Forum Post: If EVERYONE takes this ONE stance, we win.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 15, 2011, 6:43 a.m. EST by BobS
(58)
from Douglas, GA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
One galvanized message should be the stance of Occupy Wall Street.
It's plain and simple. When everyone realizes that human behavior drives economics that we have a lot more power than you think.
The message is simple. We will start boycotting EVERY company who is showing enormous profits and not re-investing those profits into creating jobs. We will boycott EVERY bank who is not lending money for mortgages and job expansion.
And instead of just saying it, we do it and hold to our guns, we literally can take down these greedy 1% who think they have us by the balls.
Remember, there are a lot more of us in numbers then there are of them.
When WE THE PEOPLE stand up and take a stance and start boycotting these companies and banks, THEY WILL LISTEN!
REMEMBER... Action speaks louder than words!
Here's my dream:
Today Congress we are here to start the wheels of governing turning in a different direction. It’s pretty obvious to me and the American people that our voice has been lost in the rambling of lobbyist's hard cash throughout the Halls of Justice.
So we are here to take back our government and restore its fundamental principals to the American people. That this government is for the people, and by the people, and not by the rich anymore.
Here’s how we plan on accomplishing this. First, ladies and gentlemen of the US Congress, we are setting up a nationwide interactive website devoted to understanding (if possible) why you vote on a particular issue, and if that vote benefits the American people the most, or one of your campaign contributors? After every vote in Congress, the American people can now see what you are thinking, or not. How? These results will be broadcasted nightly on all of the major networks and on the web.
Secondly, to maintain an even playing filed, we will next enact campaign contribution limits on a maximum of $100 for any person or corporation or so forth; so hopefully now we have an even playing field, which now the lawmaker will hopefully pick what’s right for the American people, verse big business!
Next, it gets better, we are introducing a bill that would require all lawmakers to take a lie detector test if they are asked why they voted on a particular bill.
I’m sorry to say Congress that it has come down to this, but when you deal with children, sometimes you are forced to act according.
Thanks you for your time.
Cohesive Action:
Let's take it from Wall Street to the banks directly. We can go to our local branches of the major banks and pass out cards to their members. One side of the card asks: "Are you part of the 99%?" The other side of the card displays facts about the major banks, which could include information ranging from predatory lending to funding of special interests and lobbying in Washington. Maybe a little information about the nature of the money system, fractional reserve banking and chronic debt. Finally, it asks members to withdraw their money and/or transfer debt to a local bank, perhaps a community credit union more focused on maintaining members by waiving fees or not charging them in the first place, unlike the major banks who fight you for every nickel of their ever-increasing fees.
Well, which city is going to evict their bad banks first? Live the Occupation. Peace.
OWS needs to suggest and propound rational, non-sophomoric and respectable ideas
around which the movement can coalesce and which the majority would support. THEN,
we'll we be able to effect MEANINGFUL CHANGE in this country.
This is what Sophocracy is all about. Visit http://www.sophocracy.com and you'll find
such ideas there.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&pli=1&formkey=dFlNNHJTRlZwMWs5ZjlhTWN0NlZReHc6MQ#gid=0
poll it there
I support your cause, but the message lacks in cohesiveness and action. Do you think they care that you're sleeping in the streets? No. The way to take action is to hit 'em where it hurts. Suggest closing bank accounts and put the money into credit unions. Set a date window and have everyone do it at the same time.
I appreciate the idea - I think it's along the right track. But, it's too difficult. No one will know how to live their lives. How about nobody votes for any polititian who accepts money from any source other than individual donations - or something along that line that will actually begin to stop the flood of wall street money into Washington.
Never take NO for an answer. Just DO IT!
How we can easily Reform Wall Street: Take away their powers once again.
"We are here Congress because we want to bring BACK the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/071603.asp#axzz1aPEc3wX which saved our country from the Great Depression by preventing banks and insurance companies from merging and becoming large brokerage firms; instead of Banks and Insurance companies--can't we learn a history lesson here Congress? Btw, why did most of you vote for its repeal in 1999? http://www.counterpunch.org/2008/09/19/shattering-the-glass-steagall-act
Think about where we are now, it all started in 1999 with the subprime loans Senator Phil Gramm was peaching on Senate floor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKQOxr2wBZQ&feature=related
Furthermore, we also want you to CHANGE the Commodities Future Modernization Act of 2000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Futures_Modernization_Act_of_2000 BACK to where it was before 2000, which since has deregulated energy markets and has allowed for such scams as The Enron Loophole; whereas in the early 2000's Enron Corp. was charging 400 bucks plus for a kilowatt hour...They all when to jail for this. But, the Enron loophole is still not closed, for example, allowing speculators to resell barrels of oil over and over again before it reaches the gas station owner. It's basically, legal gambling at our expense. What were those lawmakers thinking then? What are you thinking now? Either do the right think, or you're part of the 1%."
