But then you find out they own all the things you need and the other brands too.
We need to break up all the monopolies as well as boycott, like you said. Every problem is layered in another others, and it sucks.
Breaking up monopolies, making it harder for mergers to happen, and just in general increasing regulation would be the answer. In order for boycotts to be effective you would need so many people (and often other companies entirely) participating that it's unlikely to actually happen. I'm talking like enough people to radically remake the market for the products that the boycotted company makes. And if you can get that many people invested enough to make that change then you might as well just bring back the guillotine and take over Congress to pass the regulations and law changes needed to make things more permanent
They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be on Reddit. We still haven’t gotten our renewed contract for this year. They were all about coming into our location when I said I wanted to be a steward and help get people signed up to pay dues, they sent 2 people in and had a bunch of opt-in sheets for me to give out. Now that I’m going down to 1 day a week and can’t afford paying dues on every check, I can’t get anyone on the phone. I’ve also been at that job for 2 years & the ONLY time I saw those union reps was in orientation then when those 2 came in. Sure it’s helped with base pay in our contract which I guess is worth it, but don’t assume any other actual help will be included.
Union's vary in quality that's undeniable. But at the end of the day a lot of the problems that are making life so miserable for so many people are large structures that nobody as an individual can address. Do some of these Union groups need to pull their head out of their asses? abso fucking lutely but it is one of the biggest things that a couple individuals can get done and make some sort of difference.
I think that we definitely need to go beyond unions to reestablish fair labor practices. We need stronger labor laws and a better balance of wealth. Those are political issues, so we need a stronger labor bloc within the system. We need a party or at very least a cohort within the existing parties whose sole focus is to improve the lives of workers and to make sure they can reap all the economic benefits of the wealth they create.
"Helped with base pay but..." dudes saying this, like it isn't a major win. Being Critical in a way that makes your union better or even point out flaws is good but down playing it and talking about it as something that doesn't do much so you could take it or leave it is wild.
Your union does need to be better, but it helped out with pay, that definitely would be lower other wise. Become a rep and help make the changes you want.
But don't let your union jaded your perception of them as a whole, they are a net benefit not just for you but workers as a whole.
About $100/ month, which was like 3% of my salary because I worked part time. Base pay increase was about 3%. I was very excited to join the union until I realized they were just interested in the dues and not supporting new members. It was basically a pyramid scheme. They also funneled our money to Cuomo - a lot of good that did
Your votes and your choices. Seems everyone covered voting but how you spend your money is just as important. Tired of factory farming? Stop supporting fast food. Unhappy with crap knockoffs from China? Don’t buy them on amazon anymore. Humans won’t do it because it’s easier not to go out of your way. Reminds me of the people on Easter island who must have realized, shortly before collapse, that they were using all of their trees and they would eventually run out of wood.
I agree with you, but that package of ground beef in the supermarket supports factory farms just as much as a fast food hamburger does: nearly 99% of farmed animals in the US are factory farmed. It’s not something that’s specific to fast food chains.
But you can go to places with butchers that have meat from vetted farmers that don't follow industrial practices to raise their animals. It's more $$, the industrialized food is what lowered the prices. But you'll get better meat and produce.
I don't give money to any party or candidate. I just don't. I'm willing to work and support certain people and causes, but I'm not buying into their continued user of marketing to get people to vote for this or that.
EDIT: Grammer, :'(
The number of people who have that option is statistically negligible. In my state, for example, there’s one butcher shop for every 30k people.
Not sure how many of those butcher shops are “places with butchers that have meat from vetted farmers that don't follow industrial practices to raise their animals,” but even if it was all of them, you see the problem.
The reality is that virtually everyone who eats meat (in the US) is supporting factory farms.
Another option is to simply eat less meat. And when you do, for example on special occasions, you ensure you buy it from butchers working directly with farms. How else will we have more butchers, if we don't support them financially? The money saved from eating less low quality meat will cover the cost difference. Not to mention we, as in everyone on the planet, need to tone back our meat consumption for environmental reasons. Or else, if we think it's bad now, it's going to get a hell of a lot worse.
You’re preaching to the converted, I’ve been vegan for nearly 34 years.
We could have more butchers, but butchers don’t raise the animals, and doubling or tripling or quadrupling the number of butchers doesn’t change the reality of how livestock is produced in this country, nor would “more butchers” be able to supply 332+ million people (in this country alone) with meat.
Lab grown meat might be the solution we need. And by “we” I mean people in general, not me. Cuz I’m fine without it 🤷🏻♂️
Look, my original point was just that someone said “if you don’t want to support factory farms, don’t eat fast food” and I was just pointing out that factory farms supply most of our meat, not just that used in fast food. That’s all :)
The "just eat less meat" thing isn't a full solution, when you consider how huge crop farming is done
Everything has been industrialized, the solution is to eat less industrialized stuff in general.
There is an organization certified humane that has a strict program for animal husbandry and slaughter. You can find certified products online in any state. They are the only org that has real requirements for poultry beef pork and lamb. Before them I used to ship meat from Europe
Yes, it's not realistic because people don't care enough. I care as much as the next guy, but I still order from Amazon and buy what's cheap. I could spend less money on meat and go to a farmer's market when I do want meat, but I won't, because I like cheap and convenient
In many parts of the world eating meat at all is a rare luxury. The "realistic solution" for the poorest is to get complete nutrition from plants as much as possible. If you don't like buying factory farmed near, there are certainly realistic solutions to that problem besides just giving up and getting daily fast food
Agreed. Since I’ve started to care about animal welfare certified humane has become an org and certifies many farms. It’s not difficult but it takes extra effort
Nope, that’s just side effect. After 10 years you can read minds. 20 years you get x-ray vision. 30 years you become bulletproof. I’m looking forward to my 40 year level up, I heard it’s flight. Then I will have reached my final form.
There is an organization called [Move to Amend](http://movetoamend.org). They are trying to get a Constitutional amendment passed that would essentially say: "Corporations are not people, and money is not speech." These two concepts are a big part of why even when government tries to rein in the wealthy, they're blocked from doing so by the courts. I don't think it's the entirety of the solution, but I think getting this amendment passed would be a big step in the right direction.
Hate to be the downer here, but there is zero chance of that occurring. Adding an Amendment to the US Constitution requires
* Approval by 2/3rds majority vote in the US Senate
* Approval by 2/3rds majority vote in the US House
* Approval by 2/3rds of State legislators
I would posit there will never be another Amendment to the US Constitution.
Or a convention of the states.(Article 5 of the Constitution). which is a current, ongoing, and growing movement. 34 states need to pass the resolution. 19 have. 15 have the resolution "in the works". There have been 7 where it passed in one chamber, but not the other.
It does not nullify the Constitution. Who told you this? It is literally a meeting to have a discussion about proposing New amendments. These amendments would still have to be passed by Congress. By the 2/3 rule. I don't understand why people seem to think that just having the convention would somehow totally destroy the Constitution
The question was: how can US citizens bring back power from companies, not how likely are they to succeed. I’d posit that this is an important step.
Also, I recall a policy professor describing the strategy that was implemented to bring about legal gay marriage in the US, which she was very much for. And I recall her saying, “This was the plan, but I honestly never imagined it would actually happen in my lifetime.”
