They bribe our politicians, manipulate the FDA to allow unhealthy foods, try to increase taxes to in turn increase subsidies that go towards them, and more. Some threaten to fire people based on sexual orientation (such as Hobby Lobby & Chick-Fila in Kansas) or trying to disrupt work people do for free for others (Microsoft's earlier attitude towards open source software) or just plain trying to make people suffer for profit (private corporate owned prisons trying to force new pointless laws and then find culprits to them just to bad their inmate count for higher payouts).
So, the question is... what can we do about it? Boycott their product? What if we don't buy their product in the first place? (Companies that encourage wars and sell arms to the military or the private prisons?) Or that we don't think we could get enough people to counter easily? How can we actually attack their pocketbook instead of just not contributing to it? Well, that's where we start exploring ideas...
I hope for this to be a recurring theme on this blog as more ideas are explored. If you have ideas, feel free to post them in the comments below.
1. Lawsuits
Corporate media has done a fairly strong-armed job of portraying "a lawsuit problem" in our country, portraying people as lawsuit happy. The thing is, those who bring the most lawsuits to court aren't individuals... it's corporations and businesses. They're the source of the glut. So with the corporate-caused guilt out of the way, lawsuits are a viable route.
Going to a small claims court will set you back ~ $70. The form is a simple two pages, and the payout is usually inbetween $1000 and $3000. Further, lawyers are NOT allowed in small claims courts in many places. That means it's just you vs some company manager IF they send someone out. Which only happens 50% of the time. Often, they don't even bother with that, because the manager's time is better spent elsewhere.
However, a judge will throw out the case if you're being frivolous. You NEED a legitimate complaint. So only target the corporations that deserve it, that are truly doing something wrong, and make sure you can point out how it's affected you personally and give a dollar amount and resources to back it up. Although there's the $70 upfront cost, the 50% no-fight payout can make this pay for itself fast. Just don't do it twice with the same corrupt company, because eventually they'll get sick of you and send someone trained but not a lawyer to handle your courtcases. So keep them to less than once a year with the same company.
2. Phonecalls
Call them up. Ask questions, ask about their products, refuse to talk to a machine (when you have number keys to press, always choose operator or an extension where you'll hit random numbers, when it tries to do voice recognition, talk in gibberish). They have to pay people in those people positions, so each minute you spend talking to them is a minute they're paying for. Talk long winded, talk on tangents easily, never buy anything.
3. Hire their staff
If you have your own small business, and you're looking to bring on some more employees, steal some of the workforce of a corrupt corporation. Let's say you run a small dry cleaner that does home delivery, and you're wanting to corporate assassination on on a certain small-business-destroying mega-mart chain. As you know from going through that process, that process isn't cheap. And if you're paying more than minimum wage, just stroll right into the local 'mart, and say the first person they're you ask for help, ask them how much they're getting paid. If you're willing to pay even slightly more, tell them that. Sure, you still have to deal with the hiring costs, but you're not alone, you're also making sure whatever mega-mart it is will ALSO have to go through more hiring. To top it off, if you're running your own business, you're not paying for a manager's time if you interview them at a restaurant you like after store hours. The mega-mart will have to pay their manager that time. It's win-win for you and the employee, lose for the corporation.
4. Make it yourself, with others... then sell it, make a party of it.
Let's say there's a corporation you buy from. A lot of GMO-loving corporations that don't safety test their GMO products are good targets, so they're a good example for this.... a lot will include harmful toxins as preservatives, etc. So... here's what you do...
Find a local farmer that grows their own stuff (if you have difficulty finding some, just do a search for your local farmers markets). Ask if there's a way you can buy some ingrediants in a larger bulk. Find out how much you can get. Make a party via your social media (facebook for example) and put up an RSVP, with a cover charge. Buy an appropriate amount of food from that farmer, and throw a party. If you don't have a room, switch the house party up for a hoedown at the farmer's farm, and split the profits with the farmer. Or rent a venue and have a bigger party. Because the more people you invite to your party and who eat at your party, the more people who AREN'T buying corporate food that day. And to top it off, if the local farmer comes along, and people love his food, they may get permanent customers, which is forever funnelling money away from the corporate food and towards the locals. And you made a little profit on the side. Not bad.
5. Are you ex-military or an engineer? If the former, you meet the majority of requirements to be a military contractor. If the latter, you have the majority of the skill to be a military contractor. There are plenty of young engineers who like to make things explode and ex-military floating around. To be fair, military contracts are often sold on "boom value". The flashier the sale, the more likely it is to happen. But instead of focusing on offensive weaponry, focus on defensive stuff (hint: for hiring, you'll be looking for more mechanical engineers, physicists, chemists, and materials engineers). Show off how much explosion armor can take and sell that, instead of selling weapons. You get the budget more defensive, and politicians listen (way too much) to military lobbyists. Use some of your extra funds to lobby for less warfare and military spending (tip: Lobbying firms charge $5K to $25K a month for lobbying). That'll turn some heads. And if you can't afford all the science, help organize a group at the local college to do it (there's plenty of ex-military in college) and have them for a portion of profits. They may have some clever ideas.
6. Organize co-ops.
The example I'll use here is housing. Housing corporations in your area a pain in the arse and draconian? Hop on craigslist, and find several other people looking for housing. Spend a few hundred to get a non-profit license between all of you, register as a co-op, and have the organization (instead of as individuals) and take out a loan to buy a house or a few adjacent houses. Link 'em together, and share resources. Put up solar panels, windmills, etc. and you can get it almost to the point to where your housing pays for itself. You may need to room with someone, but if you're already in a roommate situation, there's no loss.
Anyway, that's a few ideas to get the ball rolling. It's nowhere near an exhaustive list. Feel free to share more ideas in the comments below.
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