Why are oil prices high? The Enron Loophole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbdtTGYQBMU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNp0y0SjOkY&feature=related
Rolling Stones Reporter: Truth about Goldman Sachs--how they have cornered the markets--basically, The Enron Loophole and the Repeal of Glass-Steagall Act in 1999. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waL5UxScgUw
Sorry, but your suggestion represents more than one stance. I can support companies who re-invest profit--ethically--for R&D, innovation, jobs, economic development. BUT I would gladly support banks that did NOT lend for a change and instead boycott those that gave money to borrowers who never plan to repay their loans, or who think that 10% is enough for a down-payment on a home or business! Banks are NOT investors and should not be investors. They are not financial advisors and should not be financial advisors. They have no business playing on global markets and trading currencies, especially if those currencies are actually their customers' money. Banks are supposed to be safe-havens for community money. It's time that they return to practices that allow them to service their customers ethically and at much lower profits--locally!
Agree and disagree.. What the banks are doing now is taking their 1-1.5% buy rate on money and they are investing that money into bonds and treasuries depending on the swing of the market.
They are investing OUR money for their own benefits. Don't kid yourself. Banks are buying their money at low interest rates and buying into companies through their hedge funds and other channels into companies who are paying dividends that are higher then that as their "safe harbor".
But your point is well taken, but I somewhat disagree.
There's a MUCH simpler approach.... simply STOP BUYING FOREIGN PRODUCTS.
Buy the one that says "Made in the USA" even it it DOES cost just little more. You've all been pretty good about buying 'GREEN' because you believe in the ENVIRONMENT, how about you buy AMERICAN because you believe your neighbors need JOBS ?
I totally agree. But there are many American Companies who are sitting on huge profits as well who are NOT re-investing those profits. They are only concerned about beating the wall street estimates so their stock prices go up.
And remember, it's those 1%ers who are buying and trading those stocks.
The domestic economy is STAGNANT, and those "record profits" are being made OVERSEAS. It makes ZERO sense to assume the small number of DOMESTIC employees are somehow ENTITLED to the profits made OVERSEAS using FOREIGN labor. Furthermore, we PENALIZE our companies for bringing those profits BACK to the US. This is WHY you hear Congress talking about cutting some taxes so our companies will REPATRIATE their OVERSEAS profits. THIS proposition, of course, is DOOMED given the UNINFORMED RHETORIC being thrown around here.
Whether our companies REPATRIATE their profits or not will have ZERO IMPACT on the AMERICAN labor market if the AMERICAN CONSUMER refuses to BUY products made in the USA.
There is a SOCIAL COST above and beyond the STICKER PRICE of a product. This SOCIAL COST includes the cost of American labor standards, our environmental standards, our taxes, and our LIVING WAGE. As long as the American consumer IGNORES these SOCIAL COSTS and buys based on STICKER PRICE alone, the STATUS QUO will be perpetuated.
I know some will throw rocks at me for this rant, but why do you think APPLE is one of the wealthiest companies in the world?
A majority of APPLES products are designed in the U.S.A. then they are produced overseas and then shipped back into the U.S.
Low labor costs drives that company's profits and bottom line. APPLE employs about 2500K in the U.S. but over 400K overseas.
The only way to attack these U.S. companies who do business overseas is to tax those companies who ship jobs overseas with a "penalty" tax. And make that tax hit the bottom lines of those companies to the point that it forces them to pull those jobs back into the U.S.
Am believe me, I am not just picking on APPLE, they are only one example.
So what will you do when, because of your 'policy,' APPLE spins off it's manufacturing operations to a SEPARATE company based in China ?
'APPLE America' simply BUYS product from ANOTHER company called 'APPLE China' and writes-off the cost of purchasing the manufactured product as part of 'product cost' on it's US taxes. Thus, they are only taxed on the retail MARK-UP of the manufactured product they 'import' from 'APPLE China.' Note if it makes you FEEL any better, call 'APPLE China' something like 'Tsing'se.'
Sound like a FANTASY? Well, that's EXACTLY how it works today !
Recognizing that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING preventing APPLE from splitting off its overseas manufacturing operation, we (the USA) decided to let the FOREIGN operations of Multi-Nationals go ahead and STAY one company while reporting ONLY the revenue generated by the AMERICAN side for the purposes of taxation. As long as they KEEP that money overseas as though it really IS 'Apple China' they pay no taxes on those operations. I know folks would LIKE this not to be true, but the fact is, APPLE COULD split into two companies and avoid taxes just as described, so what would be the POINT in trying to tax their overseas operations?
Congress is CONSIDERING a tax break that would allow APPLE to bring it's overseas profits home to the USA without penalty, but in the climate created by OWS (et al), it's HIGHLY unlikely to pass ("You MUST be KIDDING! You want me to sign off on corporate tax breaks? " ).
As I noted above, even IF the company brought their profits home, why would they INVEST them in DOMESTIC production unless the American CONSUMER showed them they could SELL a product "Made in the USA" even IF the cost is a bit higher ?
Alternatively, folks could STOP COMPLAINING about the Federal Reserve trying to reduce the value of the dollar on the international market. This makes IMPORTED products appear more EXPENSIVE to American consumers and makes DOMESTIC products appear more PROFITABLE to the manufacturer. Personally, I think we should do BOTH ( devalue the dollar AND increase demand of US products) !
