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It's all fine and good.. Occupy Wall Street has gained a little media coverage though most mainstream media continues to attempt to marginalize and politicize the movement. They continue to , intentionally IMHO, obfuscate the message.
Arab Spring = American Fall = Arab Spring
We need to communicate better with that, rather large, percentage of the 99% who are not yet on-board with the movement.
I have, for lack of a better word, preached on this blog for years now that it is WE, the people, who in reality hold the reins of power in the United States of America. As you may see here, here. here and here.
This is quite simply true because we, the people, account for 70% of economic activity in the country. (Though there is some evidence that suggests the actual share of GDP represented by consumer spending is in reality closer to 60%).
Even still.. 60% of the economy continues to be a lot of klout..
What the collective "we" must do is convince the entire 99% to STOP going to ball games, stop buying xPhones and cars, if we would ALL simply STOP spending money the ponzi economy, banks and mega corporations and indeed the government itself WILL collapse.. And with them so will the great majority of greed and corruption..
It really IS that simple.. "They" exist ONLY for money, worthless fiat paper. Take that away from them and they have NOTHING.
This is the message we have for the 99% we need their cooperation on a larger scale to really "take control" of the situation.
We can do it..
Below is an excerpt from a previous post. Also the links above demonstrate that I have been talking about these very problems along with possible solutions for a very long time. My blog contains many many more posts on these very subjects. Please help, share information, educate wherever and whenever you get the opportunity. We CAN make this happen..
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America is NOT the middle east! Those poor people spend in excess of 50% of their income on food alone.. They cannot DO much to help control costs because they HAVE to eat.
We, however, in the industrialized west, DO have both CHOICES and POWER beyond imagination!
Please use that wealth and power wisely to benefit all of humanity.. NOT corrupt governments, central bankers and the banking cabal, greedy and corrupt corporations. The choice is yours and yours alone..
We control our own purse strings and we are the "wealthy" nations of the world.
They want a "green" America.. Give it to them! Don't GO on vacation! Don't STAY in hotels! Don't EAT in restaurants! Don't BUY cars and houses! Don't GO to concerts! Don't BUY iPads, iPods, iPhones! DROP your cable TV! DROP your yard service!
Make a game of SAVING money, not wasting it on self gratification.. Stop SPENDING money altogether and prices WILL DECLINE for they must..
Sure the FED will introduce QE3.. So what?! Let them continue to PLAY WITH THEMSELVES!
Above all else.. DO NOT BORROW their manipulated, worthless, paper, fiat currency!
Please.. help put a STOP to this insanity once and for all.. I promise, you'll be glad that you did..
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Greg
It's only a matter of time until the ponzi collapses on its own. It's what ponzis do, eventually. This one's demise is quickly approaching, so rather than thinking about bringing the system down, invest your energies in developing systems to replace it once it's gone.
ReplyDeleteI only wish I shared your faith & trust that the right thing will happen..
ReplyDeleteHowever my feeling on the matter actually differ from your own in that I do not feel anything is below the government, the FED, the banking cabal & major corporations when it comes to one thing.. That is the retention of their own wealth & power.
Personally I feel that an Egypt / Libya situation here, in the United States, is a more likely outcome than a total economic collapse & the surrender of power & wealth by the elites among us.
The same tactics used in Iran will be used here for the same purposes.. To quell dissent, to round up & imprison "trouble makers" or "potential domestic terrorists".
Make no mistake that at this juncture the state intends to remain the state..
Greg
I and husband Paul Wakfer have for the 11 years of our partnership - and he much longer alone before that - purposefully been very frugal with our spending in order that government gets as little as possible from us. We don't seek a larger income than our joint modest one for the very same reason.
ReplyDeleteOur purchases are well evaluated so as to maximize our Lifetime Happiness, which eliminates much of what I read/see being acquired by large numbers currently in North America. As long as government interferes in the mutually voluntary interactions of people, we will continue to minimize our acquisitions to only what we consider to be truly necessary for Lifetime Happiness maximization. (More on this topic: "Happiness - The Purpose of Life" : http://selfsip.org/solutions/socialcontract_annotations/happiness.html)
Shunning individuals, companies and things is a much more powerful tool than many people realize. When the reason for withdrawing voluntary association (or purchase) - and that IS shunning and ostracism too - is well articulated, others are often motivated to do the same towards those whose behavior is unacceptable. First though, it benefits all when reasoned logic is attempted to persuade the cessation of unacceptable behavior, as with government enforcers - those who are willing to initiate physical force and on whom ALL governments (at all levels) are dependent for their very existence. (For more: "Social Preferencing" - http://selfsip.org/solutions/Social_Preferencing.html)
The recommendations I made in a 2 yr old article (http://selfsip.org/focus/protestsnotenough.html) apply to what you are writing, Greg:
1. Do not make use of "government services" that can be obtained privately;
2. Initiate/support cooperative efforts that replace "government services";
3. Do not work for or do business with governments of any form in any capacity;
4. Preferentially associate with those who do not work for governments - positive social preferencing;
5. Do not voluntarily associate with those who continue to work for government despite being encouraged not to do so - negative social preferencing;
6. Last but not least - and actually primary to the preceding, Practice self-responsibility and encourage the same by all others, especially children and young people.
However, the self-evaluation of what is truly needed by an individual to promote his/her own lifetime happiness maximization - and only sh/e can make this determination - is needed to further decrease the amount of revenues that governments can access to steal. And for that I urge a study of the Happiness link above. [Cont'd]
Repost:
ReplyDelete[Cont'd] Lastly, I offer a modification to your "Don't" above. Instead I suggest "Minimize to Absolutely Necessary". For instance, staying at a motel while on an extended drive (rather than fly & submit to TSA grope/scan) may be wiser for some than continuing to drive while tired or parking at a rest stop. I use this idea when it comes to credit cards. I and Paul haven't used our VISAs (2 US & 1 Canadian) & MasterCard (1 Canadian + 1 US debit) since December of last year when both (along with PayPal) refused to forward their customers money to WikiLeaks - the cards are on an emergency use basis only, which hasn't occurred. (PayPal and Amazon accounts were cancelled at the same time.) We use cash, and that sparingly along with Discover card (never part of WikiLeaks donation arrangements), and checks (electronic and paper) - always on the lookout for competent money transfer companies.
Additionally, many people will balk at the idea of never using their electronic toys or other luxury gadgets, but may be persuaded to limiting them to 1/4 (or even less) the time or not upgrading every yr or two but stretching that to 3 or 5 years - or even waiting until the functionality really falls off.
There are plenty of other "much less" rather than "none at all" ideas that may persuade more people to participate in this aspect of withering the State. However, the major point that must be emphasized and finally grasped by the majority of people in order for true liberty is that governments exist ONLY because there are enforcers to carry out via threat of and actual initiation of physical force all the laws/edicts/regulations/mandates/directives/rulings/etc. of legislators, executives (President included), judges and bureaucrats.
Governments thrive by maintaining the mental attitude of pawns by the majority and through the actions of their enforcers, those who are willing to threaten and actually initiate physical force. Politicians & their friends do nothing but issue words - the enforcers are the key to putting those words into physical being.
Turn government enforcement into an undesirable role to play and there will be far far less harm possible by government at all levels. An undesirable job is one in which the holder is shunned by all others if s/he will not be persuaded by reasoned logic - negative Social Preferencing!
Enough for now or my comment (broken into 2 parts due to length) will be as long as your article :)