How can I reduce my dependence on corporations?

[Bing'o'Merry]

"dissapear"

 

squat, dont work, grow your own food, dont buy things, dont sign on, dont vote / or register the electoral register, dont pay leccy etc bills

 

but you will get clobbered somewhere down the line, it aint easy to cut em out fully

 

I only want to reduce my dependence to start with. I have to work because I need to eat. If I didn't work I would sign on for the same reason. I don't regard the people I work for as a "large corporation" of the type I wish to protest against.

 

You are right that I will get clobbered for not paying my leccy bill. They will cut of the power and I will lose my internets. So how can I/we avoid this?

 

I think a tower block would look good with a windmill on top but I don't know how structurally sound it would be. Lining the outside with solar panels would probably be a better idea. They just renovated the skin of the tower blocks on Cemetary Road and now they're doing the block on Hanover Way. I get the feeling that if the idea of integrating solar panels has been suggested in the early planning phase it will have been dismissed as "too impractical" or "too expensive" and never given any serious thought.

 

I want this to be a green sustainable city where we minimise our dependence on outside elements beyond our control. Projects like this have been successfull elsewhere. It isn't even that ambitious anymore. It seems like our council would rather just not bother with anything usefull, instead choosing to fritter money away on frivolous things like huge steel art deco walls and airports no-one is ever going to use.

[melthebell]

I only want to reduce my dependence to start with. I have to work because I need to eat. If I didn't work I would sign on for the same reason. I don't regard the people I work for as a "large corporation" of the type I wish to protest against.

 

You are right that I will get clobbered for not paying my leccy bill. They will cut of the power and I will lose my internets. So how can I/we avoid this?

 

I think a tower block would look good with a windmill on top but I don't know how structurally sound it would be. Lining the outside with solar panels would probably be a better idea. They just renovated the skin of the tower blocks on Cemetary Road and now they're doing the block on Hanover Way. I get the feeling that if the idea of integrating solar panels has been suggested in the early planning phase it will have been dismissed as "too impractical" or "too expensive" and never given any serious thought.

 

I want this to be a green sustainable city where we minimise our dependence on outside elements beyond our control. Projects like this have been successfull elsewhere. It isn't even that ambitious anymore. It seems like our council would rather just not bother with anything usefull, instead choosing to fritter money away on frivolous things like huge steel art deco walls and airports no-one is ever going to use.

I said dont work/sign on because they are all interlinked. Dont pay for electric say, they can find u via work/dole records etc

[ECCOnoob]

 

One way to reduce our dependence on corporations would be to demand the council spend its energy grants building locally owned, locally controlled, renewable electricity generation and provide it to us as a service.

 

You basically mean drag us back to the the era when there was the local gas, local electric and local water board. All government controlled with one price - whatever they said it was going to be!

 

Remember when it was like that. No Centrica or Powergen or nasty corporations of any kind. Of course this would mean no investment or quality in the service (why should they.... it wasn't as if you could change supplier)

 

Whilst we are at it lets all boycot corporate stores, restaurants, pubs supermarkets, railways and banking - we all obviously hate them so much. Not like we would ever miss popping into a Starbucks or McDonalds is it.

 

Everyone can have a post office girobank account, use the local utilities companies, shop on the village high street becuase those nasty corporate oil companies would be boycotted and of course no-one would have a car ...... hey presto all mordern life wiped out along with most of the workforce and we can all live unemployed with no money in harmony on magic island.

 

I wonder how long the country's finances would last with that lifestyle.

hmmmm..

[ECCOnoob]

..........the serious point is, if you are unhappy with the price hike then shop around and find another supplier.

 

If they are all doing it then ask yourself why that might be. Wholesale price increase perhaps? Higher tax liability from the government? Or maybe they just dont like us?

 

Whatever the reason I would still rather have 14 possible suppliers rather than one Cameron/Clegg owed supplier.

