One initiative that
has come out of the Occupy Wall Street Movement is Bank Transfer Day -
where they are calling for people to move their money from the large
corporate banks to local community banks and credit unions.
This is an example of
proactive, non-violent non-participation - a strategy Gandhi used
successfully in India and Martin Luther King relied on in the Civil
Rights Movement. Our financial system is corrupt at its core, as were
the salt laws in India and segregation in the US. Moving our money out
of the big centralized banks sends a clear message that we will not
support them with our deposits, or be a part of their corrupt practices.
It does not demand anything of anyone other than ourselves, and gives
us an opportunity to exercise the power we have.
THRIVE - What on Earth Will it Take?
also focuses on ways we can withdraw our support as a core solution
strategy. We recognize that changing banks can feel like a big step, so
we are offering some information on WHY this is such a powerful idea and
WHAT you need to know to make it happen.
If you would like to learn more about how our money system REALLY works, then please check out this link for a brief Fractional Reserve 101 video. In addition, we have also created a simple 3-Step Guide to help you make the best choices when looking to transfer your money.
We personally used to
put our money in Bank of America and Wells Fargo at the same time we
were working to stop coal-fired power plants and nuclear energy, not
realizing that banks use our deposits to make loans to corporations to
fund their projects. Bank of America and Wells Fargo in particular were
using our deposits to underwrite the loans to the same polluting
companies we were otherwise trying to stop. Good intentions aren't
sufficient if we are funding the problem at the same time.
Environmental
destruction and predatory loans are made possible by our bank deposits,
and so is local community restoration. So please check out this link for a simple 3-Step Guide to move your money to a local bank or credit union.
We can STOP funding the problem AND START funding the SOLUTION all in ONE move.
Find out what else we can do to reclaim our lives and our future on 11-11-11 at thrivemovement.com.
Sincerely,
- Foster and Kimberly
PS - We encourage you to share this page via Facebook Recommends or simply forward this 3-step guide to help your friends get started.
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