Ok. One more time for everyone in the back. Ready?
Tax.
The.
Wealthy.
I can’t agree with this more, but what’s the plan exactly?
cv_octavio@piefed.ca 3 days ago
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I couldn’t agree more, but they’ve said no, and the politicians are being bought, so as a citizen, besides not buying their shit slurry, what is there to actually do about it more actively. I guess it’s just local politics, ultimately I don’t know in the aggregate how much it helps with these guys who have so much money they just wield it like a hammer. Not that that should be a good enough reason to do nothing
Keeping the issues in the conversation is good, but ideas and words only work so well, eventually someone has to enable mechanisms to do these things in reality, otherwise its just corps sucking each other off at the common person’s expense all the way to hell
SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
so as a citizen, besides not buying their shit slurry, what is there to actually do about it more actively
Well there’s a vast landscape between ‘citizen’ and ‘not buying’!
As a participant in state and local politics, you do what you can. I learned during years of NGO work that the longest lever for the non-owner class is policy.
That means working on specific issues by directing persuasion to policy makers, and often you catch those flies with honey. Appeal to the cooperative side of politicians and bureaucrats, make them feel like leaders and other ego things. Also, usually, pressuring with risks, like looming financial or political losses. This seems like very unsatisfying work because it is far from the front lines and providing direct relief, but systemic change is easier when protests aren’t necessary.
Meanwhile it’s also possible to start the Transition to a new economy, without fuss. Cooperatives are all around you, join them. Find every little opportunity for mutual aid, and take them when you can. Make non-commercial transactions normal. Participate in repair cafés, and develop thrift economy, like clothing exchanges and toolshares and small buying clubs. Electrify and find more efficiency. Group study. Build small organizations and ventures.
And crucially, participate in a little Direct Action, for your sanity and honour. What that means, whether it’s food charity or illicit art, is unique to you.
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Exceptionally robust suggestions for the average person, the next step is to act on one of these for the sake of your neighbours
cecilkorik@piefed.ca 3 days ago
It’s not going to get resolved overnight, and it’s not going to be a smooth and direct road without any violence or suffering, we’ve seen plenty of the violence and suffering already. There will be more. But pay careful attention to the resistance that is forming, keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to resist, and until those opportunities present themselves, do what you can to make yourself and your families, loved ones, and communities more resilient and better supported. Give as much as you can, until it is time to take what we are owed.
There are protests happening. There will be more. There is active resistance. There will be more. There is civil disobedience. There will be more. There are people forming labor unions. There will be more. Labor strikes are planned. There will be more.
Don’t despair, prepare. It’s almost certainly going to get worse, much worse, before it gets better… but it will get better. Even if it takes years of effort, and maybe even a lot of violence and suffering to get there. The USA is the country that threw a tea party to overthrow a king. They will do so again, sooner or later. And keep in mind that historic event, also, did not happen overnight, it was the culmination of years of public anger, organization and preparation. It doesn’t even have to be a single definitive event. The stuff that is happening in Minneapolis right now, is changing the balance point on the scale. It may not be what tips it over, but it doesn’t have to be. The undercurrent of change is always moving even when it’s not visible. When it becomes visible, it usually gets pretty dramatic pretty quickly.
Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
honestly, I think it would be a stretch to say this could be resolved in the next decade barring a super hostile action government wise such as a strict wealth tax (including offshore bank accounts). but even i think that would likely do more harm than good at first and would be neigh impossible to actually track logistically without accommodation from external countries.
Slow and Steady will eventually win the race, but it’s going to be a long hard process and will need actual participants.
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I guess we all hope the price is small, but humanity has this way of not really learning its lessons, I hope I’m wrong on that too. I make sure to have gratitude for the things in my life that are good and wholesome, because who knows anything really, but it is good to be able to see your flowers bloom, so to speak.
But humanity has witnessed the end of every other empire and made it out the other side, so yes, hold out hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and enjoy the moment
Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Sorry, best I can do is a 40% tax break for those making 1m or more annual revenue
mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
stop funding their bullshit
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
A men
LodeMike@lemmy.today 3 days ago
Stay aware. Keep up with happenings. :3
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
You know, I feel that’s causing a lot of distress, and not just for myself. I think maybe they also want desperate people, which might be why they’ve built their bunkers
Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Me: sits on 7 different low budget but sturdy PCs 😎
astronaut_sloth@mander.xyz 3 days ago
Sounds perfect for some trust-busting action. If only we had a capable government…
cecilkorik@piefed.ca 3 days ago
First we need to trust-bust the government until we get a government that is actually representative of the people, not representative of the wealth.
It’s not that the government is not capable or as inefficient as they are so often portrayed. They are actually quite capable and frighteningly efficient. They’re just not working for us anymore.
Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
more like if only enough people actually cared about what is going on in life. Most governments with this issue atm are facing massive apathy in regards to actually voting on what they want. They either don’t vote at all, or blind vote not bothing to research anything. I wish I could say this was strictly a US issue as well but, I believe most democratic governments are having this issue. I know for sure Canada is.