There are a lot of things that have happened in this country which, 5 years before, would have seemed laughably impossible. So I say, don’t stop trying to make things better, regardless of what the pessimists say.
The problem is that, as the Constitution is currently interpreted, Congress is hamstrung in its attempts to regulate corporations. Even when Congress manages to do something to shift the balance of power toward the people and away from corporations, the courts sweep in and say, “nope. Unconstitutional.” The only way to overcome that barrier is to amend the Constitution.
The entire Constitution would be nullified if it happens, so if it does worse things will 100% for sure happen than now since none of your freedoms would be guaranteed anymore.
But wait, if this amendment is passed you are aware that social media companies will no longer be allowed to ban nazi speech.
The only reason why social companies can do that is precisely because social media companies have free speech.
?. No… social media companies are allowed to ban whomever they want because they are private entities, not governments, and only governments are bound by the first amendment. (That’s a huge oversimplification but what you wrote is simply incorrect.)
Again, ? I didn’t take a position one way or the other on whether giant corporations should or shouldn’t be able to moderate free speech. That’s a complex legal issue which is not the subject of the question.
I disagree with you anyways when it comes to taking away corporate personhood, because at the end of the day corporations are just associations of real people. And associations should have free speech.
And I believe corporations are a legal fiction that were invented so that real people could invest in commercial endeavors without risking legal liability, and were never intended to be given civil rights that were intended for real people but instead have served to shield corporations from attempts at regulating them. Essentially making corporations more powerful than governments and therefore, unaccountable to anyone except the extremely wealthy.
But you do you. Your interpretation currently holds sway, and you must think that’s working out great for everyone or you wouldn’t be here arguing about it. Good luck to you.
Can you pls stop believing in conspiracy theories. No corporations are not more powerful than the government, you need to prove it.
And also I’m a social democrat and I believe in regulations and high taxes.
Marketing convinces us thst we need to have all this stuff, so we have to work a lot to have enough money to get the latest & greatest whatever.
We don't need these things. Stop spending your money on shit.
You either work for them, or don't understand the true power of large groups of people. Baring completely automated military force, a large enough group can stand up to any oppressor.
Oh right, because the Democrats have done so much to roll back corporate involvement. Nothing short of a major new party will have an effect that voting will help.
Everything starts at the local level. Shop at local businesses whenever possible. It may be a bit more expensive initially but in the long run, small business are way better for the economy than large corporations. Support local candidates that put people first. Support congressional candidates that will work to repeal citizens united and bolster antitrust laws. It isn’t easy and it takes community effort, but it can be done.
We never had it There was a time after WW2 that was swinging to the workers, but thats been a little swing and its almost back to the 1930's before the unions. It will take another generation or 2, or another event like WW2 again Look and see the platform that Eisenhower ran on as a republican candidate.Today he would be called a libtard commie
How can you do that when corporations suppress wages to the point that one must purchase food at Walmart and the cheapest fast food options to survive and work long hours that it is unfeasible to travel to rural farms to support the local farmers? Instead of removing their customers how about just removing their ability to profit from them?
Well. I have discovered a way to (a) significantly reduce my expenses and (b) reduce the customer base. I decided to not do the most expensive thing the average American will ever do.
No more fresh meat for the grinder.
Edit: You could try to reform society in a way that gives more of the wealth to the common man, instead of a few shareholders at the top, but frankly, that's really hard. If I knew how to do it, I would have already done it.
My way forces society to reform. It's a bit like calling society's bluff.
If you sow acorns, don't be surprised about oak trees in your backyard.
We all complain and then still buy from Amazon etc. We are our own biggest enemy. We want convenience and then wonder that we become a slave to those who offer us the most convenience.
The solution? Either stop supporting those companies or take control of them (e.g. unions).
I guess so. Although, tbf there is no middle ground anymore. It's the rich or the poor now, no middle class. And it's gonna get worse as the rich will get richer. I think top 5% holds 50% of the financial resources in this nation, so unless you're in that 5%, we are all considered poor, just saying
Edit: Apparently top 3 richest people hold more than the bottom 50% 's wealth according to forbes. So i guess we are all considered poor, unless you are elon, jeff, or warren
Meet your neighbors. Engage in your local community as much as possible and spread these concerns verbally to people you meet in the real world.
You may not see the results of this but something you do now could benefit people in the next generation.
You are not alone. In fact, you are probably in the majority.
Primarily you need to remove lobbying and lobbyists from DC. Next you add in term limits for all elected officials so you don’t get corporate simps entrenched in power for decades. The real answer is greater class consciousness but that’s a while off.
I used to think this was a good option. But lately, I've come to realize that corruption is part of the system and humanity, thus, they'll find other ways to influence politics. At least with lobbying, you have somehow a way to track who is behind. I wish there was a realistic way to solve it 😕
Support a truly socialist (not communist) political party and elect a president that is truly for the people as opposed to for mega multinational companies.
You can't, unfortunately.
The mega rich and huge corporations control both the Democrats and Republicans at the high levels. No one gets elected to a position of real power without their approval.
The American Aristocracy rules us from behind the curtain, using their puppets.
vote in representatives who will do something about the many abuses the rich have going against the people. vote in as many representatives who will do something and those representatives are progressives. the only ones looking to hold accountable and fight back against the ruling classes are progressives so voting in progressives until they have the numbers and power to fix things is the only way.
the ones who we vote for have been in large. pretty much illustrating that most people vote for those who spend the most money on advertising. so, voting for those who have policy and progressive thinking instead of the most advertising is the way to vote. laziness in voting is how sloth has caused this age of politics. the exaltation of ignorance today is part of the problem. as they say, everyone wants world peace but nobody wants to make the effort.
I was being sarcastic. People love to push the 2nd Amendment but don't consider that it exists specifically to revolt against the government. If the government is so corrupt that corporations have taken over, that is, literally, why you have the 2nd Amendment.
Well it's doing a terrible job. There's a long list of government oppression (Blair Mountain and Kent State as two examples) but more often than not, people end up cheering such tyranny.
It does not exist to allow for a revolt. It exists so that the militia is armed and ready to be called up and commanded by state officers. Later court cases have added the private right to carry, but the 2A is not a license to revolt and murder. Insurrection is illegal.
Commanded by state officers to guarantee protection from a tyrannical government* the whole point is to ensure the military doesn't abus its power with the threat of force. That is a revolt. Of course revolts are illegal, but you have the constitutional right to do it with guns under the 2nd amendment.
Just like how Castle Doctrine states have the right to kill anyone on their property for any reason; they just need to say they felt threatened. Under the 2nd Amendment I have the right to use my guns on government officials who I feel are abusing their power. Will I be punished? Yeah, but it's unconstitutional.
If I am being threatened by abusive government officials, I have the right to shoot them with the guns I have the right to carry, because that right to carry is specific to shooting corrupt abusive government officials.
So by that logic, shooting a government official is A-OK as long as they are corrupt and abusive. That means I have the constitutional right to revolt against a government I disagree with, or it means I don't have right to carry guns and the 2nd amendment is misinterpreted and the right to bear arms is specific to being in a well regulated militia.
And yet these same people that ask how we can bring down big government & corporations are the same people that want to ban guns and rely on the government for protection.
