By Raghu Giuffre
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November 13, 2023
Press Release – American Shopping Party CONSUMER’S MANIFESTO Consumer’s Movement America *….*….*….* Consumers are the Labor Movement of the 21st Century Welcome to the American Shopping Party “I Am The American Shopper” https://www.americanshoppingparty.com/article By Raghu Giuffre Final Draft: 10/31/20 (b) The Consumers Movement is packaged as a 1 day a month event for 50 million Americans to rally together to buy Local American Made. Show up with 50 million shoppers and every store across the country will carry something local or American Made. The first Friday of each month will be dedicated to celebrate the best of all things local and American. The Consumers Manifesto is a tour to your power as an American Shopper. We present the examples of waning unions that can find their power in a global economy with just 3 friends and family joining them; the Democrat party of the common man converted into a powerhouse upon executive priorities; the wiles of Trump supporters converged around their values; women as 70% of household budgets; the consumer as dispenser to 70% of Americans trillions; the collective of 30 million small biz in their last stand against the rigged system by Wall Street monopolies and maybe most of all, Black Lives Matter rallying America’s 40 million African Americans into 3 friends joining for 50% of all American’s buying and donating to their business and causes. You will also come to recognize the evolutionary leaps for all mankind and how they have been fueled by you as the American Shopper. This is true for nations of the Middle East, the manufacturing of China, the tech industry of India and to billions more throughout the world. You already know these things as pieces of a puzzle. Today, see them as a single portrait and your share to this magnificence of humanity empowered. In this journey, you will find yourself as the royal sovereign to Capitalisms global economy. You need but claim your stake as an American Shopper. Today, we call upon that super-power as the American Shopper for our small biz, save America, and maybe, jump start the global economy as well. What better for America’s Christmas gift to the world – a true miracle. In short, consumers are the Labor Movement of 21st Century people. The social political causes of the labor movement of the last century can now be achieved through our buying power as an American Shopper. Today, we formalize this buying power as the official Consumers Movement of America. Welcome to the American Shopping Party. *….*….* 60 Million Shoppers Feel your power as an American Shopper. Unions for example bemoan their low 14 million membership – and falling. That’s just 10% the labor force. My dear unions, know the easy cure: tap the power of your members as an American Shopper. Mr Vice President Biden, please call upon each union member. Ask them to find just 3 friends and family to join our American Shoppers. Or do this as head of the Democratic Party. This gives you a movement 60 million strong - unleashed upon our markets – in just days. How fitting that unions launch this next generation labor movement – the Consumers Movement Of America. 60 million also happens to be the number of followers Pres. Trump has on Twitter. Or about that number of women that go shopping every Saturday - double that on holidays. Women represent up to 70% of all US household spending. See the power they hold within the palm of their hand - as a single demographic. It’s the very same power you carry EVERY Day as an American Shopper - with each dollar you spend. Unions, Trump Followers, women, Democrats and you, these are just some of the social groupings that can change history in our power as the American Shopper. My dear President Trump, will you join us in this Buy American Made Day? My dear women of American, will you take the lead in our Buy Local Small Biz Day? My Dear VP Biden, will you rally the unions to join us? Mayor Harry Kim, will you declare Hawaii’s Buy Local Day? *….*….*….* Know Your Power – Change the World Decades of critics have told to the failings of modern consumption. This is a new day. Hear of your great contributions as the American Shopper. Know these gifts and you know your power to change the world. Yes, the world. Behold. • The might of China’s trillion-dollar manufacturing was built upon your dollar, the American Shopper. • All the savvy of India’s billion-dollar tech industry was also built upon your dollar, the American Shopper. • So too the modern gilded cities of those of Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of the Middle East. Each of their nations also built upon your dollar as the American Shopper. • Everyone wants that dollar of the American Shopper. You should know that to all of them, YOU ARE THAT ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR. • Billions from nations the world over, lifted from the worst of poverty. This was done in step of history’s greatest transfer