Forum Post: Step One of a Revolution

A lot of talk about legislation, raising taxes, getting corporations out of politics...big visions, but it all has to start with small empowering steps like marching to the ocean and creating your own salt or spinning your own cloth so as to not be dependent on these systems that the greedy and power hungry thrive. It can be as simple as sitting in the front of the bus or meeting in a town or city square.

We are coming to understand that the modern power of networking can bring about change in an amazing and as of yet unprecedented way.

Imagine if we could network from the 99%, say 1 million strong or maybe more and start getting creative about wielding the power of our own numbers. Can we realize the power of 1 million people, 10 million or perhaps even 99 million?

For instance, what if we could all boycott for profit banks entirely and switch to not for profit, cooperative banks that invest all earnings back into the people who are members and employees. We could create or solicit only banks that take care of their employees, all employees, from the janitors and tellers on up to the CFO and CEO in an equitable manner. Maybe a cap in wages of 5 times the lowest wage for the highest would be reasonable, creating an institution that by bylaw cannot lay off employees by the 10s of thousands solely because they are regarded as liability affecting profits. Customers and employees together can be the owners of the institutions they utilize, purchase from and work for. This does not have to stop at banks but can move to health care or a business of any kind (maybe energy companies next). This is not the scourge of socialism or failed capitalism but a middle road and a collaborative path. Call it what you like, perhaps sensible capitalism or cooperative capitalism. These things do not have to be legislated as this would limit the rights of others who believe in capitalism or socialism for that matter. It would seem that people who believe in limited government and those who believe in social justice can come up with unified solutions and meet in the middle, say in the middle of Wall Street perhaps?

This is just one idea for a first step, a model to work out and create from which I think reasonable people of many diverse backgrounds could agree upon. Many more steps to come, for we have the power of our decisions, of what we think will work and what we believe is just, we wield the power of what we decide to do with our resources however limited and meek they are by themselves yet how great they can be collectively. This is the power and potential of the 1%, 10%, 99% … don’t be a statistic, join together and be an empowered one. Let’s keep a creative dialog going. To create is way better than to negate. Together we can move mountains!