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Moving Your Money Can Have a Real Effect on Big Banks
People have asked whether moving your money from your giant bank to a small community bank or credit union will have any real affect on the too big to fails, given that most of their profits come from speculative investments instead of normal banking deposits.
According to the Nation, the answer is yes:
The
cynics either do not understand banking or misunderstand the widespread
public anger. Dennis Santiago, [influential bank-rating firm,
Institutional Risk Analytics'] CEO and managing director, explained
that banks compete fiercely for the "core deposits" provided by
individual and small business accounts--this stable money is their
preferred base for profitable lending. Take away core deposits, and
bankers feel immediate balance-sheet stress. Expand the account base
for community banks, and they gain greater stability and greater
lending power. "Will moving your money have an effect?" Santiago asked.
"And by effect, I don't mean making a momentary political statement. I
mean making a structural difference to the country's financial system.
The answer is yes."
The Nation points out that a wide variety of campaigns to take back power are being launched from diverse sources:
A
campaign launched by faith-based community organizations associated
with the Industrial Areas Foundation identifies sky-high interest rates
on credit cards and other lending as the ancient sin of usury. IAF
groups are asking churches, foundations and local governments to
withdraw funds from the usurious banks that profit by destroying
borrowers. Organized labor, likewise, has launched an aggressive
movement to insist on responsible investing values for the pension-fund
wealth of working people, urging state treasurers and fund managers to
invest for society's interests as well as good returns.
The Nation is right. There are numerous efforts to stand up to the giant banks.
Congresswoman Kaptur advises
her constituents facing foreclosure to demand that the original
mortgage papers be produced. She says that - if the bank can't produce
the mortgage papers - then the homeowner can stay in the house.
Debtors are revolting against exorbitant interest rates and fees and other aggressive tactics by the too big to fail banks. See this, this and this.
Portfolio manager and investment advisor Marshall Auerback argues that a debtor's revolt would be a good thing.
Popular personal finance advisor Suze Orman is highlighting the debtors revolt phenomenon on her national tv show.
What is fueling the debtor's revolt? Economic conditions are obviously
a large part of it. But the fact that the big banks are not abiding by
"free market rules", but are gambling with taxpayers' money on the
taxpayers' dime, is a contributing factor. In other words, many people
apparently feel that the banks aren't playing fair or by the normal
rules of contract, so they shouldn't have to, either.
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Please, good ol' Suze is a FDIC whore, and she of all people should know better.
I agree Starve the Beast.
It is a done deal, I even had a spring in my step after getting out of the monster..felt good I tell Ya.
Check out http://moveyourmoney.info/
We, the People, have to vote with our money.
Move your money to honest banks and honest brokers, ones that appreciate your business and provide you with a personal relationship.
You don't have to put up with the TBTF and their dishonest practices and gotcha fees, there are plenty of excellent alternatives.
Let's move our money away from the TBTF now!
Better a tax revolt. We would all have to do it together though... That's the right way to starve the .gov beast.
The real heart of the problem.
Agree move your money and tax revolt. Yet a REAL move of your money is out of the banking system and into gold and silver. Only keep the 'dollars' you need in a small bank to keep the lights on and power bill paid. Staying mainly in dollars is a fools game due to constant devaluation (also called inflation) by the money printers.
BANK RUN NOW!!!
And buy gold and silver.
I agree - more with the idea that a mentality of revolt becomes popular. From what I have seen falling tax revenues only affect authoritative entities that don't already have their own printing press. CA tried with the IOU's, but it was too obvious and no one likes currency you can't spend without a huge haircut. So the states, and their locally-enmeshed tiers, are playing the waiting game with .gov - which isn't wise because .gov has the nuclear option. Hmm. In other words the states will lose the waiting game so they best act now! Later is more painful, as CogDis has pointed out recently.
Wait, what if a state, say one of them Western squares, appropriated Fed nukes in their sovereign territory and told .gov to **** off?
Yeah, this would be killer. Hmmm. Hard to start it off. Keep this in the forefront of your unconcious...