The People’s Union USA is calling for an economic blackout on Friday, Feb. 28th

No doubt you’ve heard about No Buy Friday an “economic blackout” scheduled for February 28. If you’re anything like me, you’re asking yourself, “What is it? Who started it? Is it political? Should I participate? Will it work?”

A few answers…

WHAT IT’S ABOUT?

Ivana Saric at Axios explains: the economic blackout is a one-day ban on shopping – primarily with major retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, and Starbucks. Consumers are urged to spend nothing that day.  Pamela N. Danziger of Forbes elaborates:  If necessities such as medicine and food must be purchased, don’t use a debit or credit card. Spend cash, and spend it at a local independent business.

WHO STARTED IT?

John Schwartz of The People’s Union USA is the one who dreamed up the idea. The PU USA is described by Saric as a “grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform.” 

IS IT POLITICAL?

Schwartz says the boycott isn’t specifically political; corporate greed is being protested and not a particular party or politician.

SHOULD I PARTICIPATE?

That’s up to you, naturally. But with the exception of the grotesquely rich, we’re all feeling the pinch of inflation these days. The goal of the blackout is to remind corporations that we’re sick and tired of being squeezed – keep gouging us and we’ll spend our moolah elsewhere, thank you very much. I think we can all get behind that message.

WHAT’S IT TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

David Lazarus of Los Angeles’ KTLA TV believes such protests “help focus media attention on important issues, and that’s a very big deal. Presumably, television stations and newspapers will cover this, which is good because it raises issues.”

WILL IT BE EFFECTIVE?

Lazarus thinks so:  “Boycotts have a long history and were a powerful economic tool… It’s probably not going to lead to any significant economic policy changes. But if you don’t participate, that’s just a vote for the status quo.”

Sports legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar makes an excellent point on Substack:

“Some might argue that in practical terms, not buying anything for a day but then purchasing from those same businesses the following day makes the protest ineffective. Not so. It isn’t just about making these businesses lose money, it’s about the threat of what people could do to their businesses in the future. When massive numbers of people coordinate to raise their voices in protest, that is the message.”

Who can deny it’s a message that needs to be heard? I’ll be on the virtual barricades on February 28. As John Lennon once sang: Power to the people.