Modern Day Sit-In: The Needs-Based Spending Project

Over the last few days I have really given a lot of thought to the impact of the economy on the masses. Most are saying: we can’t find jobs…when are things going to improve…this is ridiculous. Yet we sit around waiting for the situation to change. When are we going to become proactive?

Imagine: a tug of war with ninety people on one end of the rope and ten on the other. Which side would you expect to win? Most people would answer the side with the majority but in today’s economy we are allowing the ten percent to pull us into the pitfalls of indentured servitude, debt, living paycheck to paycheck, foreclosure and bankruptcy. What would happen if the ninety percent began to exert some of their energy and tug back on the rope?

The problem with organizing a true stand against this imbalance is that we’ve been tricked into believing no such disproportion exists. If you work hard, you too can achieve the American dream! Would that be according to the minimum wage scale? What happens when income barely meets your expenses? Factor in debt and miscellaneous expenditures and ask yourself: what’s left?

In the meantime, the haves continue to bank on the willingness of the have-nots to spend, spend and spend some more and for whatever individual and collective purpose, we continue to meet their need at the expense of our own. The rich continue to get richer while the poor (and ever-fading middle) continue to get poorer.

Ironically, the more the gap widens the least likely we are to act. Instead, we keep waiting for someone…anyone…to take the first step. The bystander effect (an occurrence in which the larger the group the least likely any one single individual will step up to help someone in need because they expect another member of the group to do it) keeps us not only from helping others but also ourselves.

I thought back to the days of protest, when people were willing to take a stand…when someone stood up and said enough and others were willing to follow suit. Nowadays it seems that the old methods do not suffice. (Enough) People are not willing to strike because we have bills. (Enough) People are not willing to march because we have to go to work. (Enough) People are not willing to do anything because we doubt it will matter. So what can we do, collectively, to send a large enough message and make a difference?

Clearly, the almighty dollar rules: Cash Rules Everything Around Me, so why don’t we collectively decide what to do with our C.R.E.A.M.? That’s why I propose a modern day sit-in for our money. We choose to sit-in our homes and allow our income to sit-in our wallets. We spend based primarily on need. I know it may sound a bit extreme but is it? I understand that entertainment is also be a human need, but is that need greater than our social responsibility?

Rather than spend $50-$300 on a ticket to a baseball game, grab a bat, a bunch of friends, head to the park and get your own game going. The benefits are worth it: you keep money in your pocket rather than giving it to people who then earn exorbitant amounts of money at your hardworking expense (and who by the way receive so many “comp” benefits that they, unlike us, get to bank most of their income), you get some exercise and some old-fashioned fun.

Let’s redistribute the wealth. Shop the mom and pops: if you absolutely must shop, patronize the local business, which enhances, over the major corporation, which pillages, the community. Consider all purchases: Do I really need this? Where will my dollars go if I buy this?

Rather than spend money on a concert, to see a jewel-draped artist lip-sync over recorded vocals, gather up the kids and have an old-fashioned talent show. Stop supporting those who collect our hard earned money to flaunt their “blessings” which we, the masses, paid for. Support the underground artist instead by patronizing a local talent whose artistry is relevant to your situation.

Together we can make poor the new wealth because it is from our collective pennies, our labor resource, that the ten percent amass their wealth and power. So I propose we spread the word and come July 4, 2010 (what better time than the day given to commemorate so-called independence) we collectively exercise our self-determination and launch a movement to send a message that we demand to be free from oppressive practices.

Are you willing to participate in a modern-day sit in to effect change? Spread the word and join me in the Needs-Based Spending Project. Let’s put our dollars to work.