Instead of giving unnecessary gifts this year, we give loved ones home-made Christmas cards:
“This year, I’m giving you a gift of democracy. This card represents a purchase not made, money that billionaires cannot use against civilisation. I hope this is a gift that you shall be able to use every day in the future.”
A message to billionaires
We have the means to send a message to billionaires that we do not approve of their behaviour this year and that we refuse to subsidise it any longer. By not buying frivolous Christmas gifts this year, we send the only kind of message they can hear. It is also the last means we have of doing anything about our situation.
Economic harm
What about harm to the economy? Christmas gifts are usually frivolous and not part of any economy that we need. There is a presupposition in this concern, which is, whenever some company sells styrofoam angels, we are obliged to buy them to protect the economy. This is mind-control. We have no obligation to buy things we do not need.
There is a second presupposition here, which is that consumers are responsible for the economic consequences of their decisions, but billionaires are not. Decisions to off-shore production, to off-shore tax declarations, to engage in subprime-lending, derivatives trading, redlining, and greedflation are supposed to viewed as simple business decisions whose harm is unforeseeable. These are decisions that undermine the well-being of nations, whereas a Christmas strike is more like a market correction: we buy only what is useful and necessary.
Donate
Anyone who feels the need to keep money in circulation is encouraged to donate to open source projects. Any part of the internet you use, you may pay for. The internet runs on linux servers.
Links
Buying the “digital town square”
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon-founder-jeff-bezos-has-some-kind-words-for-trump
https://www.ccn.com/billionaires-thank-trump-mega-rich-raked-billions-2019