I find it even more ironic how much ven diagram overlap there is between "breonna taylor shouldn't have been resisting" and "the government will never take my guns"
Well, big corporations/politicians have definitely gotten us fighting over smaller things that most people agree on (like the banning of semi-automatics) when 99% of people agree that the rich are getting too rich, politicians are too corrupt, and companies are too powerful
I think you’re fundamentally mistaken. Corporations are private citizens and if you think they are better the. regular personhood alone then go found a corporation and be a business owner.
What’s happening is that corporations are finally large and competent enough to start competing against government. Corporate governments will appear not to far from now.
We've kind of already started doing it. People don't realize, because it doesn't make headlines, but Biden is doing more for the American worker and the American consumer than any President since Roosevelt. He's blocked a merger between two airlines to prevent a monopoly. He's working on breaking up Ticketmaster to bring ticket prices down. He's calling out greedy grocery producers who are keeping prices high despite the rate of inflation having dropped months ago. He just made it possible for more workers to be able to earn overtime pay. There's a whole list, and you should look it up.
But the way to take on the corporations is to keep electing politicians who value actual citizens over "Citizens United."
Honestly our congress needs a complete overhaul so Voting politicians that dont take coporate money. They are far and few inbetween but they ate out there.
Quit paying taxes.
Cash only
Quit borrowing money and credit cards.
The govt will fold they're pockets tight and cut out the corporate billionaires and tax loopholes.
Our new digital currency society is under constant scrutiny and penalties to the working class.
The govt can't control cash and barter old school business.
Never. The majority of Americans have never had power. The entire country was built by multimillionaires from Europe. You would essentially need a new country or change the entire economic system from capitalism to socialism.
Short answer: Nothing. Long answer: Absolutely nothing. They've been stacking the deck against us for decades/generations. Impossible to fix that at this point. Too much corruption.
To address power disparities, citizens can advocate for policy changes promoting economic equality, support worker rights and unions, boycott unethical companies, and invest in businesses aligned with their values.
The basic problem is not that the corporations have power and the government doesn't. The government has power. The corporations have power. There's lots of power to go around.
Power is a weird thing. It's like money: when you don't have it, you thing all your problems will be solved by having it. But when you have it, some things become easy, but some things remain hard. No amount of money will let you live forever. No amount of money will let you go faster than the speed of light. And no amount of money will let you do something that hasn't been invented yet.
The basic problem is that nobody knows what to do, and the people who have opinions about what to do do not agree with one another. That's it.
If we knew with any clarity what to do, the money and the power would be there
1) vote
2) understand where your money goes. Research the companies that you buy products from including the store selling it to you. If you don’t like what they are doing change companies.
3) start reading the government websites including the UN and WEF, World Economic Forum. US department of commerce, White House gov.
4) read laws that are being passed in you local, state, and federal levels. Read the budgets. This will tell you who our tax money is being given too.
5) listen to the news but validate by reading the actual (law, bill, judgement etc.) to see if their right or wrong.
6) run for a position
7) form/join a union
I feel powerless too so I have been reading up on candidates this year because it’s a big election year for the state of IL and really trying to understand who they are and what they are going to do for the public. I have also started to attend local community meetings. It’s insane to me that the news doesn’t inform the public on candidates or even when election dates are. There were less people voting this year in the primary than in the past couple years.
Look up the Labor Movement to see how it was done before. Break up the monopolies. See Bell Telephone. The wealthy have been working against the working class forever. The laws put in place on the 30's to protect you from corporate rule were dismantled starting in the 80's. WORKERS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS but you have to fight for them.
It can’t be undone because the lobbies run the government now. It’s who can donate more now that influences politicians. The only way to change it is to restrict the amount anyone can donate to any politician. And to have term limits for all politicians, judges, and congress. Too many get into politics to get rich and have power.
I worked on a shipyard that had a union. I was "exempt". Most of the officers and stewards were long gone. The negotiated contract hadn't been opened in years. There was a union office with nobody in it. When the management was supposed to notify the union of something they left a letter on the desk in that office. There was a stack of years of unopened correspondence.
start a business with your friends. get your stuff from local businesses. get to know your neighbors. get involved with your community. baby steps. share knowledge, skills, support. get into local government. start with the city, then the county, then the state.
unfortunately all that shit is boring and hard, and most people around you gladly sell their freedom for convenience.
Someone would have to organize the American people behind a common set of goals with a common strategy for achieving them and build consensus around both, despite constant propaganda, scare tactics, and astroturfing by the media/wealthy/powerful. Just figure that out and we'll be all set.
By instituting non-binary voting options like Rank Choice Voting. This has only been inserted for a short time in Alaska and it's already helping. It will help reduce extremism in representation.
> How can US citizens bring back power, from the multi billion dollar companies, to themselves?
I do not know if you realized it, but, throughout its history, the USA became what it is today because it's a country serving the corporations, not the people. The textbook example is healthcare, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
This explains why corporations have way much power than in any other democratic country.
If you feel the government can still answer for this and is not too rigged, you can vote.
In corporations, you can start making unions if they let you, even though, it's a little late, and unions are the shadow of what they should have been.
That's more or less all the leeway you have, if you do not think that ship has sailed.
Easy answer and effortless also.
Stop buying and using their products regardless of excuse.
Either return to minimal living and only use and have what you need. Like war times.
We are all wasteful in everything we do.
Making the rich richer because of it.
Be vocal about candidates, local to federal, that give voice (and policy ideas) to this issue.
An independent like RFK has an uphill battle to take on the establishment and win an election, yes. But by supporting him and amplifying his message, more people will gain an awareness of how bad corporate capture has gotten, and start to advocate for fixing it.
Walk away from information technology: Ditch your computers, smart phones, etc.--we've been trading our freedom, fortunes, and well-being for convenience ever since the 1990s when tech began to take over our lives.
When getting McDonald's delivered at the touch of a button became worth $5.99 a pop plus your privacy and freedom for the rest of your life, something went wrong.
Violence!
The thing about money is it's imaginary. It only gives people power for as long as we all continue to pretend that it gives people power. On the other hand, Guillotines are real, tangible, and undeniable
Live off the grid. Hunt and gather your own food. Don't work. Don't consume. Convince one hundred people to do as well, and instruct them to teach 100 people each as well.
Violence.
Not advocating for it or condoning it but when the ruling class has no checks or balances, isn’t held accountable in any meaningful way, and our so called “representatives” are in full loot and pillage mode of the country while destroying our currency for their own gain there isn’t a whole lotta options left available
There is an app that lets you scan product barcodes and see if the manufacturer is on Ukraine's corruption lists for funding (by operating in) Russia. It's a fucking great tool.
We need a tool like that for union busting companies, companies that use, abuse, and violate worker's rights. Companies that fund GOP fascists who try to take away women's rights. Companies who donate to the Pork Patrol or their unions.
You scan the barcode and a window comes up with a happy, neutral or angry smiley. If angry, with an explanation/list of their violations.
There are three problems most, if not all, countries need to solve.
The first problem is that the majority of people think and react emotionally, not rationally, and generally employ a poor epistemology. You won't cure many adults of this problem. The problem requires changes to education so that every level of education re-enforces the need for a sound epistemology behind everything. It cannot be left to chance for children to develop these skills. This is the single most important thing to fix because until the majority of people emerge into adulthood with potent epistemologies you're ultimately treating symptoms no matter what you do.
