The Promise of Public Banks

[lazyboy]

http://www.mediafreedominternational.or ... lic-banks/

This article talks about the Public Bank of North Dakota as an example of a model of banking that serves the needs of a community.

[jackely]

This is an interesting idea. I posted a link about it a while back and got the same number of replies that yours has gotten until now. The link was

http://www.webofdebt.com/

That is the website of Ellen Brown who read the book "The Creature from Jekyll Island", agreed with the diagnosis of the problem, but came to a different conclusion about the cure than most libertarian-minded people (i.e., she advocates "public banking").

The way the system seems to work today is that banks control the money for the benefit of bankers with the help of the government. I think I can get my head around the idea of banks operating in the public interest as an alternative to what we have now.

[Tortoise]

Interesting idea. Aren't credit unions another good alternative to corporate mega-banks? (I belong to a credit union.)

Credit unions are owned by their clients, who predominantly live in the same community in which the credit union is located.

For people who happen not to quality for membership at any credit unions, perhaps at least doing business with a smaller local bank instead of a corporate mega-bank is a reasonable step in the right direction?

[MediumTex]

What is ironic is that all banks are already semi-public in that losses are absorbed by the public, while any gains are pocketed by the shareholders and management.

All we would have to do would be to change the arrangement so that the public had exposure to both bank losses and gains.

[lazyboy]

I'm a credit union member myself and, although I have used Banks at times, I feel much better about giving my credit union my business.