50 Ways To Starve the Beast

[ Direct Actions Will Make You Freer! : I started The Freedom Network mainly for 2 reasons [1]: to meet new people who believed in personal freedom, and [2] : to help people to gain control of their own lives by showing them how to  take direct actions which do not involve having to change even one other persons point of view about _anything_, and to try to show them the error of relying on indirect actions, such as "waking people up", "changing the world for the better" or similar. Both of those phrases represent a point of view and a reliance on changing others points of view[ a very risky proposition], and the proselytizer/changer cannot ever achieve happiness until he/she has achieved their objective of changing the world and the people in it and/or "waking them all up" to whatever it is he/she feels they all need to be be "woken up" to .   The reality is that we all have enormous control over our own lives and choices {via direct actions} - on the other hand we have virtually no control over the choices/ thought processes/ beliefs of others { and only via indirect action}.  In this article, Daisy Luther of "The Organic Prepper" lists more than 50 direct actions that you can take to help "starve the beast" .  Regards, oneborfree and  The Freedom Network  .]

A term coined in 1985 by an unnamed staffer of the Reagan administration was “Starve the Beast”. This referred to a fiscally conservative political strategy to cut government spending by paying less in taxes. So, in the original sense, “the Beast” was the government, and people were to starve the beast by spending less and using loopholes, therefore paying less in taxes.

These days the Beast has a lot more tentacles than just the government. The system now consists of the government and all aspects of Big Business. Big Agri, Big Pharma, Big Medicine, Big Food, Big Banking and Big Oil, to name a few. It seems that now it’s the Beast doing the starving, as small businesses close because they can’t compete with Wal-Mart, the family farm is on it’s way out because it can’t compete with the huge, subsidized Monsanto mega-farms, people are going bankrupt because they can’t pay the outrageous medical bills…

Perhaps it’s time for another financial revolution – one where people group together and use the power of the boycott to starve all the arms of this Beast that would swallow us whole. If we vote with our dollars, eventually there will, of a necessity, be a paradigm shift that returns us to simpler days, when families that were willing to work hard could make a living without selling their souls to the corporate monoliths.

Everything that you buy secondhand or barter for is an item on which you won’t pay sales tax. Disassociate yourself completely with “the system” that is making Western civilization broke, overweight and unhealthy. Starve the Beast by taking as many of these steps as possible…

1. Grow your own food (this starves Big Agri and Big Pharma both)

2. Shop at local businesses with no corporate ties

3. Use natural remedies instead of pharmaceuticals whenever possible

4. Homeschool your children

5. Walk or bike instead of driving when possible

6. Get care from naturopaths and healers instead of doctors

7. Make paper logs from scraps for free heat if you have a wood-burning fireplace or stove

8. Boycott all processed foods

9. Shop at local farmer’s markets

10. Cut up your credit cards, except one for emergencies only. Use cash

11. Give vouchers as gifts for an evening of babysitting, a homemade meal, walking the dog, doing a repair, or cleaning

12. Join a CSA or farm co-op

13. Ditch television (and all the propaganda and commercials)

14. Participate in the barter system – if no money changes hands, no tax can be added

15. Buy secondhand from yard sales, Craigslist and thrift stores

16. Sell your unwanted goods by having a yard sale or putting an ad on Craigslist

17. Repair things instead of replacing them

18. Avoid fast food restaurants and chain restaurants

19. Dine at locally owned establishments if you eat out

20. Brew your own beer and wine

21. Read a book, purchased second-hand or borrowed

22. Dine at locally owned establishments if you eat out

23. Brew your own beer and wine

24. Read a book, purchased second-hand or borrowed

25. Grow or gather medicinal herbs

26. Give homemade gifts

27. Attend free local activities: lectures, concerts, play days at the park, library events

28. Dumpster dive

29. Play outside: hike, bike, picnic

30. Mend clothing

31. Invite someone over for dinner instead of meeting at a 
       restaurant


32. Throw creative birthday parties at home for your kids instead of renting a venue

33. Camp instead of staying at a hotel

34. Bring your coffee with you in a travel mug

35. Do all of your Christmas shopping with small local businesses and artisans

36. Reduce your electricity usage with candles, solar power and non-tech entertainment

37. Drop the thermostat and put on a sweater

38. Bring your snacks and drinks in a cooler when you go on a road trip

39. Stay home – it’s way easier to avoid temptation that way

40. Pack lunches for work and school

41. Use precious metals stored at home as your savings account

42. Close your bank account or at the very least, strictly limit your balance

43. Visit u-pick berry patches and orchards, then preserve your harvest for the winter

44. Use precious metals stored at home as your savings account

45. Raise backyard chickens for your own eggs

46. If you are a smoker, roll your own cigarettes – if possible go one step further and grow tobacco

47. Live in a smaller, more efficient home

48. Use solar power for lighting or cooking

49. Collect rainwater for use in the garden

50. Learn to forage

51. Buy heavy, solid, handmade furniture instead of the flimsy imported stuff

52. At the holidays, focus on activities and traditions instead of gifts. Go for a walk or drive through the neighborhood to look at lights, get into your PJs and watch a special movie together on Christmas Eve and make certain treats that can always be expected

53. Make your own bath and body products using pure ingredients like coconut oil, essential oils, and herbal extracts

How do you Starve the Beast? Please share your suggestions…

Original article source: The Organic Prepper.