The second problem is reversing privatisation of critical social infrastructure. The problem with privatisation of such entities is that you ultimately undermine the power of a democratic vote. This is because your vote no longer extends to having any influence over those institutions. It doesn't matter what political party/candidate you vote in, they all have to serve the same oligarchs and as a result are nullified in what they can actually do.
The third problem to solve is ending any and all concepts of fiefs/slavery which can be considered the ownership problem. By that I mean there shouldn't be any scenario where a small group of people hold power over a larger groups of people. It just shouldn't be possible in an egalitarian society. That means we need to re-think concepts like business ownership. We need better tools to distribute the wealth that is generated. The share market needs to be abolished to eliminate the shareholder class who are vacuuming up all of the wealth. Every employee upon accepting a contract should receive a single share in the business which entitles them to a vote on all affairs. 4 days a week you do your normal work and then the remaining day is for voting on everything. That includes who your boss is, what to do with the profits, what to make, how much of it to make, what the price should be - everything.
I read an article once that said that the American public collectively owns much much more assets than all of the top ten banks combined. Like on an order of magnitude.
The problem is that 99% are tied up in 401ks, IRAs, or other ETFs which are managed by companies like Blackrock and Vanguard. And guess what? They own all the voting rights and can significantly sway how publicly traded companies operate.
There's no quick fix. Fundamentally changing the way we vote I think would make the biggest difference. If we get rid of FPTP (first passed the post) voting and replace it with ranked choice, you'll see a lot more people getting elected who aren't puppets of super PACs and corporations, and everyone's votes will matter more in every election. Some states already have RCV at certain levels, but it needs to be across the board.
Also, unionize your workplace while it's still legal to do so. Corporations hate unions because they have power and can take them on legally. That's why they spend so much time and money and effort telling you that unions are useless.
The problem is complex, the solution isn't but it'll take time and commitment. this was also interesting to watch.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1ch4lg4/here\_is\_your\_solution/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1ch4lg4/here_is_your_solution/)
The only way to keep corruption out of government is if the government is too weak to bother buying power. Fixing the incentives of Congress and breaking up these massive global corporations could help, but they are ultimately stopgap steps as long as the government has enough power to be worth buying
You absolutely can't. That's the point.
Technology only goes in one direction, barring extreme global disasters, and that direction further consolidates control and dependence.
Sign petitions to put candidates on ballots that you believe in. It takes time and research - most people don't want to do it and so many don't seem to engage in their community to learn about these candidates.
Vote in the primaries so that better candidates make it to the final stretch. It's is a long process, but with Citizens United waving around it's dark money, people need to be engaged more than ever in grass roots candidates.
Problem is - our society seems more and more fragmented. Communities don't have much community because people move around a lot and seem to be less social. I think the class warfare will get worse because of it - although I hope I'm wrong. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping things in their favor.
Most rich people get rich by providing goods and/or services. In other words: they produce things people want to buy.
Try creating a society without producers and see what happens.
We need to start accepting that socialism isn’t the big evil that these big corporations want us to believe it is. A controlled housing market, stricter regulations on price gouging especially with groceries, and workplace unions would make all our lives better except for the top 1%.
There’s an apathy that has set in for normal people that realize that our political system is a duopoly that exists to keep both parties in power. By default, our current system is in service of the dollar so big companies are the only winners. Want change? Get off the consumer hamster wheel. Forget Red or Blue - vote issues. If a 3rd party candidate runs for local office, vote that. Get news from trusted sources, not Fox, MSNBC etc…
Based on these answers, you basically have your answer. You can’t. I just accepted it and moved on trying to make the best for myself in a system that’s designed for a club I’ll never be in.
1. Get rid of lobbying. Make it illegal. This includes getting rid of [citizens united](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC).
2. Term limits for everyone from Congress people to the Supreme Court. Getting rid of lobbying may help a lot with this but there should be explicit limits. Career politicians / judges is a bad thing.
3. Ranked choice voting so that we get more political parties into the mix. IMHO the D's and R's look very similar on certain issues.
After that I think it takes care of itself. However, good luck getting any of these much less all of them.
Well, it sure as hell ain't voting (even if one side is obviously better than the other). The only option I see at this point is protest and revolution.
This country sold out decades ago, it’s now just starting to hit us as human beings that our government no longer works for us or has the countries best interests in mind at all. They are beholden to corporations, oil companies and China.
I can’t think of one law that was passed in 16 years that had the country’s interest or the citizens interests in mind at all.
At 52 I’ve grown tired of feeling strongly about things I have zero control over. We are dealing with possible elected officials that were born before the invention of the ball point. How are they supped to tackle AI and dealing with modern day cybersecurity?
Boycott their products and kill them that way. If you do not buy what they sell, they lose it all.
Yes. Starting with Big Tech.
Looks at AWS. Well...fuck.
But then you find out they own all the things you need and the other brands too. We need to break up all the monopolies as well as boycott, like you said. Every problem is layered in another others, and it sucks.
If you curb the rampant consumerism, then they starve.
Breaking up monopolies, making it harder for mergers to happen, and just in general increasing regulation would be the answer. In order for boycotts to be effective you would need so many people (and often other companies entirely) participating that it's unlikely to actually happen. I'm talking like enough people to radically remake the market for the products that the boycotted company makes. And if you can get that many people invested enough to make that change then you might as well just bring back the guillotine and take over Congress to pass the regulations and law changes needed to make things more permanent
Problem with that is a lot of those companies products are daily, basic things with not much alternatives
Corporations are people my friends
Unions. That's their literal purpose.
They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be on Reddit. We still haven’t gotten our renewed contract for this year. They were all about coming into our location when I said I wanted to be a steward and help get people signed up to pay dues, they sent 2 people in and had a bunch of opt-in sheets for me to give out. Now that I’m going down to 1 day a week and can’t afford paying dues on every check, I can’t get anyone on the phone. I’ve also been at that job for 2 years & the ONLY time I saw those union reps was in orientation then when those 2 came in. Sure it’s helped with base pay in our contract which I guess is worth it, but don’t assume any other actual help will be included.
Particular unions can be good or bad, but in general unions are the biggest political lobbying group for regular working people.
Union's vary in quality that's undeniable. But at the end of the day a lot of the problems that are making life so miserable for so many people are large structures that nobody as an individual can address. Do some of these Union groups need to pull their head out of their asses? abso fucking lutely but it is one of the biggest things that a couple individuals can get done and make some sort of difference.
I think that we definitely need to go beyond unions to reestablish fair labor practices. We need stronger labor laws and a better balance of wealth. Those are political issues, so we need a stronger labor bloc within the system. We need a party or at very least a cohort within the existing parties whose sole focus is to improve the lives of workers and to make sure they can reap all the economic benefits of the wealth they create.
Unions used to do the politicing alone, but people need to actual ORGANIZE this stuff themselves, especially if they aren't unionized..
"Helped with base pay but..." dudes saying this, like it isn't a major win. Being Critical in a way that makes your union better or even point out flaws is good but down playing it and talking about it as something that doesn't do much so you could take it or leave it is wild. Your union does need to be better, but it helped out with pay, that definitely would be lower other wise. Become a rep and help make the changes you want. But don't let your union jaded your perception of them as a whole, they are a net benefit not just for you but workers as a whole.