of modern technology, infrastructure and governance. All those technologies also build upon your dollar – much of it, right here in the USA and as our export to the world. • We now have witnessed the greatest leap of mankind, worth millennia of evolution in hardly but a couple decades. It’s the American Shopper to have so fueled this great transformation of our world into a modern people. These are only a few wonders born of you as the American Shopper. History tells of similar legacies as the work of armies, heroes, angels or gods, but always, it is for a single king, one nation or some small region. Not so for you, the American Shopper. Your magic touches upon most every nook and cranny of our entire planet. Capitalism claims credit for these feats, but there, behind all this capitalism, is you. It has always been you, the American Shopper. You are the heart of this machine – at least for now. And so too, when you stop shopping, economies of the world stop right along with you. Today, the heart of the modern economy of the world has stopped beating. Therefore, today, we call upon your superpower as the American Shopper. This time, use your power to save America and it’s small business in their darkest hour of greatest need. Will you join us this day to Buy Local American? Save our small business as the community treasures we hold of our towns and jump start America once again – if not the whole of the world. *….*….* Economic Democracy = Next Gen Social Policy Voting with your dollar is called Economic Democracy. Every dollar is a vote and that vote always – ALWAYS - counts. Well, it counts at least 70% of the time. 70% of our entire US economy is/was based upon your consumption. This means you, the American Shopper, decides who gets our trillion dollars - 70% of the time. In other words, ‘You are the trillion dollars.’ That, my friends, is your superpower. Has any common man ever held greater power with so little but spending your own dollar? This economic tale is only the beginning of our super powers. Each day, technology and innovation only enhanced our reach into Next Generation Social Policy. • You want our young American soldier out of Middle East wars? Buy a Tesla. Buy 5 million of them - a year - and see the relevancy of foreign oil collapse in step with falling petro-car sales. • You want to fight global warming or reduce our environmental footprint? Switch to plant based Impossible Burger in place of livestock farming (which produces 20% to 50% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions and does much the same with our consumption of global resources. Fast food chains now sell these Environmental Burgers at your local corner). • You don’t like nuclear power or coal stations? Put in solar panels on your roof. • You want to stop animal cruelty: Buy Ahimsa Dairy wherein the cow is never killed and left to free range pasture. • You want the mafia of Brazil to hear your plea to stop burning down the Amazon rainforest and ruthlessly killing the treasures of its indigenous tribes? Buy from our local American Farmers. It’s why multi-nationals avoid promoting US produce – to avoid public scorn of their Brazilian imports. • AND…if you truly want American Jobs, strong communities, booming small biz and high-quality food from our neighborhood farmers (and their offer to true food security): Then please, PLEASE – PLEASE , my dear friends, please join our Buy Local American Day on the first Friday of each month. Economic Democracy is this powerful, modern app to take on today’s corporate corruption, industrial devastation and media inspired conflicts by all those so dependent upon our division as a fellow American. One day a month wherein all of us now come together, not in the conflict politics of Liberal vs Conservative, but simple celebrate the best of who we really are as one people. A national time-out to find our common cause, share a kind word, smile, sway in hand to song, local dining around the showcase of the American Best. A truly United States of America. As we like to say, the happiest place in politics. That is the ideal of the American Shopping Party. And not to worry, this still leaves 29 days to go beat up on each other in today’s politics of hate and shop from other nations of the world. The premise is simple: shop with your heart and the world will follow along to your highest ideals. You will find this of capitalism, multi-nationals and even the dreads of corrupt political leaders. They will line up behind your lead as the American Shopper. The world transformed around the values of our finest. Welcome to your power in Economic Democracy. *….*….*….