Americans might feel a bit betrayed after bailing out corporate banks. After all, banks have only turned around to raise the interest rates on their credit cards, keep and keep slapping on the fees. As for the bank executives, they just keep getting bonuses and drinking champagne in their McMansions somewhere far removed from Main Street USA, where small businesses struggle to keep the lights burning in their humble store fronts. That's why social media darling Arianna Huffington and Rob Johnson, director of the Economic Policy Initiative at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, encouraged Americans to abandon their banks corporate banks to find a trustworthy community bank or even a credit union.
The subject came up again this morning (December 28, 2010) on CBS's "Sunday Morning," spawning searches (reaching the very top position in Google Top Trends) for MoveYourMoney.info, the campaign website backed by Huffington. But, really, all you have to do is go down to your local credit union or community bank and tell them you're a refugee of one of those big, mean banks. Not everyone can get into a credit union, but sometimes a family member or friend can hook you up.
The original idea was to move some of the Washington American University’s $312 million endowment money to local financial institutes like local banks and credit unions which will lend out to help local businesses and help revitalize the community. Specifically the students are campaigning to move 5% of the cash assets from the school's endowment into Community Development Financial Institution like the City First Bank.
Move your money in Washington is not a lone event. Actually in some other cities a similar move has been initiated.
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pledged to move 425 million of municipal tax dollars to local credit unions.
In Los Angeles City, the city Council is reportedly considering a measure to move all government money out of big banks that routinely foreclose on citizen's without mercy or trying to keep them in their homes.
MoveYourMoney website has a handy Find a Bank link. This will help you find a bank in your own community to support the project and to come to the business organization which indeed cares on your personal and business finances, no matter how much money you have.
Check out this video about why you should move your money now:
Facebook page of the project: http://www.facebook.com/MoveYourMoney
Main website: http://moveyourmoney.info/
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