During this political season, we have heard a lot about too-big-to-fail banks, corporate greed, politicians on the take, bad trade deals, inequality and … starting a revolution to save the middle class. Just over 100 years ago, at the dawn of the first American Progressive Era, the same conditions sparked a revolution which spread…
For the second year in a row, Southern Arizona Senator Andrea Dalessandro’s task force bill to study creation of a state-owned passed the Arizona Senate’s Financial Institutions Committee. This year’s bipartisan vote was 6-1 with only Senator Gail Griffin, also from Southern Arizona, voting no. In the highly polarized Legislature where many bills sponsored by…
The Public Banking Institute (PBI) has initiated an educational project entitled “What Wall Street Costs America.” PBI and advocates around the country are learning to read Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs). All governmental bodies must issue annual CAFRs– including the State of Arizona (here), the State Retirement System (here), Pima County (here), Tucson (here), and Tucson…
Here is a great article by Mike Kraus, one of the founding members of the Public Banking Institute and Chair of Pennsylvania’s Public Banking Project. This was originally published in the Bucks County Courier Times. By Mike Krauss Across the United States, states and municipal governments struggle to provide essential public services, such as schools,…
In recent weeks, the City of Santa Fe released its public banking feasibility study which showed the city could save millions if it created a local public bank and the City of Philadelphia’s City Council unanimously voted to begin public hearings on creation of a local public bank. Cities, counties and states around the country…
In 2014, the City of Santa Fe authorized a feasibility study to determine if establishing a city public bank would be advantageous. Last week, the feasibility study was released. (You can read it here.) The bottomline: YES! Establishing a Santa Fe public bank would save the city millions of dollars in financing fees paid to…
UPDATE: In front of a packed hearing room, the City of Philadelphia’s City Council voted unanimously to begin public hearings on creation of a local pubic bank. Public banking proposals are popping up all over the country. The Cities of Santa Fe and Philadelphia have had recent breakthroughs. In Tucson, Mayor Johnathan Rothschild’s recent newsletter…
In one of his first acts as Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan oversaw doling out $17 million in corporate welfare to Wall Street banks. How did he manage this? The usual sneaky way– by tacking this onto an unrelated piece of “must pass” legislation. (You’ll remember that’s how Republican lawmakers weakened Wall Street…
The surprise upset in yesterday’s Pima County election was the total defeat of the 99-project, $816 million, 27-year Pima County Bond Issue package. Tucson’s 1%, who bankrolled the Yes on Pima County Bonds campaign and who would have benefited from a win, lost big. They raised over $304,000 to convince citizens that the county could successfully…
On the east coast, Bank of America is notifying small towns that they’re going to have to find another bank because B of A no longer wants their business. This is similar to the Wall Street banks pulling out of border areas. In both cases the too-big-to-fail banks are blaming regulations, but the real reason…
Arizonans for a New Economy 