What happens when we value money over all other things? The wealthiest people gain respect and influence, just because they have money. That influential money becomes concentrated into the hands of the few, which we’re now seeing more than ever in human history. Then they use their money to buy power and military control. It’s happening now—with billionaires able to buy elections—and it happened during the oppressive reign of the kings.
Back then our forebears shouted “Separation of Church and State” because the church was taken over by the wealth of the kings, and that extreme wealth made the church highly influential and powerful. Today it’s the multinational corporations that have amassed unbalanced piles of wealth, so they buy up smaller companies to keep the beast fed and the money circulating.
We now see monopolies everywhere we look. United Health has taken over the health care system in our region, making it almost impossible to talk to your family doctor. Unilever owns thousands of products on the grocery shelves, even companies that used to be small with family values like Ben & Jerry’s.
The extractive nature of monopolies means that Main Streets suffer as a result. Businesses on Main Street are great for our regional economies, but once they start becoming very successful they attract attention from greedy investors. The massive success of Home Depot, for example, started on Main Street, with the local hardware store traditionally keeping the town together.
We live in a region that has the ability to regenerate our Main Streets, with local hardware stores like William’s and Herzog’s attracting shoppers who care about keeping our money local. Let’s replicate these models by having our economic development departments focus on local and regional successes—not attracting large corporations to suck the wealth out of our communities.
It’s time to stand up to giant corporations, so that our local businesses and families can thrive. It’s time to shout from the hilltops:
Separation of Corporation and State!
With love.
–Chris Hewitt