Anyway, folks in this "movement" really SHOULD consider consulting those amongst them with an MBA or experience in business. It's pretty clear MANY do not understand the intricacies of managing Multi-National Corporations !
First I do have my MBA. Second I am now retired after starting and selling two very large call center companies for close to $750 million dollars and took another company public and sold that one as well. Now I am a business consultant, so I do understand business. I am not saying this to contradict your statements above.
But in business when all hell breaks lose, you always need to step back and go back to the basics.
Remember ONE thing. "Human behavior has a direct impact on economics"
I have given many speeches on this subject and when people realize that we can swing economics positively or negatively based on behavior and we can control the outcome.
To explain in-depth on each occurrence and outcome on how we put ourselves in this position, would take me hours to write. However, I want to keep this as simple as possible, because if I were to talk in MBA terms, a good part of the people reading this would not understand.
But when you take any major corporation who reports to wall street is only looking out for one thing, their profits and loss and return to their stockholders.
There are many corporations out there right now sitting with hoards of cash in their accounts and investments that are only being used to bolster the stability of these corporations only to satisfy wall street.
When people boycott these companies and their products, it forces the company to take action. In today's environment what happens? The company is forced to do two things, lower their prices and or lay-off workers. Negative press will hit these companies in their pocketbooks.
If the boycott continues, the stock price of those companies get hit, stock holders bail and the company eventually fails. Let one or two major companies fail under this scenario and other companies will start to take a different route knowing it can happen to them as well.
If these companies who are piling up profits reinvested in, let's say "going green" by updating their heating and cooling systems or more efficient lighting, it not only saves them money in the long run but creates jobs and stimulates business growth outside of their core business.
Look at what happened in Las Vegas, no one really boycotted Vegas, but due to the fact that disposable income has fallen across the nation, Vegas collapsed. The economics of the nation has caused people to tighten their belts so going to Vegas is the furthest thing from people's minds right now.
Vegas collapsed, unemployment is one of the highest in the nation, all the building has stopped and the housing market is in shambles.
Well unconsciously we ultimately killed Vegas..
Consider Vegas as an example of a corporation who has been boycotted.
Yes, there is a downside to boycotting, more people may lose their jobs, but eventually the straw that broke the camels back will need to be fixed.
If we are expecting Washington to fix this problem, you can forget about that. Washington is on the brink of collapsing.
We have to wake up these corporations that rely on us to keep them going. If they play by the rules and do the right thing, we support them. If they want to play dirty pool we collapsed them.
And as mentioned in a previous I made somewhere in these threads, it's the 1%ers who are benefiting by these corporations who are posting enormous profits.
So you want to get back at them?? This is how you do it. Because if you think they are going to listen to the OWS movement, think again.
When we start hitting THEM in THEIR wallets and pocketbooks, ONLY THEN will they realize the power of the people and not the select few.
An alternative that might be just a little risky....
1) Let the Federal Reserve keep pushing the value of the dollar down on the international market (like they've been trying so hard to do) so the VALUE of all outstanding private, state, and federal DEBT is reduced, so the VALUE of all cash HOARDS is reduced, so IMPORTS look COSTLY, and EXPORTS look CHEAP.
2) Stop buying ANYTHING with a tag that says anything OTHER than "Made in the USA." We don't IMPORT any household NECESSITIES and can live WITHOUT a gadget or two for a while.
Let's go a step further....lets require that "everyone" must hire someone (whether they need to or not) , and "everyone" must invest their savings (no matter how risky the investment may be), and "everyone" must loan money to "everyone" (no matter whether they will get paid back or not). Boy Howdy!... that should really get things moving.
You missed the point by a mile my friend. When companies who show enormous profits they can take some of those profits and invest in their local communities creating jobs.
And the banks, I am not saying to just lend to the risky, but to loosen up their purse strings and start re-investing their profits into facility improvements, R&D and those people WHO CAN afford to buy homes and meet the qualifications to obtain loans.
You completely took my message out of context and twisted it. Don't be stupid in your comments please. It does no one any good.
I replied similarly to your comment, but you did rather imply the sentiment of irresponsible lending. But I see that you did indeed mean well! Anyway, banks are not the organizations that should be re-investing into communities. This is better done by other businesses, trade associations, and even local governments with tax payer money--provided the tax payers are diligent in their voter privileges and oversight. Cheers.
Sorry...I was using sarcasm to make a point. No offense intended. I know that your intentions are good.
Remember.....business are in the business of making money. If they thought that they could invest their profits and make MORE money, they would do so. Banks are in the business of "selling money". They would love to sell more money; However, they keep having the rules of the game changed every other month (so it seems). Obama's first jobs plan would have worked if he would have not bent to the pressure to "do more". It takes time for "stimulus" to work, but politicians (nor the American people) have any patience (I can sympathize with that) . So....what do they do....they change the rules of the game a few months later.
I was not a big fan of the Obama stimulus plan (I would have done it differently) but, that said....stick to the plan. It is the volatility that causes businesses the problem. Try to create a 5 year proforma under the current political turbulence. It is almost impossible. Hell...try a 1 year.
I assume an apology?? accepted, no harm no foul ;)