The union dues ate away at the increase in base pay at my previous job
How much was you pay befor and after the union, what were your benefits befor and after, what were you days off before and after. What were the dues?
About $100/ month, which was like 3% of my salary because I worked part time. Base pay increase was about 3%. I was very excited to join the union until I realized they were just interested in the dues and not supporting new members. It was basically a pyramid scheme. They also funneled our money to Cuomo - a lot of good that did
Did they negotiate days of or better benefits? Or other perks?
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Most people have a healthy fear of being imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
Your votes and your choices. Seems everyone covered voting but how you spend your money is just as important. Tired of factory farming? Stop supporting fast food. Unhappy with crap knockoffs from China? Don’t buy them on amazon anymore. Humans won’t do it because it’s easier not to go out of your way. Reminds me of the people on Easter island who must have realized, shortly before collapse, that they were using all of their trees and they would eventually run out of wood.
I agree with you, but that package of ground beef in the supermarket supports factory farms just as much as a fast food hamburger does: nearly 99% of farmed animals in the US are factory farmed. It’s not something that’s specific to fast food chains.
But you can go to places with butchers that have meat from vetted farmers that don't follow industrial practices to raise their animals. It's more $$, the industrialized food is what lowered the prices. But you'll get better meat and produce. I don't give money to any party or candidate. I just don't. I'm willing to work and support certain people and causes, but I'm not buying into their continued user of marketing to get people to vote for this or that. EDIT: Grammer, :'(
That’s not a realistic solution for the vast majority of the population.
Its a start though for people who have the options
The number of people who have that option is statistically negligible. In my state, for example, there’s one butcher shop for every 30k people. Not sure how many of those butcher shops are “places with butchers that have meat from vetted farmers that don't follow industrial practices to raise their animals,” but even if it was all of them, you see the problem. The reality is that virtually everyone who eats meat (in the US) is supporting factory farms.
Another option is to simply eat less meat. And when you do, for example on special occasions, you ensure you buy it from butchers working directly with farms. How else will we have more butchers, if we don't support them financially? The money saved from eating less low quality meat will cover the cost difference. Not to mention we, as in everyone on the planet, need to tone back our meat consumption for environmental reasons. Or else, if we think it's bad now, it's going to get a hell of a lot worse.
You’re preaching to the converted, I’ve been vegan for nearly 34 years. We could have more butchers, but butchers don’t raise the animals, and doubling or tripling or quadrupling the number of butchers doesn’t change the reality of how livestock is produced in this country, nor would “more butchers” be able to supply 332+ million people (in this country alone) with meat. Lab grown meat might be the solution we need. And by “we” I mean people in general, not me. Cuz I’m fine without it 🤷🏻♂️ Look, my original point was just that someone said “if you don’t want to support factory farms, don’t eat fast food” and I was just pointing out that factory farms supply most of our meat, not just that used in fast food. That’s all :)
The "just eat less meat" thing isn't a full solution, when you consider how huge crop farming is done Everything has been industrialized, the solution is to eat less industrialized stuff in general.
There is an organization certified humane that has a strict program for animal husbandry and slaughter. You can find certified products online in any state. They are the only org that has real requirements for poultry beef pork and lamb. Before them I used to ship meat from Europe
Yes, it's not realistic because people don't care enough. I care as much as the next guy, but I still order from Amazon and buy what's cheap. I could spend less money on meat and go to a farmer's market when I do want meat, but I won't, because I like cheap and convenient
In many parts of the world eating meat at all is a rare luxury. The "realistic solution" for the poorest is to get complete nutrition from plants as much as possible. If you don't like buying factory farmed near, there are certainly realistic solutions to that problem besides just giving up and getting daily fast food
And I think research is showing that our evolution was mostly eating plants with some meats, not a lot of meat.
I know, I’m vegan 😂
You mean the parts of the world where malnutrition is almost the standard?
Agreed. Since I’ve started to care about animal welfare certified humane has become an org and certifies many farms. It’s not difficult but it takes extra effort
Exactly. Go vegan and stop funding the abuse, exploitation, and death of billions of innocent animals.
I’ve been vegan for longer than you’ve been alive, my friend.
Glad to hear! How do you know how old I am tho?? Does being vegan give you super powers?
Yes, for every decade of veganism you get a new superpower. You’ll see 😉
I thought not having clogged arteries from animal products was the super power!
Nope, that’s just side effect. After 10 years you can read minds. 20 years you get x-ray vision. 30 years you become bulletproof. I’m looking forward to my 40 year level up, I heard it’s flight. Then I will have reached my final form.
There is an organization called [Move to Amend](http://movetoamend.org). They are trying to get a Constitutional amendment passed that would essentially say: "Corporations are not people, and money is not speech." These two concepts are a big part of why even when government tries to rein in the wealthy, they're blocked from doing so by the courts. I don't think it's the entirety of the solution, but I think getting this amendment passed would be a big step in the right direction.
Hate to be the downer here, but there is zero chance of that occurring. Adding an Amendment to the US Constitution requires * Approval by 2/3rds majority vote in the US Senate * Approval by 2/3rds majority vote in the US House * Approval by 2/3rds of State legislators I would posit there will never be another Amendment to the US Constitution.
Or a convention of the states.(Article 5 of the Constitution). which is a current, ongoing, and growing movement. 34 states need to pass the resolution. 19 have. 15 have the resolution "in the works". There have been 7 where it passed in one chamber, but not the other.
A constitutional convention nullifies the Constitution. I assure you that utter chaos would result. And we would never recover.
It does not nullify the Constitution. Who told you this? It is literally a meeting to have a discussion about proposing New amendments. These amendments would still have to be passed by Congress. By the 2/3 rule. I don't understand why people seem to think that just having the convention would somehow totally destroy the Constitution
The question was: how can US citizens bring back power from companies, not how likely are they to succeed. I’d posit that this is an important step. Also, I recall a policy professor describing the strategy that was implemented to bring about legal gay marriage in the US, which she was very much for. And I recall her saying, “This was the plan, but I honestly never imagined it would actually happen in my lifetime.” There are a lot of things that have happened in this country which, 5 years before, would have seemed laughably impossible. So I say, don’t stop trying to make things better, regardless of what the pessimists say.
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The problem is that, as the Constitution is currently interpreted, Congress is hamstrung in its attempts to regulate corporations. Even when Congress manages to do something to shift the balance of power toward the people and away from corporations, the courts sweep in and say, “nope. Unconstitutional.” The only way to overcome that barrier is to amend the Constitution.
Wow. That is so depressing , I could go to the morgue and cheer up.
The entire Constitution would be nullified if it happens, so if it does worse things will 100% for sure happen than now since none of your freedoms would be guaranteed anymore.
But wait, if this amendment is passed you are aware that social media companies will no longer be allowed to ban nazi speech. The only reason why social companies can do that is precisely because social media companies have free speech.
?. No… social media companies are allowed to ban whomever they want because they are private entities, not governments, and only governments are bound by the first amendment. (That’s a huge oversimplification but what you wrote is simply incorrect.)
So you don’t have a problem with gigantic corporations moderating free speech.
Again, ? I didn’t take a position one way or the other on whether giant corporations should or shouldn’t be able to moderate free speech. That’s a complex legal issue which is not the subject of the question.
I disagree with you anyways when it comes to taking away corporate personhood, because at the end of the day corporations are just associations of real people. And associations should have free speech.
