Occupy Dollar Bills

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and one of the deep pockets behind the Occupy movement, says he is helping launch a campaign this summer to highlight the influence of corporate money in American politics.

Cohen and the Move to Amend advocacy group will distribute rubber stamps with anti-corporate election spending messages so that the politically minded can mark their dollar bills. The end goal: To secure a constitutional amendment saying corporations do not enjoy the same protected rights as individuals and that money is not a form of speech.

Source

Ben & Jerry's ice cream is attempting to occupy your currency with stamps they are distributing. The goal to stamp currency with messages of "Corporations are not people," "Money is not speech" and "Not to be used for bribing politicians," among other slogans."

Ben & Jerry's apparently has supported OWS for quite some time according to this thread.

The occupy movement is becoming a more focused machine with this campaign to occupy the money supply. Unlike other attempts of the occupy movement, this campaign if it gathers steam, will likely have a significant impact on people where they cannot ignore contemplating these questions. Should people as a group have an unlimited financial capacity to influence politicians with? Are groups of people entitled protections as an individual? Or, is an individual the person who should be protected, not the group of people?

The proposed Constitutional amendment to make it clear that our government is not there to protect groups of people; rather, to protect individual rights of people engaging in groups (i.e. enforcing contracts between individuals). I agree. What are your thoughts?

Hopefully if people keep banging this drum, it might, just might, get our representatives to listen.

Ive been surprised by actually getting responses from my representatives when Ive called or emailed. (had a House rep actually return a call once)

People bitch about occupy but at least they are doing SOMETHING, anything, other than sit on their ass... well they sit on their ass out side but you get my meaning.

Isnt it illegal to deface currency?

Isnt it illegal to deface currency?

reply to post by lobotomizemecapin


Its called civil disobedience for a reason, not civil obedience..

reply to post by benrl


I mean wont ben and jerry's get slammed for this?

reply to post by lobotomizemecapin


Again, its Civil Disobedience.

They probably have a team of lawyers that have explained the risk, and chose to take it.

I love this idea and will be very actively involved in marking up money. Supposedly im rich so i should be able to mark lots of bills.......

I love this idea and will be very actively involved in marking up money. Supposedly im rich so i should be able to mark lots of bills.......

Section 333. Mutilation of national bank obligations Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

reply to post by benrl


Sounds like huge fines and possible imprisonment not a wise move for a company to make

Ben & Jerry's "sold out" to the British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever back in 2000. The original Ben and Jerry have nothing to do with the company anymore. So why would Unilever do this? That's what conspiracy websites are for.

I don't know who came up with this idea first. I just read about gun owners doing the same after having numerous businesses, especially large corporations, come out as very anti-gun.



Show Me the Money! Bloggers Stamp 'Gun Owner Dollars' on Dollar Bills

I don't agree with the occupiers methods or message, but I think this sort of civil disobedience is great.

reply to post by lobotomizemecapin


The controlling part of that law is as follows: "with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued"

So you have to have the intention to make the money unreadable, covering up numbers, etc. I think this is why the attorney for B&J Ice Cream said it would be legal to stamp money. Intention is a tough thing to prove in this regard when stores regularly mark bills with marker pens to check for the bills authenticity.

This makes me wonder if there will be people tagging bills the way they tag buildings here with gang markings.

Maybe use a pen instead of spray paint.