A national economic boycott protest is happening today asking everyone around the country to not make any non-essential purchases for 24 hours. The movement born out of Chicago mindfulness educator John Schwarz seeks to cannibalize revenue from big corporations to the oft-overlooked small and local businesses.
Protest comes as growing economic frustration— higher inflation, record-high credit cards debt, frozen housing market. “Corporations have made the people of America the piggy bank that’s never full,” Schwarz said in a popular video. The effort is also going after companies that scrapped Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, further politicizing the fight.
But can one day boycott hurt billionaires like Donald Trump or Elon Musk? The experts say the effect is probably negotitive rather than financially paralyzing. “Corporate giants think in long-term,” economist Lisa Carter stated. Foregoing “a day’s consumption won’t send them into bankruptcy, but they will certainly have us talking – bigger talk – about consumer power,” he said. 
Supporters think of it in the light of a statement not only a piece of defiance. Social media is filled with #agoodagain posts as many vow to rerouting separated monies onto small businesses. However, some critics say that actual economic change needs a long-term strategy rather than a quick pause.
Whether the protest will have lasting consequences is anyone’s guess, but there can be no doubt — Americans are starting to use their dollars as leverage against corporate and political might.
