Concerned about huge corporations wielding a huge chunk of power over the barely suspecting masses? It’s the kind of irritation that, for anyone who isn’t a chief executive, ought to transcend political affiliation. You’ve seen the headlines. Workers fired. Huge cutbacks. A nation drowning in economic drool. Yet corporate executives are still drawing enormous salaries, reaping oodles of bonuses.
Those worried about the social, economic and environmental implications of this kind of corporate power on a global scale have made their views known at several recent gatherings of world leaders. The next large-scale protest takes place Sept. 29-30 as financial officials and bankers from 25 countries meet with representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and World Trade Organization in Washington, D.C. Pre-protest activities and workshops will begin Monday, Sept. 24, the week prior to the event.
What’s the big deal about the World Bank and the IMF?
“These institutions ‘bail out’ governments with debt and credit problems, but they only provide money to governments that agree to allow corporations free access to their countries’ resources and labor,” according to content at Indymedia.org. “They fire government employees and slash programs in health and education.”
Organizers say the protests are expected to draw tens of thousands of people who believe that “corporations have too much power, that international institutions like the WTO need to be more democratic and transparent and that policies on aid, debt, labor standards and the environment need to be rethought,” according to content at the Alternet.org. The Alternet Web site provides a link to several organizations—from labor activists to environmentalists to independent journalists—involved in the protests, along with explanations of the impact that these global agencies have on all of us.
In Reno, grassroots activists are planning a protest and march on Sept. 29 in support of the anti-globalization efforts in Washington, D.C. The march is tentatively planned to start at the University of Nevada, Reno, campus and head down Virginia Street through downtown. More details to come.