We the People or 16 Corporations -- web video features 108 Americans standing up to corporate power

April 13, 2011 - PRLog -- St. Michaels, MD —  A video shot in Pittsburgh PA, Kalamazoo MI, St. Michaels MD, Silver Spring MD, and Washington DC features 108 people drawing a distinction between taxpaying Americans and the behavior of international corporations who do business in the US, lobby the US government, but often do not pay taxes here.

The video is designed to promote "Coffee Break Campaign to Save America" — Coffee Party's April initiative aiming to bring a factual basis to our national conversation about taxes, the deficit, and spending.  It is third installment in a series called "Survivor: Trickle-Down Economics."  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ9Pr4iT-QM



The video was produced by Coffee Party co-founders Eric Byler and Annabel Park.  The content of the video was informed by research by the National Priorities Project, the activism of UK Uncut and US Uncut, and an initiative exposing the US Chamber of Commerce by 350.org.  The style of the video was inspired by the success of Wesleyan University's "I have sex" / Planned Parenthood video, which has been viewed over 300,000 times, with most of its views coming from Facebook. That video, shot at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and promoted by the Coffee Party, inspired a series of similar videos from across the country and around the world. Using magic markers, a note pad, and a camera, the students spent no money on the video, and used web tools that are free, and ended up contributing to the defeat of a the "policy rider" in the 2010 budget attacking Planned Parenthood.

"I found it amazing how receptive people were to this message," said Byler in a blog post that accompanies the video on the Coffee Party website.  "In fact, they were finishing my sentences for me. ...When offered the opportunity to contribute to the video project, they did so with pride and enthusiasm, thankful to be offered a way to make their voices heard. That's the sort of thing I live for."

Previous episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JexhPlx32LA

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Coffee Party began when Annabel Park updated her Facebook status with a "rant" about divisive, inaccurate political rhetoric. Our goal is to use people power and new media to reign in corporate influence, and usher in a new era of participatory democracy.