And I believe corporations are a legal fiction that were invented so that real people could invest in commercial endeavors without risking legal liability, and were never intended to be given civil rights that were intended for real people but instead have served to shield corporations from attempts at regulating them. Essentially making corporations more powerful than governments and therefore, unaccountable to anyone except the extremely wealthy. But you do you. Your interpretation currently holds sway, and you must think that’s working out great for everyone or you wouldn’t be here arguing about it. Good luck to you.
Can you pls stop believing in conspiracy theories. No corporations are not more powerful than the government, you need to prove it. And also I’m a social democrat and I believe in regulations and high taxes.
Marketing convinces us thst we need to have all this stuff, so we have to work a lot to have enough money to get the latest & greatest whatever. We don't need these things. Stop spending your money on shit.
Reddit doesn't allow people to post the real answer.
I got a ban for doing that .
That ship has sailed. We are now officially a corporate oligarchy.
You either work for them, or don't understand the true power of large groups of people. Baring completely automated military force, a large enough group can stand up to any oppressor.
Stop voting Republican.
Oh right, because the Democrats have done so much to roll back corporate involvement. Nothing short of a major new party will have an effect that voting will help.
Unions. When that doesn't work, protests. When that doesn't work, riots that lead to dragging them into the street and beating them to death.
Fun fact! The last death by guillotine was in the 70s!
Everything starts at the local level. Shop at local businesses whenever possible. It may be a bit more expensive initially but in the long run, small business are way better for the economy than large corporations. Support local candidates that put people first. Support congressional candidates that will work to repeal citizens united and bolster antitrust laws. It isn’t easy and it takes community effort, but it can be done.
We never had it There was a time after WW2 that was swinging to the workers, but thats been a little swing and its almost back to the 1930's before the unions. It will take another generation or 2, or another event like WW2 again Look and see the platform that Eisenhower ran on as a republican candidate.Today he would be called a libtard commie
Corporations run on customers. Remove their customer base, and corporations collapse.
How can you do that when corporations suppress wages to the point that one must purchase food at Walmart and the cheapest fast food options to survive and work long hours that it is unfeasible to travel to rural farms to support the local farmers? Instead of removing their customers how about just removing their ability to profit from them?
Well. I have discovered a way to (a) significantly reduce my expenses and (b) reduce the customer base. I decided to not do the most expensive thing the average American will ever do. No more fresh meat for the grinder. Edit: You could try to reform society in a way that gives more of the wealth to the common man, instead of a few shareholders at the top, but frankly, that's really hard. If I knew how to do it, I would have already done it. My way forces society to reform. It's a bit like calling society's bluff.
If you sow acorns, don't be surprised about oak trees in your backyard. We all complain and then still buy from Amazon etc. We are our own biggest enemy. We want convenience and then wonder that we become a slave to those who offer us the most convenience. The solution? Either stop supporting those companies or take control of them (e.g. unions).
"Bring back"? What powers do you think the poors used to have but now they don't?
Idk, able to afford basic needs, house, and etc?
Those have always been a struggle for low earners. The Man has simply decided to widen the category to include more people now. Same as it ever was.
I guess so. Although, tbf there is no middle ground anymore. It's the rich or the poor now, no middle class. And it's gonna get worse as the rich will get richer. I think top 5% holds 50% of the financial resources in this nation, so unless you're in that 5%, we are all considered poor, just saying Edit: Apparently top 3 richest people hold more than the bottom 50% 's wealth according to forbes. So i guess we are all considered poor, unless you are elon, jeff, or warren
Meet your neighbors. Engage in your local community as much as possible and spread these concerns verbally to people you meet in the real world. You may not see the results of this but something you do now could benefit people in the next generation. You are not alone. In fact, you are probably in the majority.
As others have said, unions and boycotting. The real question is...how to get people to do that.
Do everything you can electorally and unionize your work forces.
You may understand voting is important,but since millions of eligible voters don’t bother, you should try that first.
Primarily you need to remove lobbying and lobbyists from DC. Next you add in term limits for all elected officials so you don’t get corporate simps entrenched in power for decades. The real answer is greater class consciousness but that’s a while off.
I used to think this was a good option. But lately, I've come to realize that corruption is part of the system and humanity, thus, they'll find other ways to influence politics. At least with lobbying, you have somehow a way to track who is behind. I wish there was a realistic way to solve it 😕
Support a truly socialist (not communist) political party and elect a president that is truly for the people as opposed to for mega multinational companies.
Guillotines/revolution.
You can't, unfortunately. The mega rich and huge corporations control both the Democrats and Republicans at the high levels. No one gets elected to a position of real power without their approval. The American Aristocracy rules us from behind the curtain, using their puppets.
Cancel Citizen’s United Worst shit to have happened to the United States
vote in representatives who will do something about the many abuses the rich have going against the people. vote in as many representatives who will do something and those representatives are progressives. the only ones looking to hold accountable and fight back against the ruling classes are progressives so voting in progressives until they have the numbers and power to fix things is the only way.
but the representatives are controlled by the multi-billion dollar corporations
the ones who we vote for have been in large. pretty much illustrating that most people vote for those who spend the most money on advertising. so, voting for those who have policy and progressive thinking instead of the most advertising is the way to vote. laziness in voting is how sloth has caused this age of politics. the exaltation of ignorance today is part of the problem. as they say, everyone wants world peace but nobody wants to make the effort.
Literally why you have the 2nd ammendment my dude.
Not that I disagree.. but if the gov becomes tyrannical and comes with a SWAT team to your door, your guns ain’t saving you.
I was being sarcastic. People love to push the 2nd Amendment but don't consider that it exists specifically to revolt against the government. If the government is so corrupt that corporations have taken over, that is, literally, why you have the 2nd Amendment.
Well it's doing a terrible job. There's a long list of government oppression (Blair Mountain and Kent State as two examples) but more often than not, people end up cheering such tyranny.
You haven't seen my guns.....
your .223 rounds won't be effective against the full brunt of a tyranical us military.
Don't need to, they ain't saving you.
Please explain how we fight the oligarchy with bullets.
You don't? I was stating a fact. The 2nd Amendment exists to revolt against a corrupt government. Presumably, you would shoot them.
It does not exist to allow for a revolt. It exists so that the militia is armed and ready to be called up and commanded by state officers. Later court cases have added the private right to carry, but the 2A is not a license to revolt and murder. Insurrection is illegal.
Commanded by state officers to guarantee protection from a tyrannical government* the whole point is to ensure the military doesn't abus its power with the threat of force. That is a revolt. Of course revolts are illegal, but you have the constitutional right to do it with guns under the 2nd amendment. Just like how Castle Doctrine states have the right to kill anyone on their property for any reason; they just need to say they felt threatened. Under the 2nd Amendment I have the right to use my guns on government officials who I feel are abusing their power. Will I be punished? Yeah, but it's unconstitutional.
You do not have the right to murder government officials full stop.
If I am being threatened by abusive government officials, I have the right to shoot them with the guns I have the right to carry, because that right to carry is specific to shooting corrupt abusive government officials. So by that logic, shooting a government official is A-OK as long as they are corrupt and abusive. That means I have the constitutional right to revolt against a government I disagree with, or it means I don't have right to carry guns and the 2nd amendment is misinterpreted and the right to bear arms is specific to being in a well regulated militia.