* Buy Local for Nov – Dec 8 months ago, America was 30 million small businesses. They generated $3 trillion in revenues and 50% - that is half - of all US jobs. More telling: 50 cents of every dollar is what they give back to our community. Chain stores only give us 13 cents on the dollar. That’s a 4 to 1 return by small biz over Big Box stores. It’s why buying local just 1 day a month makes such a big – very big - difference. Remember, our old economy was $20 trillion a year. It’s hard to imagine just how massive this really is. Think of it this way: having just 1 of every $12 dollars going to American Made will jump start our economy with 100% employment. In this global reset, you can relaunch the terms of the old world around this new commitment to our local economy with this Made In the USA. America’s small biz are the jewels of our community talent, the vibrance to our quality of life and the building blocks of family neighborhoods. Never have small biz, farmer and entrepreneur needed us more than they do today. We are calling upon all to speak in one voice: ‘We are here for you small biz – this day, every month.’ *….*….*….* Goal: 50 Million Shoppers We are working to have 15% of the people of any given place joining this Buy Local American Day. That comes to 300,000 residence of Hawaii showing up to buy local. That’s 6 million buyers out of California’s joining us out of 45 million residents. Our goal: 50 million Americans taken from across the nation. Each of them pledged to small biz, local farmer and our home entrepreneur. One day a month makes it easy for retailers, and yet, still equals two weeks a year. That’s big. A Black Friday every month for small biz - 12 times a year. Let’s jump-start this Buy Local American Day for this coming November. It’s a practice run for the Christmas season. It just so happens that 40% to 60% of all retail is done during this yearend holiday. We have this small window of opportunity to save American Small Biz. This Christmas will be measured by the number of small biz we can save. This will be our Christmas gift to our community, country and the future of our children as entrepreneur. Stand for our values built into our Local American Made. Come join this first Friday for Small Biz America. *….*….*….* Amazon of Patriotism To scale this big will take some large players to join us. We call upon them today and all those who offer to connect us with them. Ebay! Will you be the platform for our small biz? Groupon! Will you be the marketing arm? Apple, your Apple Card the financial platform. The Apple Universe of a billion users is a hub of enterprise and techies. My dear Apple-teers, Peoples of this Apple-world, will you join us? You’re a nation and recognized as such when you stand with us here today. We also stand with Goldman Sachs’ drive for small biz. (Wall Street only offers special access to large investors. Goldman works to offers these same privileges to small biz - for the first time.) To each of you. America needs you. The world awaits you. So does our local community. We are the Amazon of Patriotism. No longer based solely upon the lowest price, but now for our highest values of local jobs, clean air, water and land; quality food grown to our health, taxes paid and finally given over to our community, schools, infrastructure and manufacturers accountable to us as our neighbor. Would you pay 10% more for such a world? How bout 40% more? Maybe 3% of your gross income dedicated to this simple cause. At least for this one day a month. *….*…*…* Take the Pledge – Today If you love this, take the pledge - TODATY? Which mayor will offer a Declaration to Buy Local American, 1 Day a month? I Call upon you Mayor Kim, our mayor here in Hawaii. I call upon all our Mayors of Hawaii. Which governor will declare our state a Buy Local American Day? I call upon you Gov’t Ige – Hawaii Gov. Which Presidential Candidate or those running for office will take the pledge? I call upon you Rocky, Kyle and Pierce. How bout you Kehele, my opponent for this seat of Congress, District 2 HI. VP Biden, will you ask unions to take The Community Pledge? President Trump, will you call upon your 60 million Twitter followers to join this celebration of America? America! Are you ready to party? 1 day a month to honor and celebrate as one people? Then take This Gandhi Pledge. *….*….*….* The Gandhi Pledge The Gandhi Pledge is a simple one. It’s the 5 things Gandhi asked of his non-violent movement: Buy Local. Ask your Friends and Relatives to Buy Local. Ask Stores to carry Local. Wear Local. Make something with your hands. (The day of your inner artisan will find magic in our hands once more as a nation. In the days of Gandhi, it was to weave their own cloth. Today, it’s to bring our imagination to life.) The final step: $20. Chip in just $20 and the American Shopping Party will be fully funded. Finally, a truly independent political party – free of corporate dependence, but in partnership of their best to our community. These are the simple Pledges of the American Shopping Party. Today we launch. Will you be a founding member? *….*….*….