The people of the Occupy movement are united in their anger toward big banks and their love for profits, and that a small amount of people controls the vast majority of the nation’s wealth.
But once you ask what concrete policy they support, their message breaks down. Should we raise taxes on the rich, break up big banks, or create jobs first? People have different answers, but those supporters of the movement can ask these questions later and boycott corporations now.
This simple aspect, if coordinated on a large scale, could severely hurt corporations and their profits. The populist anger reached a tipping point. People are starting to take action and this is a sensible first step. Think of it like voting with you wallet — where you spend your money indirectly supports the policies that a certain corporation espouses.
For instance, a well-known example involves Target and the gay community. If you are a gay rights activist, you might not want to shop there since they were caught funding anti-gay organizations last year.
Buying locally ensures that much more money stays in local economy. According to Local First Arizona, a non-profit local organization committed to helping homegrown businesses, $73 of every $100 spent circulates locally. Only $43 stays in the local economy when people buy from chain stores. That is a large difference and it will slowly add up. The difference will create many more jobs in the Valley and help small businesses that will drive the economy.
Bank of America recently announced a plan to charge their users a $5-a-month fee for debit cardholders. It is this abuse of corporate power that rightly angered those in the Occupy movement.
The antidote is to move all your funds to homegrown banks. These include Desert Schools Federal Credit Union or Tempe Schools Credit Union. Both have locations a stone’s throw away from the Tempe campus.
For those concerned about buying groceries locally, Phoenix Public Market, just off the Downtown campus is a local alternative. For those of you in the West Valley, Tsitalia: Specialty Foods of Arizona, is a store devoted to food of the Mediterranean. You may have seen a lot of Bashas’ Markets around and thought they were a chain. On the contrary, it is a very successful local business.
If it’s date night, purchasing from a Valley business is still possible. Go to a local coffee shop like The Fixx on Mill Avenue, Cartel or Extreme Bean in Tempe. Urban Beans is right near the Downtown campus.
If dinner is involved, go to local restaurants and Harkins’ Movie Theaters rather than AMC Movie Theaters. If you are heading out for a drink afterwards, go support a local bar or brewery. Four Peaks near the Tempe campus and San Tan Brewery in Chandler, a 20-minute drive west of the Polytechnic campus, are both good choices.
If you want to impact the corporations and hold them accountable for excess greed, vote locally with your dollars. Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