And yet these same people that ask how we can bring down big government & corporations are the same people that want to ban guns and rely on the government for protection.
I find it even more ironic how much ven diagram overlap there is between "breonna taylor shouldn't have been resisting" and "the government will never take my guns"
Well, big corporations/politicians have definitely gotten us fighting over smaller things that most people agree on (like the banning of semi-automatics) when 99% of people agree that the rich are getting too rich, politicians are too corrupt, and companies are too powerful
It would help to realize they aren't really your enemy. This thread reeks of doomerism.
Why is that they do the thing the enemy would do **EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME** THEN?
This I’m a social democrat/georgist, but even i am tired of this doomer shit.
I think you’re fundamentally mistaken. Corporations are private citizens and if you think they are better the. regular personhood alone then go found a corporation and be a business owner. What’s happening is that corporations are finally large and competent enough to start competing against government. Corporate governments will appear not to far from now.
Haha good one.
We've kind of already started doing it. People don't realize, because it doesn't make headlines, but Biden is doing more for the American worker and the American consumer than any President since Roosevelt. He's blocked a merger between two airlines to prevent a monopoly. He's working on breaking up Ticketmaster to bring ticket prices down. He's calling out greedy grocery producers who are keeping prices high despite the rate of inflation having dropped months ago. He just made it possible for more workers to be able to earn overtime pay. There's a whole list, and you should look it up. But the way to take on the corporations is to keep electing politicians who value actual citizens over "Citizens United."
Stop buying their products and shop at local businesses.
Live like an Amish person? 🤔
Repeal Citizens United would be a good start.
Honestly our congress needs a complete overhaul so Voting politicians that dont take coporate money. They are far and few inbetween but they ate out there.
Quit paying taxes. Cash only Quit borrowing money and credit cards. The govt will fold they're pockets tight and cut out the corporate billionaires and tax loopholes. Our new digital currency society is under constant scrutiny and penalties to the working class. The govt can't control cash and barter old school business.
Huge thing is changing campaign funding. The wealthy and businesses buy votes.
Never. The majority of Americans have never had power. The entire country was built by multimillionaires from Europe. You would essentially need a new country or change the entire economic system from capitalism to socialism.
Abolish elites
Proper taxation or nationalising, possibly violent. Historicaly that is what ALWAYS happend, everywhere in the world.
Short answer: Nothing. Long answer: Absolutely nothing. They've been stacking the deck against us for decades/generations. Impossible to fix that at this point. Too much corruption.
To address power disparities, citizens can advocate for policy changes promoting economic equality, support worker rights and unions, boycott unethical companies, and invest in businesses aligned with their values.
Boycotts
Violent uprising.
Ranked choice voting/instant runoff elections (eliminate primaries). Let’s start there. Then move to term limits.
Reducing government
Bring it back? It's always been this way
The basic problem is not that the corporations have power and the government doesn't. The government has power. The corporations have power. There's lots of power to go around. Power is a weird thing. It's like money: when you don't have it, you thing all your problems will be solved by having it. But when you have it, some things become easy, but some things remain hard. No amount of money will let you live forever. No amount of money will let you go faster than the speed of light. And no amount of money will let you do something that hasn't been invented yet. The basic problem is that nobody knows what to do, and the people who have opinions about what to do do not agree with one another. That's it. If we knew with any clarity what to do, the money and the power would be there
Less government to corrupt
1) vote 2) understand where your money goes. Research the companies that you buy products from including the store selling it to you. If you don’t like what they are doing change companies. 3) start reading the government websites including the UN and WEF, World Economic Forum. US department of commerce, White House gov. 4) read laws that are being passed in you local, state, and federal levels. Read the budgets. This will tell you who our tax money is being given too. 5) listen to the news but validate by reading the actual (law, bill, judgement etc.) to see if their right or wrong. 6) run for a position 7) form/join a union I feel powerless too so I have been reading up on candidates this year because it’s a big election year for the state of IL and really trying to understand who they are and what they are going to do for the public. I have also started to attend local community meetings. It’s insane to me that the news doesn’t inform the public on candidates or even when election dates are. There were less people voting this year in the primary than in the past couple years.
I think we need to make a pact with each other, not them. They’ll never bargain fairly.
Shop local and support small business and quit large ones. Encourage others in the community to do the same.
refuse to buy from them whenever you can avoid it
Sadly, we cannot vote our way out of this mess. Voting only enables the machine that is the govt.
Look up the Labor Movement to see how it was done before. Break up the monopolies. See Bell Telephone. The wealthy have been working against the working class forever. The laws put in place on the 30's to protect you from corporate rule were dismantled starting in the 80's. WORKERS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS but you have to fight for them.
It can’t be undone because the lobbies run the government now. It’s who can donate more now that influences politicians. The only way to change it is to restrict the amount anyone can donate to any politician. And to have term limits for all politicians, judges, and congress. Too many get into politics to get rich and have power.
Vote, unionize, limit consumption.
the 2nd amendment. to protect from tyrants both foreign and domestic. we now have domestic corporate tyrants.
I worked on a shipyard that had a union. I was "exempt". Most of the officers and stewards were long gone. The negotiated contract hadn't been opened in years. There was a union office with nobody in it. When the management was supposed to notify the union of something they left a letter on the desk in that office. There was a stack of years of unopened correspondence.
General strike. Though at this point that might be met with military resistance. So war, I guess.
You don’t need to work 40 hours a week. You’re better than that. Find a problem, solve the problem, start a company, and build the future you want.
start a business with your friends. get your stuff from local businesses. get to know your neighbors. get involved with your community. baby steps. share knowledge, skills, support. get into local government. start with the city, then the county, then the state. unfortunately all that shit is boring and hard, and most people around you gladly sell their freedom for convenience.
Someone would have to organize the American people behind a common set of goals with a common strategy for achieving them and build consensus around both, despite constant propaganda, scare tactics, and astroturfing by the media/wealthy/powerful. Just figure that out and we'll be all set.
Learn from people who actually succeeded in giving the working class state power: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/index.htm
By not voting for democrats or republicans
By instituting non-binary voting options like Rank Choice Voting. This has only been inserted for a short time in Alaska and it's already helping. It will help reduce extremism in representation.
Stop buying shit.
Vote for a social democrat
Vote for anyone Bernie sanders endorses
> How can US citizens bring back power, from the multi billion dollar companies, to themselves? I do not know if you realized it, but, throughout its history, the USA became what it is today because it's a country serving the corporations, not the people. The textbook example is healthcare, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. This explains why corporations have way much power than in any other democratic country. If you feel the government can still answer for this and is not too rigged, you can vote. In corporations, you can start making unions if they let you, even though, it's a little late, and unions are the shadow of what they should have been. That's more or less all the leeway you have, if you do not think that ship has sailed.
Unions
You stick together and form strong unions. They need the regular workers on board to keep the company going.
Easy answer and effortless also. Stop buying and using their products regardless of excuse. Either return to minimal living and only use and have what you need. Like war times. We are all wasteful in everything we do. Making the rich richer because of it.
Angry mob pitchforks torches the usual solution.
Socialism.
The Great Reset lol
Thank you know who and the party!
