We are all aware now of the abuses of the investment banks. How they took government money and invested that in risky ventures. How they give away million dollar bonuses to their CEO's and traders, for those who trade in hedge funds and phony derivatives. The investment banks are in it to make profits even if they destroy the economy.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/t...Many banks, like Chase Bank received TARP funds to bail them out, yet they have done nothing to clean up the economic mess they made. They are not lending, they are not fixing the foreclosure problem and they are not paying their fair share of taxes. Our cities, states and counties are in a revenue crisis. Average taxpayers are paying their fair share, but the big banks are not.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05...What would happen if banks actually did what they were originally designed to do and lent money to those who needed it? What if small businesses could actually get started, expand, grow, and hire people? What would happen if people could actually re-finance their homes and get out of the usurious interest rates and into a home loan they can actually afford to pay, so they don't have to loose their homes?
What would happen if banks actually worked to help the people, and the immense profits of the banks went back to the people? What would happen if the States were willing to provide low interest loans and use the billions of dollars of profit the banks make, to pay off their deficits?
Today most states are faced with record deficits and bankruptcies and have a hard time raising revenue for things like pension systems. One State however doesn't have to rely on Wall Street, They can invest in their own people. North Dakota currently has the nation's only publicly owned bank. This bank has had seven straight years of profits. This year the public received a record $62 million in profit from their bank.
Because of the success of the Bank of North Dakota eleven other States are considering State owned banks of their own.
"The Center for State Innovation, based in Madison, Wisconsin, was commissioned to do detailed analyses for the Washington and Oregon bills. Their conclusion was that a state-owned bank on the model of the Bank of North Dakota would have a substantial positive impact in those states, increasing employment, new lending and government revenue."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brow...