News that corporations have bigger profits now than they did before the recession, seemed to come and go without much notice at the beginning of April. Then around Tax Day in the middle of the month, there were some stories about how corporations avoid paying taxes, but the media seemed more preoccupied with the fate of (and spin on) the failed Buffet Rule vote – which was aimed at individual millionaires rather than the corporations they run anyway. But as the 99% Spring heats up with the protest at GE’s annual meeting last week and more actions to come in May, there’s hope that the message about corporate greed will start to spread because it definitely needs to.

The greed of corporations has been obvious ever since the recession began, but it seems like people have been afraid to say “greed.” During the recession, corporations put their profits first by cutting expenses (aka laying people off) and keeping wages flat for those they didn’t fire even though they forced them to work more. Then, despite the trickle-down promises from politicians who depend on corporations for campaign dollars, instead of re-hiring people they’d laid off or creating new jobs, corporations hired abroad as their profits grew again.

Even if this corporate greed is under-reported, people know instinctively that these decisions by corporations ain’t right. So it’s no wonder that the public has started to turn against the tax-cuts for so-called “job creators” argument we are force-fed by conservatives. A recent Gallup poll found that more than six in ten Americans believe corporations pay too little in taxes. Also, 56% of Americans in a New York Times Poll rejected the tax-cut argument, instead saying that the best way to promote economic growth is by spending more on education and infrastructure and paying for that spending with tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.

Public opinion is turning against corporate greed, so the time is right for good old-fashioned non-violent direct action to put the issue front and center in the media. Check back at www.joinchangenation.org to see how local leaders are taking their concerns directly to the corporate CEOs who are making out like bandits while our communities struggle. Even if you can’t participate in one of the protests planned around the country over the coming weeks, host a house meeting and bring your neighbors together to talk about corporate power and corporate greed.