[crazyhorse]

I was thinking similar thoughts about corporations this lunchtime when I went to get some stuff to make a sandwich. I thought I would get some cream cheese to put on my sarnie, but then noticed that the manufacturer was Kraft - one of the corporations I most dislike. I stood there for 5 mins umming and ahhring and eventually walked out having decided to buy nothing. One small victory in an endless battle. I don't honestly think there is much you can do, but one thing I do is ride my bike as much as possible. I know bikes are produced by big corporations but they are at the benign end of the scale, and it is nice to know that at least the oil companies are getting nothing out of me for the 50 miles a week I ride. I also try to buy more ethical food (free range chicken, eggs, meat etc)...my reasoning being that I reckon the corporations have the volume end of the market sewn up and there is more chance of smaller suppliers (who are generally nicer) getting more of my money than corporates, if I try to avoid the mass market stuff.

 

You'll never get rid of corporates, you just have to do your little bit.

[Bing'o'Merry]

You basically mean drag us back to the the era when there was the local gas, local electric and local water board. All government controlled with one price - whatever they said it was going to be!

 

Who is talking about stepping backwards?

 

Remember when it was like that. No Centrica or Powergen or nasty corporations of any kind. Of course this would mean no investment or quality in the service (why should they.... it wasn't as if you could change supplier)

 

I haven't said corporations were nasty. I asked how I can reduce (admittedly with a view to eliminating) my dependence on them. There is no reason why corporations should be any better at re-investing profits or providing a quality service than any other economic structure. There wouldn't even be a British Gas or British Telecom if we the taxpayers hadn't coughed up the initial expense.

 

Whilst we are at it lets all boycott corporate stores, restaurants, pubs supermarkets, railways and banking - we all obviously hate them so much. Not like we would ever miss popping into a Starbucks or McDonalds is it.

 

I said I don’t like them anymore, not that I hate them. The poster above is putting words in my mouth and using emotive language seemingly to hinder my attempt at finding rational solutions to what I see as a problem. Again, I asked how I could reduce my dependence on large corporations", This person obviously doesn't care about doing that or suggesting anything useful so why is he/she posting here? What is the motivation? I would say go and start your own topic on whether you think I should reduce my dependence on corporations. Don't hijack mine.

 

hey presto all modern life wiped out along with most of the workforce and we can all live unemployed with no money in harmony on magic island.

 

As always on the Sheffield forum the pro status-quo capitalists jump in headfirst with dooministic predictions of woe and cheap sarcasm at anyone who tries to find alternatives to this failed and obsolete system.

 

There is no reason why a company cannot operate in nearly the same way as they do today but with the public at large being the sole shareholder. All profits to be reinvested for the PUBLIC GOOD. The only barrier to this is that the capitalists who own the means of production are preventing it and the public at large from being aware of it.

 

The argument that if it wasn't for corporations we wouldn't have any money, luxuries or amenities like say toilet paper or cream cheese is false. Human needs and desires can and have been met through a variety of means throughout the ages.

 

Large corporations don't drive innovation, they ride it. Breakthroughs in energy, telecommunications and computers couldn't have happened without massive taxpayer subsidies and investments in research and infrastructure. Large corporations depend on huge subsidies, tax cuts, tax write offs, R&D grants, bailouts and pro-monopolistic legislation to the detriment of small local companies and the rest of us. It's just socialism but for the wealthy.

 

Large corporations are simply a means for their owners to extract wealth from this system, they serve no useful function other than that. If you agree with the above statement then you probably also agree that we have no future if we leave them in charge.

If you want to be part of the solution to overcoming our dependence on corporations then please post here. If not please don't post anything.

 

I wonder how long the country's finances would last with that lifestyle.

hmmmm..

 

Would this be before or after we gave Trillions of pounds to the banks? Before or after we get hit by runaway inflation that will halve the value of our earnings? Before or after we all hand over our pensions? Before or after our few remaining publicly owned assets get sold off at fire sale prices to the investor class as is happening now in Greece? Our current finances are nothing to be too pleased about. I don’t think I could do much worse.