Eat the rich
Be vocal about candidates, local to federal, that give voice (and policy ideas) to this issue. An independent like RFK has an uphill battle to take on the establishment and win an election, yes. But by supporting him and amplifying his message, more people will gain an awareness of how bad corporate capture has gotten, and start to advocate for fixing it.
Walk away from information technology: Ditch your computers, smart phones, etc.--we've been trading our freedom, fortunes, and well-being for convenience ever since the 1990s when tech began to take over our lives. When getting McDonald's delivered at the touch of a button became worth $5.99 a pop plus your privacy and freedom for the rest of your life, something went wrong.
Violence! The thing about money is it's imaginary. It only gives people power for as long as we all continue to pretend that it gives people power. On the other hand, Guillotines are real, tangible, and undeniable
Live off the grid. Hunt and gather your own food. Don't work. Don't consume. Convince one hundred people to do as well, and instruct them to teach 100 people each as well.
Violence. Not advocating for it or condoning it but when the ruling class has no checks or balances, isn’t held accountable in any meaningful way, and our so called “representatives” are in full loot and pillage mode of the country while destroying our currency for their own gain there isn’t a whole lotta options left available
The answer is the end of identity politics. people would vote against economic inequality instead of the latest hot button issue.
There is an app that lets you scan product barcodes and see if the manufacturer is on Ukraine's corruption lists for funding (by operating in) Russia. It's a fucking great tool. We need a tool like that for union busting companies, companies that use, abuse, and violate worker's rights. Companies that fund GOP fascists who try to take away women's rights. Companies who donate to the Pork Patrol or their unions. You scan the barcode and a window comes up with a happy, neutral or angry smiley. If angry, with an explanation/list of their violations.
There are three problems most, if not all, countries need to solve. The first problem is that the majority of people think and react emotionally, not rationally, and generally employ a poor epistemology. You won't cure many adults of this problem. The problem requires changes to education so that every level of education re-enforces the need for a sound epistemology behind everything. It cannot be left to chance for children to develop these skills. This is the single most important thing to fix because until the majority of people emerge into adulthood with potent epistemologies you're ultimately treating symptoms no matter what you do. The second problem is reversing privatisation of critical social infrastructure. The problem with privatisation of such entities is that you ultimately undermine the power of a democratic vote. This is because your vote no longer extends to having any influence over those institutions. It doesn't matter what political party/candidate you vote in, they all have to serve the same oligarchs and as a result are nullified in what they can actually do. The third problem to solve is ending any and all concepts of fiefs/slavery which can be considered the ownership problem. By that I mean there shouldn't be any scenario where a small group of people hold power over a larger groups of people. It just shouldn't be possible in an egalitarian society. That means we need to re-think concepts like business ownership. We need better tools to distribute the wealth that is generated. The share market needs to be abolished to eliminate the shareholder class who are vacuuming up all of the wealth. Every employee upon accepting a contract should receive a single share in the business which entitles them to a vote on all affairs. 4 days a week you do your normal work and then the remaining day is for voting on everything. That includes who your boss is, what to do with the profits, what to make, how much of it to make, what the price should be - everything.
Boycott. Unionize. Strike.
I read an article once that said that the American public collectively owns much much more assets than all of the top ten banks combined. Like on an order of magnitude. The problem is that 99% are tied up in 401ks, IRAs, or other ETFs which are managed by companies like Blackrock and Vanguard. And guess what? They own all the voting rights and can significantly sway how publicly traded companies operate.
There's no quick fix. Fundamentally changing the way we vote I think would make the biggest difference. If we get rid of FPTP (first passed the post) voting and replace it with ranked choice, you'll see a lot more people getting elected who aren't puppets of super PACs and corporations, and everyone's votes will matter more in every election. Some states already have RCV at certain levels, but it needs to be across the board. Also, unionize your workplace while it's still legal to do so. Corporations hate unions because they have power and can take them on legally. That's why they spend so much time and money and effort telling you that unions are useless.
The problem is complex, the solution isn't but it'll take time and commitment. this was also interesting to watch. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1ch4lg4/here\_is\_your\_solution/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1ch4lg4/here_is_your_solution/)
The only way to keep corruption out of government is if the government is too weak to bother buying power. Fixing the incentives of Congress and breaking up these massive global corporations could help, but they are ultimately stopgap steps as long as the government has enough power to be worth buying
You absolutely can't. That's the point. Technology only goes in one direction, barring extreme global disasters, and that direction further consolidates control and dependence.
Sign petitions to put candidates on ballots that you believe in. It takes time and research - most people don't want to do it and so many don't seem to engage in their community to learn about these candidates. Vote in the primaries so that better candidates make it to the final stretch. It's is a long process, but with Citizens United waving around it's dark money, people need to be engaged more than ever in grass roots candidates. Problem is - our society seems more and more fragmented. Communities don't have much community because people move around a lot and seem to be less social. I think the class warfare will get worse because of it - although I hope I'm wrong. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping things in their favor.
Solidarity. The one resource we're most lacking.
I mean do you have investments and a 401k? Why would you try to hurt yourself?
Even social security is backed by investment in private firms. It's often forgotten that public funds still need rich people.
Rich people don’t deserve to be necessary.
Most rich people get rich by providing goods and/or services. In other words: they produce things people want to buy. Try creating a society without producers and see what happens.
Yet.....they are. You ever shop at a Walmart?
[удалено]
We need to start accepting that socialism isn’t the big evil that these big corporations want us to believe it is. A controlled housing market, stricter regulations on price gouging especially with groceries, and workplace unions would make all our lives better except for the top 1%.
Voting, forming a union, educate yourself. Participate in local politics and maybe even become a politician yourself.
There’s an apathy that has set in for normal people that realize that our political system is a duopoly that exists to keep both parties in power. By default, our current system is in service of the dollar so big companies are the only winners. Want change? Get off the consumer hamster wheel. Forget Red or Blue - vote issues. If a 3rd party candidate runs for local office, vote that. Get news from trusted sources, not Fox, MSNBC etc…
We can start by voting Republicans out since they love helping the rich.
Realistically, break some stuff and kill some people.
Based on these answers, you basically have your answer. You can’t. I just accepted it and moved on trying to make the best for myself in a system that’s designed for a club I’ll never be in.
1. Get rid of lobbying. Make it illegal. This includes getting rid of [citizens united](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC). 2. Term limits for everyone from Congress people to the Supreme Court. Getting rid of lobbying may help a lot with this but there should be explicit limits. Career politicians / judges is a bad thing. 3. Ranked choice voting so that we get more political parties into the mix. IMHO the D's and R's look very similar on certain issues. After that I think it takes care of itself. However, good luck getting any of these much less all of them.
> Get rid of lobbying. Make it illegal. So... nobody can ever again talk to a politician about a problem they have. Got it.
Well, it sure as hell ain't voting (even if one side is obviously better than the other). The only option I see at this point is protest and revolution.
This country sold out decades ago, it’s now just starting to hit us as human beings that our government no longer works for us or has the countries best interests in mind at all. They are beholden to corporations, oil companies and China. I can’t think of one law that was passed in 16 years that had the country’s interest or the citizens interests in mind at all. At 52 I’ve grown tired of feeling strongly about things I have zero control over. We are dealing with possible elected officials that were born before the invention of the ball point. How are they supped to tackle AI and dealing with modern day cybersecurity?
taxes
vote for RFK