55 Ways to Starve the Beast

[Sentry18]

I can check a lot of things off the list. I am betting you can too!


https://www.theorganicprepper.com/50-ways-to-starve-the-beast/

55 Ways to Starve the Beast

October 19, 2019

By Daisy Luther
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 said beast by spending less and using loopholes to pay less in taxes.

Now the Beast is a whole lot bigger.
These days the Beast has a lot more tentacles than just the government.

The system now consists of the government and all aspects of corporatism. Big Agri, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Food, Big Banking, and Big Oil, to name a few. It seems that now it’s the Beast that’s doing the starving, as small businesses close because they can’t compete with WalMart, bigger chains are run out of existence by Amazon, the family farm is on its way out because it can’t compete with the huge, subsidized mega-farms, and people are going bankrupt because they can’t pay the outrageous medical bills…

These mega-corporations aren’t there to make our lives better or easier. They’re there to make as much money as possible and they’ll run you over if you get in their way.

(Please note that there are Amazon links in this article to show you the books I recommend. You may be able to find these books from local sellers.)

When I first wrote this article in 2013, Big Tech wasn’t quite as prevalent. I’ve added some recommendations from the comments over the years to expand this list.

Perhaps more of us need to starve the beast.
Is it convenient to starve the beast and avoid doing business with mega-corporations or to work around funding endless wars that kill and maim our young people while enriching the Military-Industrial Complex?

No, but it’s time.

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

Every penny you spend with small local businesses is a penny that the big box stores won’t have. 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.

Here are 55 ways to starve the Beast.
Starve the Beast by taking as many of these steps as possible…

1. Grow your own food.
2. Shop at local businesses with no corporate ties.
3. Use natural remedies instead of pharmaceuticals whenever possible.
4. Homeschool your children. If you can’t homeschool, at the very least, spend time undoing the indoctrination by giving them the tools to think critically.
5. Walk or bike instead of driving when you can.
6. When possible, 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 or buy directly from the farms themselves.
10. Don’t buy from corporate stores: Wal-Mart, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot. Instead, pay a few extra dollars and buy from local vendors.
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). If you want to view programs, enroll in a streaming service without commercials like Netflix.
14. Participate in the barter system – although remember that even if no money changes hands, the government would like for you to let them know so you can be duly taxed.
15. Buy secondhand from yard sales, Craigslist, and thrift stores
16. Sell your own 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. Cook from scratch to avoid all those Big Food chemicals and additives.
22. Grow or gather medicinal herbs.
23. Give homemade gifts.
24. Attend free local activities: lectures, concerts, play days at the park, library events.
25. Dumpster dive and pick up things from the curb.
26. Play outside: hike, bike, picnic.
27. Mend clothing.
28. Invite someone over for dinner instead of meeting at a chain restaurant.
29. Throw creative birthday parties at home for your kids instead of renting a venue.
30. Travel to other countries and note how most are not filled with mega-corporations, and local businesses still thrive.
31. Bring your coffee with you in a travel mug.
32. Do all of your Christmas shopping with small local businesses and artisans.
33. Reduce your electricity usage with candles, solar power, and non-tech entertainment.
34. Drop the thermostat and put on a sweater.
35. Bring your snacks and drinks in a cooler when you go on a road trip.
36. Stay home – it’s way easier to avoid temptations that way. Shopping should not be a form of entertainment.
37. Pack lunches for work and school.
38. Make delicious homemade treats as a hostess gift.
39. Close your bank account or at the very least, strictly limit your balance.
40. Visit u-pick berry patches and orchards, then preserve your harvest for the winter.
41. Use precious metals stored at home as your savings account.
42. Raise backyard chickens for your own eggs.
43. If you are a smoker, roll your own cigarettes – if possible go one step further and grow tobacco.
44. Brew your own beer, wine, and liquor.
45. Use solar power for lighting or cooking.
46. Collect rainwater for use in the garden
47. Learn to forage.
48. Buy heavy, solid, handmade furniture instead of the flimsy imported stuff
49. At the holidays, focus on activities and traditions instead of gifts.
50. Make your own bath and body products using pure ingredients like coconut oil, essential oils, and herbal extracts
51. Use alternative social media.
52. Get an old-fashioned flip phone while you still can.
53. Drive an older car without GPS tracking.
54. Use a VPN like ExpressVPN to keep your location information masked on your electronic devices.
55. Avoid adding surveillance technology such as Ring or Nest to your home.

Will these activities save America from corporatism and government overreach? Maybe not, but at least you’ll be doing your small part to rebel. Like David fighting Goliath, we are small but we are mighty enemies.

 

[WVDragonlady]

Some of them are doable but some aren't. We're too rural for a number of those things and we don't have the choices of where we do our buying like many people do.

 

[VThillman]

There is a confusion of goals there, and some advice that I believe to be contraindicated. And that ain't just advising me to craft my own Christmas gifts to my family - they would take it an confirmation of my mental deterioration.

 

[Amish Heart]

Can't you craft, VThillman?

 

[Sentry18]

In case you didn't see it, 20 and 44 are essential the same thing. Making your own alcohol beverages.

Homemade gifts can also be experiences, which is something we are big on doing.

 

[VThillman]

Can't you craft, VThillman?

I am not crafty, nor am I more than moderately handy with my hands, nor was I ever. In my life I have been a mediocre airman, mechanic, machinist, marksman, and human being. Took me about 75 years to figure that out.

 

[Amish Heart]

Maybe you can can some jam for a gift. But, yes, your relatives will think you went off the deep end.

 

[phideaux]

Way, way too many sheep depending on the beast..to ever let it be killed..

How inhumane that would be.:sarcasm:

Just put the beast in a cage controlled by "we the people".

Jim

 

[SheepDog]

The beast eats too much! Just put it out of our misery and feed what's left to those who support it.

 

[LadyLocust]

In case you didn't see it, 20 and 44 are essential the same thing. Making your own alcohol beverages.

Homemade gifts can also be experiences, which is something we are big on doing.

I noticed that as well - also don't eat at chain restaurants. We get it. Also like @WVDragonlady said, in rural area, choices are limited on certain things. Also, the storing of precious metals, while not entirely a bad idea be cautious. If you need something, you can't just run to the grocery store with your bag of gold flakes and expect them to weigh out $32.43 of gold.