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Interior Views:
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
January 7, 2013Contact: Cheryl Meeker 415 255 0668
Stardust 415 425 3936
$4.1 Million Silicon Valley Dream House Raffle
Demonstrates Homeownership Nightmare
Occupy and other social justice organizations protest the stark contrast between get rich quick raffle illusions and those fighting to keep their homes and their ability to create wealth.
Who:
Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters
Confirmed speakers include Ian Haddow of ACCE Foreclosure Fighters and Stardust of Occupy Bernal and the Occupy The Auctions and Evictions Campaign.
What:
Occupy the Dream House Press Conference/ Action in front of the "$4.1 million Silicon Valley Dream House" in Menlo Park to demonstrate the stark contrast of our hardworking neighbors trying to save their homes from billion-dollar corporations and the "Let Them Eat Cake" mentality of the 1 Percent financial institutions.
When:
10 a.m., Thursday January 10, 2013
Where:
Silicon Valley Dream House in Menlo Park
3 Patricia Place
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(Cross street is San Mateo Drive) map
Why:
Occupy, other social justice organizations, foreclosure fighters and people who just want to reclaim the American dream of home ownership, gather the day before the raffle winner is announced to bring attention to economic injustice.
Dream House Raffles such as the one for the opulent home in Menlo Park serve as lures and create a lottery mentality that blinds people to the economic nightmare. They serve as a ruse to keep people from seeing how bad things really are.
Why hold a Press Conference in front of the "$ 4.1 Silicon Valley Dream House:"
To send and repeat the message that the banking and financial system is rogue and is devouring the well-being and livelihood of the 99%.
To send a message to besieged homeowners to fight back and that they are not alone. We stand ready to help.
To send a message to the banks that they must create a humanitarian solution for the economic crisis they helped to create.
To send a message to lawmakers that they have to do more to protect the people from the laws and policies that created this financial quagmire that has eroded the middle class.
To repeat the message that raffles and lotteries are a tax on the poor and create false expectations. Policies and laws should be put back in place to invest in people to grow the economy.
As a story subtext: Banks and corporations should more robustly support public organizations through paying their fair share of taxes. Arts organizations should, in a better world, receive public funds from taxes paid by corporations for their operations. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and other nonprofits are used by corporations for "public relations" subterfuges to clean up their image and deflect attention from the criminal and inhumane activity they engage in as part of their business practice. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts raises much of their funding in this annual raffle. However, compared to their profits, the minimal donations corporations give, while creating profits on the back of the 99%, using tax loopholes, sending jobs and finances offshore, create an illusion of helping the needy. We need an end to austerities. We need to restore funding to public institutions (libraries, universities, parks/lands) and an end to privatization of the commons. We can do better than this!
Occupy The Dream House
Endorsed by ACCE Foreclosure and Evictions Fighters, Occupy SF Action Spokes Council and Occupy Bernal
www.occupytheauctions.org/