* Founding Fathers A Founding Member, is for those joining in this 1 week fundraiser. It’s just $20. A Founding Sponsor is = $51. A Founding Patron = $108 A Founding Father = $500. A Founding Partner = $1,000 A Founding Godfather = $10,000 A Founding VP = $50,000 A Founding President = $100,000 (This is a political party so not limited as political candidates for the size of donations.) Within the week, we will know of our scale and reach for our community small biz here in Hawaii – if not the nation at large. You are the founder to the hottest political party –in history – for we say every country should have one day a month to honor their local artisan, craftsman, small biz and farmer. All the world, joined in common cause of our very best. Join us. You are the founder of this revolution. *….*….*….* American Shopper - America’s Final Hope In closing: we have talked of your power as the American Shopper, but also take note to all those working to take that power from you. Corporations spend billions lobbying corruption from politicians. Politicians pass laws violating our rights, voice or will. Corporations want us to believe WE are helpless to their power. ..BUT – THEY KNOW their money (and all the power it buys them), is given BY YOU, the American Shopper. You really are the ‘all mighty dollar.’ Forget: ‘Show me the money.’ YOU ARE THE MONEY…at least to any of the world looking to sell starting with today’s multi nationals. Multi-nationals use low prices to sell you slave factories in place of your job or to pawn off the quality of our food, production, environment and community. Low, low prices is the bribe of regimes in oppression to the peoples of their own nation and paid by our moral sense of values and justice. And yet, few things compare to the Great Economic Coup of 2020. There stands Wall Street monopolies. All other business – competition –shut down. The Wall Street fantasy of sole company store monopoly. Has any siege ever been greater – all the world shuttered – in a single blow? Amazon reached a $1 trillion dollar valuation after a LONG 25 years. Today, Amazon just doubled that to $2 trillion in a MERE 25 weeks. That is $100 billion a month. How true of Wall Street monopolies. America’s 30 million small biz shut down. However, SMALL BIZ AMERICAN, you can also call upon your super power as the American Shopper. Remember, there are 30 Million of you small biz owners. Getting just 3 of your friends and family to join us comes to 120 million buyers. Today, lead us to buy small biz America. 1 Dear Black Life Matters. There are 40 million African Americans in this country. Get just 3 more friends and family outside your community to join our American Black Friday for this first Friday of November and behold 160 million shoppers all dedicated to buy from your community, donate to your causes, rally the gov’t to sponsor your communities and the nation geared to celebrate your struggles and triumphs. You could be walking off with a quarter trillion by years end. Great jumps start to reparations. Whatever your demographic or cause, calling upon your super-power as the American Shopper is a simple multiplier and its always there in the vote of your every dollar spent. The American Shopper has always decided winners and losers of industries – the good and bad, the wealth of whole regions and to those wielding American power. Unfortunately, today we have something quite different upon us. It may take years for our economy to recover. This means you may well be the last American Shopper of economic power, choice and the future as a nation of entrepreneurs. This could be our last chance to fight back with our power as the American Shopper. Today, you remain our last hope. And so I ask, will you stand with us today in the full glory of your power as the American Shopper? Stake your claim: ‘Today, I save America in her darkest hour.’ ‘I am the American Shopper.’ Welcome to the Consumers Movement of America. Welcome to Economic Democracy. Welcome to your American Shopping Party. *….*….*….* Member Pledge: ‘I Pledge to...’ 1) Buy Locally Made on 1st Friday -Easy for stores @ one 1 day a month. -Fun for shoppers. -Big Event for Tourist. -Every store will carry local that day. . 2) Ask 3 friends & family to join me -Don’t need TV & media once we talk to each other. Welcome to grass roots. 3) Ask 1 Store: “Show me your Hawaiian Made.” -10 to 20 customers asking Small Biz. -1,500 shoppers ask Walmart, Macy; corporate will hear about it in 48 hrs. 4) Wear Hawaiian Made 5) Make Something (w my hands) 6) $20 –Annual membership fee. (for Hawaii -300k people x $20 = $6 million . $ is for marketing blitz. Tourist get dozens of exposures of Hawaiian Style products. Scale-up all buy-local programs across state & get farmers into big venues like Ala Moana, Waikiki) *…*….*….* This writing is tailored of a thousand articles read, the conversations shared and the deepest reflections held of my last decade in this journey of the American Shopping Party. Principles of ASP 1) Only Positives 2) Celebration as Activism 3) Common Cause w/ 90% vote 4) Easy Action Steps of Time & $ 5) 3rd Option Policy Proposals – don’t deal with other party policies. 6) Focus on Sustainability 7) New Dialogue & Think Tank 8) Monthly Projects 9) Gandhi Principles of Revolution – Gandhi Pledge.