|
This summer, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) will descend upon Madison, Wisconsin. The conference will allow business leaders and U.S. mayors to set the agenda of our nation's cities during an array of high-priced meals and social events closed to the public, but open to corporations. Having been around for 70 years, the USCM has long played a crucial role in setting a corporate-biased agenda for over 3,000 U.S. cities and has a number of tools available for doing just that. One such tool is the Mayor's Business Council, a branch of the USCM that allows major corporations to directly influence mayors on key economic issues through a series of meetings and interactions. With a membership fee of $10,000 keeping all but the wealthiest out, the Business Council is one of the least democratic components of the USCM. These companies are allowed to buy access to local government officials, while the people affected by the policies crafted at the conference are kept out. In fact, according to the council's own website, "Through the creation of the Mayors Business Council, we have transformed our organization to bring corporate America even closer to the mayors of our nation." "What are we going to do about it?" The Creative People's Resistance (CPR) is a group that has formed specifically to create a radical resistance to the USCM. CPR is making a regional and national call to action for people to converge on Madison from June 13 to 18. Tentative actions include a Critical Mass with bikes and family farm tractors, "pirate golfing," street theatre, a tent encampment, Reclaim the Streets, and a pirate flotilla. It will be a weekend of fun and exciting resistance to the continued efforts by corporations to control our lives.
|
homepage: