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@mstaggerlee - re postal bank
I'm aware of the movement to switch business from the major banks to local small banks. I have no idea if that's a better plan than resurrecting the Postal Bank.It's possible that it is and it's possible that it isn't, unless you know better than I do. It's also possible that the two options could be complementary to each other. When the Postal Bank was in existence, it wasn't the only bank around. Is your opinion based on any particular knowledge?
This Tea Party movement seems like the modern day version of the BUSINESS PLOT, just instead of using a decorated Marine (Smedley Butler) as the spearhead, the corporations have enlisted the American people themselves, shotgun style.
Control of most of the major media makes this action fairly easy.
The IBEW is a strong union 'cause they have lots of 'connections".:D
@Brian A: just drive thru any small town and count the boarded-up businesses.
Side note, the website seems to be far speedier now. Still hoping to get the Emoticons to work.
The "old" death panel: Rush, Sean, Glen and Sarah railing against a health insurance reform.
The "new" death panel: Tea Partiers taking the pledge not to use any thing tainted by government socialistic programs.
MOVE YOUR MONEY
@Meet John Doe - Huffington Post has been running a series of articles to encourage people to take their money out of the "Too-Big" banks and move it into community banks or credit unions. This is a FAR better alternative than attempting to ressurect the Postal Banks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-santiago/move-your-money-90th-day_b...
@Maxrot: nowdays its one-way contact lenses.
@harry, in their case, its not glasses, its blinders they wish to wear.
how many small businesses did walmart crush?
Re Thom's rant on gov't control of voting.
AMEN, PREACH IT BROTHER, ALLELUIA!!!
Get the damn corporate fingers out of my voting booth!!!!!!
@Maxrot: and you really need a nose to wear glasses.
Postal Bank
A caller from Del Rey Beach, Florida, asked Bernie Sanders if he was familiar with the postal savings accounts of yesteryear. Coincidentally, I happened to hear someone (name escapes me at the moment) who has looked into issues in our banking industry and alternatives to the current big banks.
He mentioned the Postal Bank which he said was quite popular back in the day. I believe that he said that if it existed today, its deposits would be around 9 billion dollars when adjusted for inflation. He also said that the Postal Bank of Japan (that may not be the exact name) is the largest bank in the world today.
Something to think about.
(Parenthetically, I tend to use parentheses a lot.)
Re: Thom's rant on America not pushing Solar Power and asking "How dumb are we?"
I don't think its stupidity, its obstinacy. (Either way, foolish though). We're cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
Why should I have to pay an additional 10% levy for terminating my 401k if I'm using MY money to support my family in this economy? I am completely fine paying the taxes, but being penalized is absurd.
"Walmart; Driving the pace car in the race to the bottom of the wage scale." -harry ashburn
@ mstaggerlee
Sincere thanks and real admiration. I enjoy your posts and the heart & brains behind them. How to I get Thom to notice and give the effort a plug? It is like a snowball down a mountain. We need to reach a critical mass in order to have an impact. Any ideas are appreciated! mstaggerlee, five dollars from you are more valuable, personally, than those a thousand times bigger. (federal limits are set at 5k). Where is George Soros when you need him?
@pagen, re "Yes, there is class warfare. And they are winning."
That's because of the treasonous morons that think they're helping their class by supporting the elite. The equivalent of shooting the frontline soldier in the back as they charge. Idiots the lot of them.
Thom, employees at the government agency where I worked were called "human capital."
The comments about Wal Mart insuring their employees is referred to as "dead peasant" insurance. This has been around for a long time as my current (mis)representative Kenny Marchant (R-TX24) promoted a bill for this in the Texas State House while he was there. I ran against him on this (and many other issues), but it is just another mechanism for the wealthy to soak even more from the working class.
Yes, there is class warfare. And they are winning.
@DDay - I, for one, am proud that you would consider me a friend, and certainly don't think that you've been spinning your wheels.
$10K is somewhat rich for my blood, but keep your eyes open for a considerably smaller check from NY. :-)
just wondering why tony perkins of the family reasearch council fights against the estate tax that they call the death tax.
@LeMoyne: I grew up in LBJ country, and we knew him as Lyin' Lyndon and Shady Bird. Yes, he did care for the poor, but he sold his soul to the rich. I think he knew about the JFK assassination ahead of time, but couldnt do anything about it for fear of his own life.
We attended what was to be a Town Hall Meeting for Sen. Mike Johanns yesterday. Twenty-five percent truth and 75% lies. It more like a Tea (bagger) Party event. The aide sent the time in the email as EDT and we are CDT so most of us were late. Of the 25 or 30 people there only about 8 were from St. Paul. There were four known progressives there, two of us were allowed to speak. The teepees spoke with no interuption as I was speaking, there were shouts of why don't you go back to Belgium, I'll pay your way to rid the county of liberals and they said shut up and go away. In my opinion the undocumented pose less of a threat to our country than the angry, insulting and bigoted tea partiers. When I told Johanns that my problem with him was his closed mind and his refusal to investigate the truth about ACORN, his aid stopped the meeting. The family farm we live on was purchased in 1902, I do feel we have the right to speak out.
President Johnson grew up in a shotgun shack with dirt floors and had black neighbors in the same boat and never forgot that reality - and so he did his best to create a Great Society.