UNVOTE
At killthelogo, we are all ready to unvote. Below is a small poll with just two questions. The rest of this page offers you some more background on why we are asking them.
WHO LOVES WHO?
(question 1 = linchpin 1)
" I demand complete publication of all forms of income, equity and affiliation that are acquired by politicians. "
All politicians are industry whores. They have always been, ever since there was an industry to speak of. But who do you love, politician? The people or the market? The calling or the money?
→ indirectly, politicians are protecting the interests of an economy that is not at all serving the people but only a continuous growth and concentration of wealth and power.
→ directly, politicians don’t want to bite the hand that actually feeds them. Politicians are supposedly civil servants but it is clear that industry lobbies and campaign financing (both direct and indirect) have corrupted the public arena. Politicians hold open or hidden mandates in corporate boards and other lodges. Goodbye to independent decision making, goodbye to the separation of powers. Hello to serving the monster.
How do we even begin to counter this? By demanding the unlimited and constant publication of the complete income, assets & real estate portfolio, on- and off-shore accounts, corporate mandates and other forms of equity that are amassed by politicians.
We have a right to know EVERYTHING about the financial chain that is controlled by all elected representatives. When it comes to equity and income, they have no right to privacy, since it is our money in the first place. And if they are getting paid or otherwise endorsed by market forces, we – as their employers – have a right to know all about it.
WHO PAYS WHAT?
(question 2 = linchpin 2)
" I demand full disclosure of how and where our taxes are sourced. "
Which companies pay what amount of taxes and which percentage of their turnover is reflected in those figures? We’re not interested in profit, because it has proven very easy to hide or syphon-off profits.
How come banks can pay out dividends to their shareholders mere months after receiving subsidies and rescue capital from our tax money? How come billion dollar companies can pay close to 0% taxes because their HQ is based in a tax haven?
Shouldn’t we see financial institutions, having benefited from tax-based rescue capital, paying back that money (completely and with interest) from their profits in the ensuing years? Shouldn’t we tax corporations on a national/regional level, based on the turnover their products and services have achieved in that very region. What the fuck does the HQ location have to do with anything? You pay taxes in the country where you have your customers, no? Where your goods are actually traded!
Fun fact: It seems that a tax collector’s performance is assessed by the amount of investigations they start, but not by the amount they actually pursue to the full extent.
So any company that has the legal team to give them a run for their money, will escape review. Leaving tax collectors forced to fuck over the smaller businesses left on their path. Tax collection quota must be met, and by God, they WILL find the money. Even if it kills the company in question. The smallest shoulders bear the heaviest loads.
What are we unvoting from?
Shit is really fuckt. Most of us are slowly but certainly getting aware of that. On top of it, there is this fundamental and wholly permeated belief that we are entirely powerless to do anything about it. What if this ‘ruling myth of helplessness’ were a delicately engineered construct of the mind?
- At killthelogo, we still trust in the fact that things can be unfuckt. In any case we want to operate under that assumption!
- We are experimenting with amateur linchpin strategies, trying to find those actions that can have an infectious effect. Feel free to suggest your own.
What is a linchpin?
‘Linchpin theory’ is about ‘incidents’ and dominos. In general lines it states that a system or a structure can become completely dismantled if a certain event (X-event) is triggered. It presupposes that the individual elements in a structure or system are interconnected and interdependent. The seemingly solid, smooth and impenetrable wall might just be a wonky structure, full of holes, cracks and opportunity. So in order to effectuate deep change it could suffice to find the linchpin on which one or more key-processes rest, dislodge it and watch the dominos fall. Ready to rebuild or reshuffle the deck. Much of the ruling power is fueled by the sum of the actions of normal people, like you and me. We enable the power structure, in part by our political votes but mostly by our market consumptions.
Do you feel represented?
We don't. We believe that government is mostly not working in our interest. Mainly because of the deep affiliations of their executors with industry. The system is flawed, as a result of the weakness of the humans running it. Imperfection is a human trait, but we expect more and better from our leaders. Especially since we pay them exuberant amounts of money.
The strongest linchpin to turn this around is to reinstall the verification and transparency government officials should display and publish towards their employers. And that is us, the people. So leaders: show us where and how you source our taxes, show us how you spend our taxes and show us exactly how much you are skimming off the top.
Want to stay informed?
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Feel free to add your own ideas on how to demand more verification and transparency from our government. Be creative, help us to actually do something.
