Move Your Money - A National Week of Action

I've blogged about the importance of moving your money from the large corporate banks and Wall Street institutions to local banks and credit unions.  In this blog post about local banking, I provided some criteria for choosing a local bank.  In this blog post, I addressed the Move Your Money movement and provided some links to useful information and resources.  

Now, the Occupy Portland movement is asking supporters to remove their money from the Wall Street banks this week, and to move that money to a community bank.  I hope you will join me in this collective action. 

If we, the 99 %, removed our money from the big banks, we will send a clear message that conscious consumers will not support the unethical business practices of the mega banks. The 1% will take notice. 

As we know, there are better alternatives than big banks. Safe, convenient credit unions and smaller, local banks can supply all the services you need.  People protesting in Occupy Portland are sacrificing safety, home, and family time to shed light on the terrible abuses the banks have perpetrated on all of us.  However, the occupiers cannot do it alone; we all need to work together.  It is time for you to put your money where your mouth, soul and future are. So here is the plan:

·      Open a new account at a local credit union or small local bank.

·      Transfer your funds to the new account from your by bank account by Nov 5th

·      Follow your big bank’s procedure for closing your accounts.

It's that easy!

Here are some important pieces that will help clarify why this is so important and motivate you to move forward:

 

1. If you want to know more about this grassroots movement please see this ABC's World News Tonight report click here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-tv/abc-news-profiles-move-yo_b_417014.html

 

2. Check out this cool video about the project to move your money here: http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/watch-video

Also check out there website here: http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/

 

3. If you want to know the difference between banks and credit unions click here:  

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawzTSVTP2M

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rEW6ff3Zao0

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkQUVs-Kghg

 

4. If you want to find a local small banks and credit unions click here (Note that this document is dated August 2010 and information may have changed):

•  http://equitydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MYM-PDX.pdf

5. If you want to feel the power and pure joy we feel when we fight back, check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdxTcaCS65Y

Please share this information widely.

Move Your Money

There is a movement afoot for people and organizations to move their banking from the mega-banks to a local bank.

The mega-banks (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, etc.) aren't particularly interested in you or your small business. Sure, they'll take your deposits while paying less than 1 percent on your account and they'll give you a credit card with interest rates in the range of 15-35 percent, but their real motivation is making money and serving their Wall Street masters.

The 10 largest banks hold over 60 percent of the nation's deposits. There are now 23 banks with over $100 billion in assets.

Local banks on the other hand serve their community. Their future prosperity is directly tied to the communities they operate in. Local banks don't give their executives million-dollar bonuses. Local banks hire local service providers like CPAs, attorneys, advertising agencies, marketing consultants, janitors, and other various service providers. At your local bank you'll find friendly people who know your name and want to help you.

Tomorrow, in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, local bankers will be on hand to help answer questions as we encourage people to "Move Their Money." The festivities are from 1-4pm and should be a family fun event complete with music and speakers.

According to pollster John Zogby, nearly 10 percent of Americans have moved at least some of their money due to Wall Street abuses and the current banking crisis.

I hope you'll join me in moving your money and banking from the mega-banks that nearly brought down our economy to a local bank that is committed to and serves your community.