Blows against the machine

We know the ultra rich got there on the backs of the little guy. If a hazardous work environment and low wages gets the company another quarter percent of profit, that's what's going to happen.

I recently read an article about taking some of that money back. It was pretty lame. They had two solutions. Shoplift from the big corporations and goof off more at work. That's it. Pretty weak tea in my book. How's that going to fix the problem exactly?

The legal system is set up to prosecute the poor. If you are poor enough that you feel you have to shoplift, you are taking a big chance. The machine will eat you. Work slowdown. Yeah, that might work -until they fire you because there are desperate people out there looking for any sort of work.

What worked in the past? Unions changed the word environment. It wasn't easy. People got killed. The history of unionism isn't taught in the schools. Unions have been weakened by a number of things. Yes, there own corruption was one. Sadly, that happens in all big organizations to some extent. Worse, labor laws have weakened and the ones still on the books are not enforced. Why would they be? The power elite own the legal system. Unions that aren't willing to break the law (the laws the owners put in place) have no teeth. Of course, unions were bypassed by shipping the jobs to other countries.

Boycotts work, but only if enough people get on board. They are a powerful tool because it hits the owner class where it hurts, in the bottom line.

We are told to move our money from the big banks to local credit unions. I did, but then my small local credit union was bought out by a much bigger one. Still working on what to do about that. Might just move again to another small credit union.

How about we all move our unsecured debt to the big banks? Then one day we all just stop paying those bills. Now that would be an effective mass protest. Tax payers bailed out those banks. Why not use them to bail us out from our debt?

Student loans are the worse. It's almost impossible to get out of debt. People have moved out of the country and faked their own deaths to dodge them. That system has gotten so out of hand that it could collapse from its own weight. The amount of debt owned is huge and the student's ability to pay decreases every year.

Disconnection from the system as much as possible helps, but it's not the whole solution. The hermit living in a cave is no threat to the robber barons. Involved people who monkey wrench the system bring it down.

-Sixbears