. And if you do have to borrow money for a good reason such as buying a house, then do it. But pay it off as quickly as you can.

[RosieTR]

Changing society is done the way it has always been done. Talking and opening up personally. Asking someone his or her opinion, finding ways to agree. Flowerseverywhere's suggestions were good, but way more effective when done as something open rather than something militant. 10 people standing outside a Bank of America branch protesting may elicit a little interest or something, but if those 10 people talked instead to 2 friends each about how much they liked their credit union, and offered to email them a list of steps on how to switch to a credit union (and what local credit unions were available), and asked them about what they liked or not about their banks, many more people would actually switch. Those sorts of techniques affect real change in the long run. Get your friends to visit the farmer's market by organizing a breakfast there. Give people coupons to say you'd prefer they donate money in your name than give you a Christmas present. Etc. Especially with people you either don't know that well or you suspect may not be all on the same page as you are, but again the key is sharing rather than pushing.

[ButterflyBreath]

Thanks for the replies. I am fully aware of the things we can do given time, but I guess what I am looking for are small things. I am making a list and at the very top is the concept of using your money as a way of voting. Yes, shop local, withdraw from large financial institutions, use farmers market etc. These are all good ideas and I think I'll list these ideas, but I want to have a quick and easy list with things like using the envelope to send messages back to these business we don't want to have so much power, and then also will list forming co-ops and alternative transportation, etc. An easy quick list, and a list for things that take a little more time and effort.

I am not against corporations. I am only against them when they have too much power and it gets out of hand like it has. Things are out of balance.

[ButterflyBreath]

I think the biggest thing we can do is watch where we spend our money. Maybe I will make a list of local businesses here in Winston-Salem and share it with others.

[ButterflyBreath]

I opened a Wachovia acct when I moved here in May, then recently (a month ago?) it became Wells Fargo. If I had heard of the Move Your Money before hand I would have already been switched by now, but I only heard of it a couple of weeks ago... not enough time to research credit unions, apply, order checks, change direct deposit, close WF account. The good news is that I am in the process of doing it. Who cares about the deadline as long as it gets done.