State Bank for Washington

[Judith Culver]

This discussion is being started on behalf of Diana McGinness.  She says: "My primary interest in the group is establishing a State Bank. I am impressed by the information your group has gathered on the banks and credit unions in our community! I hope some of that information can be shared throughout the community."

 

Links related to State Banks is posted in the first comment. 

[Judith Culver]

The idea of a state bank: annotated list of Internet sources


* http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/path-to-a-new-economy/a-radical-p... This article by Ellen Brown from Dec 2008 Yes! Magazine proposed the idea of a state bank as a step to democratic control of our money (vs private banker control of our money) in order to deal with the economic crisis, as a way to finance a new New Deal, hopefully a green New Deal, without increasing the government debt (the deficit) and taxes. Brilliant!

* http://publicbanking.wordpress.com/ The Public Banking blog. A site set up by Ellen Brown with resources, links, interviews and news articles about the “state bank movement”. A way to keep current.

* http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3162&year=2009 Here you can look at the bill, HB #3162-2009-2010 to establish a state bank, sponsored by Bob Hasegawa. It was introduced in the Washington State Legislature during the 2009-2010 session. A working group has been established to rewrite and improve the bill.

* http://www.banknd.nd.gov/index.html The home page of the Bank of North Dakota. Click on “About BND” to see a page about their deposit base which is “all state funds and funds of state institutions”. (In Washington State such funds are put into the Department of Treasury and deposited in private banks, some big out-of-state and some local.) Another page gives a short history of BND. Our strongest argument for a state bank is the existence of BND.

* http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/03/how-nation%e2%80%99s-only-state... An interview in Mother Jones with the current President of the Bank of North Dakota about how well the collaborate with the small private banks in the state

* http://www.ndstudies.org/index.php/media/the_bank_of_north_dakota_p... Twelve minutes of video about the Bank of North Dakota featuring the themes of economic independence of the state from out-of-state bankers (in the early days from Minneapolis) and the state bank as “the development bank of ND” creating new and green industries. North Dakota is the only state without a fiscal crisis.

* http://www.bradbury2010.com/issues/bank-of-oregon In Oregon Bill Bradbury is running for Governor and proposing a state bank. His one minute video talks of putting Oregonians back to work and using Oregon money to work for Oregonians. Good framing, Bill!

* http://www.khavariforgovernor.com/ Home page for Khavari for Governor of Florida. Click on right side of the page “Why we must create the Bank of the State of Florida” for a two minute YouTube presentation of a much more expansive concept of a state bank which will cut in half the costs of mortgages and consumer loans in Florida and spur economic development there.

* http://abcnews.go.com/Business/state-owned-banks-future-banking/sto... A so-called news article from ABC which is stuffed full of many arguments against state banks. As the movement for state banks grows, so does the opposition.

* http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/ Massive new evidence shows that wealth and power inequality is the singular problem of modern societies that affects all other social problems like drug use, obesity, rates of crime and incarceration, violence and physical and mental disease rates etc. We, USA, are the champions. The book The Spirit Level (paperback, 2010) by Wilkinson and Pickett tells all, but check out this website.

prepared by John M Repp [e-mail] for WWFOR Spring Assembly, 2010

[Caitlin Quigley]

I just got this update from the State Bank Campaign:

Report on the state bank, Oct 11, 2010

Cindy and I met with Rep. Bob Hasegawa on October 6th about a state bank. He has been contacting many legislators including the Speaker of the House and State Senators, stakeholders like community bankers as well as the president of the Bank of North Dakota. We were impressed with his dedication to this project. He now sees the state bank as a longer-term project that can only produce results after several years of operation. It will need to be capitalized with bonds to start and it will take several years to become fully functional.

The Bank of North Dakota could not change the low prices the farmer’s faced in the 1920’s nor could it prevent the effects of the Great Depression in North Dakota. It did not, however, evict farmers from foreclosed farms. People stayed in their homes and were able to buy back their farms from the bank when good economic times came again. In the present, the bank has been able to help the North Dakota economy through the current crisis. Unemployment is low there relative to most of the country, state government is in the black and not one of their community banks has failed. The Bank of North Dakota helped community banks there with their portfolios as the current crisis was developing.

Bob has been able to educate the staff at the Washington State Legislature so they are now more up-to-speed on the concept of a state bank. They did not seem to understand the North Dakota model and it showed in the bill they wrote last year. Also, his vision for a bill this year will accomplish several things. It will set up the basic concept of a bank’s governance: a Board of 3 to 5 state-wide elected officials with an Advisory Board made up of banking experts and community representatives. The banks constitutionality is assumed. The bill will also outline the clear intent of the legislature in setting up a state bank as a bank to promote commerce, business and agriculture for the benefit of the health and welfare of the citizens of the state. In the balance between protecting the tax payer’s money and developing the state’s economy, protecting the taxpayer’s money must come first.

