(crossposted from my regional Buffalo Ridge Blog )
Few years back I was making the rounds of the financial district looking for a place to park my IRA. On my short list was a brokerage house that overlooks the site of the Minneapolis occupation. I strode in the front door, and who should I be greeted by but an old buddy from the Vietnam war protest days. Back then we'd protested and discussed late into the night how we were going to end the war and create a just society. Now, a couple decades later, he was the underpaid greeter at a brokerage house and I was a truck driver. Where did we go wrong? We didn't follow our convictions, but then again maybe we did partly right- Because I sclepped Twinkies and Wonder Bread back then I get a pension check now. Oh well, that's water under the dam.
So how do we move from occupation to taking our country back? Let's start with taking back control of our government. We're about to see each party spend over a billion dollars on their 2012 campaigns, but even us 99% can play this game. In fact, if you live in a state like many in the midwest where party caucuses pick candidates, you have more power than the big donors. Yup, even a handful of friends can decide who gets the party endorsement in local races. Find some like minded friends in neighboring districts and you have the critical mass to decide a congressional nomination. There are but 1200 delegates to the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party convention, and block of even a hundred folks can decide who gets nominated for statewide office. Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas have similar systems as well as several other states. If the candidates aren't representing you or the rest of us 99%, we need to get to work and replace them.
Having put together a slate of our chosen candidates , we need to get them elected. You do that not with maxed out campaign donations but shoe leather. Yup, we elect our candidates and take back our country by talking to voters one on one, not by occupying. That's the way we elected Barack Obama, and we can do it again all up and down the ticket. Yup, we can replace those republicans who are denying us our Unemployment Insurance, blocking infrastructure construction that will put us back to work, and fixin' to steal our Social Security.
That's just the beginning- we need to take back our personal economy. Are you renting? If so, your number one personal finance goal is to become a homeowner. Decades from now, instead of a stack of worthless cancelled rent checks you can be living in your own comfortable home that you own free and clear. Yeah, I know the banks won't give you a loan, etc.. You don't need banks, they need you. Our nation is littered with vacant homes that can be had for a song- I know of several that are listed for less than $20,000 in both my rural area and the nearest metropolis. And that's just the ones that are listed- many owners have given up in selling and taken homes off the market. Don't overlook commercial buildings or trailers either- I saw a decent recently occupied travel trailer barely break $1000 at auction a few weeks ago. If you can't find anything on the real estate agent's and for sale by owner listings, just look around, find some properties you like, and contact the owners and make an offer. There are literally millions of vacant homes that owners are paying property taxes on and would be happy to sell for a pittance. No cash and can't get a loan? Discuss a contract for deed or other creative financing. Buy an undervalued home, fix it up yourself, and take ownership of your future. And don't let big city bureaucrats tell you you can't- install that wood stove or whatever on the weekend when the housing inspector isn't working, and vote the bureaucrats that demand you spend a quarter million dollars on a house out of office!
Now that you're on the way to home ownership, it's time to take back the rest of your money. Is your bank a faceless monolith that we just recently baled out that invents new service charges on a daily basis? Take your money elsewhere- like a credit union that you and your fellow members literally own! No matter who you are or where you live, there's a credit union you can join. I live 40 miles from the nearest credit union, yet I'm eligible to join at least three- Just check their websites, read the membership criteria, find which you can join, and pick your favorite(s) and join! There's some decent banks too- local community banks, and here in the midwest we've even got a regional bank- Bremer- that's owned by a foundation that encourages diversity and equal opportunity. Got an IRA, TSP, 401K, etc.? If not, get one. And make sure you're not paying exhorbitant fees that are enriching the brokerage instead of you- Get a self directed account or invest in an a low fee index fund. One of the best deals is right at your credit union- Folio Investing, offered at many credit unions through their Credit Union National Association (CUNA). They'll make most stock trades for you for a mere $4 by combining trades from several members in blocks.And now that your investing, buy corporations that reflect your values instead of Wall Street's- I'm proud to own Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, General Mills, Ford, and others.
Next, shop at and if possible join a co-op. If I buy a tent at WallyWorld, I help make a few billionaire kin of Sam Walton multibillionaires. If I buy a tent at REI, I help build a co-op that we own. Even if membership is closed and you can't join, shopping at a co-op keeps your money local and buys better products- I learned years ago that the local co-ops did a better job of blending diesel fuel for cold weather than the big oil companies. And support the services we own- use transit instead of driving and Amtrak instead of flying.
That's just the start to taking back our country and our economy... Need a car? The best deals are not new hybrids but used government fleet cars that have been well maintained and sell for peanuts. Spending a hundred dollars a month on your cell phome? Lose the iPhone as soon as the contract is up and buy a 'droid phone on a prepaid plan. Yup, you heard that from an Apple stockholder- I've got a 'droid phone on a $25 a month plan! Same with every other expense- buy what you need rather than what you want, and invest the savings!
So enough of my rantings- Anything I forgot?
2:36 PM PT: Thanks for the spotlight on community diaries, library will be closed but I'll try to stay with the discussion on my $25/month 'droid phone.