You owe nothing to a corporation, because it is nothing. It is a hollow shell. It only exists because we allow it to exist.
-- Rev. Royce Clearfield
By John F. Miglio
Now that the good old USA is spiraling downward into the abyss, it should be quite clear to everyone-- even the most naïve and uninformed-- that the most powerful corporations in America today-- the banks, the energy companies, the insurance industry, etc.-- are de facto criminal organizations that rule our country with an iron fist.
In fact, they've become so powerful that it's considered "a given" that economic or social change can only occur within the parameters of their agendas. Consider the massive giveaway to Wall Street, for example, while millions of Americans lose their homes. This is also why single payer health care, the only real solution to our health care crisis, is "off the table," even though a majority of Americans want it and desperately need it.
Nevertheless, President Obama won't even consider it; neither will Max Baucus, the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. And why won't they consider it? Because the insurance industry, which has contributed princely sums to both of them over the years, has told them not to consider it because it will deconstruct their industry and greatly reduce their profits. And what the insurance industry wants, the insurance industry gets, because they are one of the key players in the corporate-criminal complex. Simple as that.
In the 1950s, they used to say: "What's good for General Motors is good for the USA." It could be argued that in those days, that slogan had some validity. GM made decent cars, they employed American workers at good wages, and they helped spread the wealth to the middle class.
But those days are long gone. For the past several decades, most multinational corporations have metastasized into insidious criminal empires based on greed and short-term profit with no sense of ethics or concern for the common good, much less the average citizen, whom they view as nothing more than a mindless consumer, a feckless chump, a microscopic-sized dot on a market sector map.
What to do? Well, short of revolution-- and if conditions continue to get worse that may be right around the corner-- here's my top ten list of how average citizens can fight back and throw a monkey wrench into the corporate money making machine.
10. Don't buy corporate crap. Don't wait in line to buy the latest high-tech gadget. Don't pay $30 or $40 to see a sporting event on television. And, for God sake, don't blow four or five bucks on a cup of coffee that you can make at home for about a quarter.
9. Harass corporate lackeys every chance you get. Hold them accountable for their actions within their company, and don't let them off the hook because they say they're just doing their jobs. So was Eichmann.
8. Intimidate customer service reps from other countries that use fake names and pretend they're American. Ask them if "Bob" is their real name or who won the World Series last year.
7. Patronize individual businesses whenever possible. Don't go to Black Angus or Red Lobster or any other commercialized corporate sink hole.
6. Save your money. Don't go into debt by buying big ticket items like wide screen TVs. Read a book once in a while-- you might actually learn something other than the corporate propaganda you see on television.
5. If you're already in debt or underwater on your house, don't try to be noble and make payments to the very same companies that screwed you to begin with. Go bankrupt. Better yet, charge up everything you can, then go bankrupt.
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