A basic outline of the structure of the bank will be included in the bill; however, the new bill will set up a blue ribbon commission to hammer out the details of the state bank within a certain deadline. Washington State is very different than North Dakota and the bank, although using the North Dakota model, is to be tailored to the needs of our state. Bob was very pleased to learn that retired officials of the Bank of North Dakota seem willing to help such a commission. He also expressed a need to find local banking experts who can help with the details of establishing a bank of Washington State. Finally, he said he was ready to hold community forums with the purpose of talking to the community about the concept as well as getting feedback from the community. So, we should start contacting people who can organize forums.

John Repp
________________________________________________________

Would our group or Transition Whatcom at large be interested in hosting such a forum?

[Caitlin Quigley]

Hi Katie,

This just came up in an email from the campaign so I thought I'd bring it to the group's attention. It is not really directly related to the Move Your Money campaign for which we're considering bringing David Korten. To get on the listserve for the State Bank for Washington campaign you can email Cindy Cole . Judith has a great list of resources below which looks like it was also prepared by John Repp. To be quite honest I don't know who he is, but he's involved in the State Bank campaign.

The latest email (which I just posted) is seeking places to hold community forums, and I thought we might want to get involved in hosting one in Bellingham.

What does everyone think?

[Laura J Sellens]

It seems like, at the minimum, an interesting topic to bring to the community and another potential aspect of our MYM campaign. If we could time it so these speakers/events were in the same week that would be great. To me it would be interesting to host a community open space day to see what needs and ideas exist in the community. As long as we are promoting ACTIONS that contribute to local resilience, and not political parties, platforms or candidates, we are within the Transition Initiative agreements. I'm looking forward to our next meeting, sounds like it'll be juicy.

[Caitlin Quigley]

If anyone is interested, there is an event in Seattle on Nov 18th about creating a State Bank. Here is the info:

John Repp and Cindy Cole wrote the first draft of a bill to establish a Bank of Washington State that was introduced at the last legislative session. Since that time they have learned much more about banking and how a state bank would help Washington State.

Date : Thursday November 18 6:30 to 9:30 P.M.

Place : Baker House (4718 15th Ave NE), University District

Agenda: 6:30 to 7:00 P.M. Potluck Dinner

7:00 to 8:00 Film and Presentation by Cindy Cole, Jean Darsie, and Jon Repp.

8:00 to 8:15 Break

8:15 to 9:30 Open Discussion and What to do next?

[Caitlin Quigley]

FYI - This Seattle event for Nov 18 has been POSTPONED, perhaps to some time in December.

[Caitlin Quigley]

Hi all,

The attached report just came through the State Bank Campaign listserve. It gives a fantastic overview of the Washington State Banking System, including which banks got TARP funding and how much, who has paid back, etc. A great resource.

[Caitlin Quigley]

the article i was talking about regarding market share in Whatcom County:
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/10/17/1671068/bank-failures-sh...

also, here is the link to the project where you can look up a bank or CU's troubled asset ratio:
http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/

[Shirley Jacobson]

I just learned about this event in Seattle - day after tomorrow - in case anyone is going to be in that area you might want to check it out and report back.
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CREATING A WASHINGTON STATE BANK: WEDS DEC 8, 6:30 to 9:30 pm, at Piecora's Pizza 1401 E.
Madison St., Seattle; Ibrahim's Salon: Meet the People The huge tax payer bailouts of the largest banks after the collapse of the financial system in 2008 has not translated into a recovery for the working people of this country. Credit is not flowing to small business and community banks are still failing, foreclosures continue unabated and unemployment remains high, wages stagnant or falling and state
treasuries in deficit. The entities that caused the collapse are still in charge, financially and politically.
What can be done? One step is the creation of a public, not for profit bank, owned by the citizens of Washington State. A Bank of Washington State would be modeled after the Bank of North Dakota, the only existing state bank. North Dakota is the only state in the union with a state budget surplus, no community bank failures and an unemployment rate of around 4%. Credit is flowing in the state. All tax revenues are put in the Bank and the money is used locally. Profits are put back into the bank and into the state?s general fund. John Repp and Cindy Cole wrote the first draft of a bill to establish a Bank of Washington State that was introduced at the last legislative session. Since that time they have learned much more about banking and how a state bank would help Washington State.

Agenda:
6:30 Dinner (Pizza and Salad) $10 per person, Approx.) RSVP needed.
7 - 8 pm Film and Presentation by Cindy Cole, Jean Darsie, and John Repp.
8:15 to 9:30 Open Discussion and What to do next? RSVP: [e-mail]