Court cases such as Citizens United have given corporations many of the rights of citizens, including the ability to fund political campaigns. They can also be at the mercy of citizens, which we saw when many of them were bailed out with billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Shouldn’t they also have greater accountability to society? 

The organization US Uncut, modeled after UK Uncut, thinks they should. The new group has been staging protests against corporate tax-avoiders and government austerity cuts, with chapters of the movement spreading across the country. The Nation’s Allison Kilkenny and J.A. Myerson, a "tax avoidance consultant,” joined GRITtv to discuss the direct action movement which has so far had great success targeting tax-dodging corporations like Bank of America, Verizon and FedEx.

The movement planted roots in the US after an article about UK Uncut in The Nation inspired Mississippi resident Carl Gibson to launch a chapter in his state.

“Why are average people being asked to sacrifice when massive corporations, that have been receiving bailout money… are not paying their income taxes?” Kilkenny asks.

To find out whether your community has a US Uncut chapter, click here, and read Allison’s frequent updates on the movement on The Notion blog.

—Sara Jerving