The Move Your Money Movement got started over the dinner table with a few friends. Those present were wondering what they could do personally that would help limit the the power of the big banks while creating a more equitable and stable financial system.
Risk and greed have have always been present in in our society, however, ever since the Glass-Steagall act was repealed in 1999 the impact on our financial markets has been more broadly felt. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act allowed banks to get involved in the investment business. If your interested you can click here to find out how this all developed; not surprisingly you will find the money boys at their worst or best depending on your perspective.
Getting back to the Move Your Money Movement. The financier at the table recommended “that everyone could move their money out of the Wall Street banks and into community banks. Community banks are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them, and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to have.”
The filmmaker at the table reminded the others of the story told in the classic film It’s A Wonderful Life — a tale about a small banker, played by Jimmy Stewart, who almost gets crushed by a big banker. In the end, though, the community rallies around the small bank and helps save it. You can click on the above photo and view the short video; I guess greed will always be with us. The point is whether we can change things.
In America money talks, just ask our politicians.
I think that if we look long and hard at are political system; it would be hard to deny that things need to be changed. The question is always how? When people think about changing the system we think in terms of electing a new President. The problem is that the party that is shut out of office then begins its fight to get re-elected. They surely don’t want to help the new President look good and hurt their chances of taking back the Presidency. We did not elect these politicians to spend their time on getting re-elected; we expected them to do their jobs and to be the voice of their constituents.
This cartoon is symbolic of the situation we face; not a knock on any particular party. They are both at fault!
Sometimes I wonder who our elected officials really listen to. It seems as though they follow the money. They seem to respond more to the lobbyists and political action groups than their real constituents. Party loyalty becomes shameful when actions and policies that are for the good of the country are not truly debated in a manner that you would expect of statesmen.
Thinking term limits?
A Constitutional Amendment would be needed for term limits to be put into law and that would need a two thirds vote to pass; not very likely based on past experience.
The system has handcuffed the public’s ability to seek true change. There is another recourse laid out in Article V of the Constitution. Two thirds of the states could demand a constitutional convention for an amendment to limit terms. Some would say that there is some danger in this since it could lead to other changes in the Constitution.
The Move Your Money movement is a simple idea that doesn’t need a constitutional amendment to make it work.
Keith Olbermann has an overview of the movement in a video you can access by clicking on the photo below.
The Move Your Money Movement is a grassroots effort to shift the power in the financial system away from Wall Street and to Main Street. Wall Street has done nothing to warrant our trust; they need to earn it back. Maybe this movement will stir a new beginning; we need to bring this country back to its roots!
Whidbey Island Bank is one of the community banks that is listed on the Move Your Money website. You can go the the website and explore the other community banks or credit unions that are named. They have identified the banks and credit unions that have a sound financial base; those that were not involved in the practices that took down some of the biggest banks.
Recent Comments