Most Americans can’t afford a new car. If individual choices drive markets, and most of the consumer base can’t participate in the market, how are we supposed to drive institutional change with our spending?
They’re aware of the sales and public sentiment. That’s why they’re lobbying to roll back environmental protections and drill more. Their tactics have changed. They have gotten consistently more aggressive in their efforts to keep their business going. They lie, cheat and steal their way to the top to entrench their power and influence over individuals and governments alike.
Oil companies spend 124 million on lobbying. They spend 1.2 billion on advertising to shift public sentiment. If they own politicians, and manipulate public sentiment to shift markets in their favor how is that fair? What am I supposed to do about that? Our vote doesn’t matter and 70% of us live paycheck to paycheck. Where’s the room for us to consume enough to change business’ tactics? There isn’t any.
I wrote a paragraph about my individual contributions. Including things you said I should be doing. How can you honestly say that I’m trying to absolve myself of responsibility?
Gabbro