Concord Patch - March 13, 2015, by Tony Schinella - About 40 people gathered at the Statehouse this week to protest a political system rigged on behalf of big corporations and the wealthy, according to a press statement.

The rally was part of a “Day of Action” involving thousands of protesters in 16 states across the country.

In Concord, the event drew activists from NH Citizens Action, the NH Rebellion, American Friends Service Committee, Open Democracy, Granite State Progress, People For the American Way, Every Child Matters and other New Hampshire organizations.

“Congress needs to stop acting like a wholly-owned subsidiary of multinational corporations,” said Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Head Stamper of StampStampede.org told the protesters. “When billions of dollars are being poured into our elections, government stops serving the people and serves the corporations instead.”

Cohen cited a Sunlight Foundation study showing that politically-active corporations get back $760 in government benefits for every dollar they spend influencing politics. “People watch this stuff happening, and they’re angry about it. People in both parties are angry about it. Our elected officials are supposed to be serving us, their constituents, and instead they’re spending our tax dollars subsidizing corporations.”

“It’s time to take our government back,” Cohen said. “If ‘We the People’ can’t out-spend the corporations, we can at least out-shout them. That’s why StampStampede.org is turning US currency into millions of miniature political billboards, by legally stamping it with messages like ‘Not to Be Used for Bribing Politicians.’ Every stamped dollar bill is seen by about 875 people. That means if one person stamps three bill a day for a year, the message will reach almost 1 million people. It’s a petition on steroids,” said Cohen.

There are over 30,000 stampers across the country and hundreds in New Hampshire. StampStampede.org has also recruited over 50 small businesses in the state to set up small point-of-purchase stamping stations where customers can stamp their dollars, buy a stamp and learn more about the influence of money in politics.

“Our goal is to stamp 3.4 million bills – that’s 10% of the currency in New Hampshire – before next February’s presidential primary,” said Cohen, “It’s monetary jiu-jitsu – we’re using money to get money out of politics”

The nationwide “Day of Action” was sponsored by National People’s Action, Center for Popular Democracy, and USAction. “All across the country, families are taking to the streets, parks and state capitols to send a clear message: ‘Our statehouses and our cities belong to us. It’s time for legislators to enact our bold agenda to put people and planet first.’”

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