Keyword tag search: recession

The Bank of North Dakota: What a Bank Should Be

By Julie Chinitz on October 28, 2010

It’s been a heated election season. When the political dogfights get all the attention, it’s easy to forget that there good policies and institutions out there that receive bipartisan praise, are working well, and deserve to be built upon.

The Bank of North Dakota is an important example. Founded in 1919 in response to a credit crisis that threatened that state’s agrarian economy, the Bank of North Dakota is now a revered institution credited with helping keep the state solvent and growing while many others are struggling with the effects of the current recession. Continue reading »

Banks and Foreclosures: Where’s the Accountability?

By Jason Collette on October 21, 2010

Over the past several weeks Bank of America, Ally, and GMAC have announced that they have will be halting foreclosures in the 23 states that require a judge to sign off on foreclosures before eviction. Did this decision come from enlightened bank management who understand what is needed to stabilize the housing market and pull our economy out of the cellar? Of course not. Instead, it was done in response to the damning evidence that recently came to light that banks weren’t reading documents, were forging notarizations, foreclosing on homes that they didn’t own, and outright fabrication of loan documents. As usual the media is missing the real story during this ongoing foreclosure mess. Continue reading »

Building a National Movement Against The Big Banks: Organizing Underwater Homeowners

By Julie Chinitz on October 14, 2010

In September, NWFCO joined more than 230 people from around the country for the “Banking for a New Economy” Summit in Chicago, Illinois. We came together to build a national movement for bank accountability – reminding ourselves that the banks created the greatest economic crisis since the Depression, and now we have to make them fix it

At the summit, NWFCO’s Betsy Dillner talked to a group of grassroots leaders and organizers from across the country about our work in Washington state to organize “underwater homeowners” – those who owe more on their homes than their homes are currently worth. (When the big banks created a housing bubble and then crashed the economy, housing prices plummeted, leaving hundreds of thousands of people underwater.) Continue reading »

Washington CAN! Holds Week of Action to Fight Corporate Power

By admin on September 2, 2010

This post was written by Nathan Riding from Washington CAN!

The summer of 2010 will long be remembered for the worst environmental disaster in history of our country. The BP oil spill killed eleven men, countless animals, birds, and fish, and destroyed the economic livelihoods of thousands of people. The long-term impact of the BP disaster is not yet fully known, but it will play out for years and years to come. For many, the BP disaster is just another event in a string of events sounding the alarm that something is terribly wrong in our country, and it’s affecting the lives of millions of people. Continue reading »

NWFCO Launches The Justice Leadership Academy

By Gerald Smith on August 2, 2010

Twenty-seven leaders from grassroots organizations in six states came together in Seattle during three very hot days in early July to launch NWFCO’s newest training program, the Justice Leadership Academy (JLA). Continue reading »

Congress Passes Financial Reform Bill!

By admin on July 15, 2010

On Thursday, July 15, Congress passed the strongest financial reform bill since the Great Depression, tightening restrictions on banks and Wall Street, cracking down on lending practices, and expanding consumer protections in order to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown, the consequences from which we are still reeling. President Obama will sign the bill into law next week. Continue reading »

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is

By Angela Garbes on June 30, 2010

In late May, seventy-five people from twelve different states gathered in Seattle for the inaugural two-day symposium of the Institute for Pragmatic Practice (IPP): “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Building State Budgets that Reflect Our Values.” Continue reading »

Tax Justice in Oregon

By Betsy Dillner on May 17, 2010

Just weeks after conservative Scott Brown was elected to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in a Massachusetts special election, and the Supreme Court squashed restrictions on corporate campaign contributions, the health care bill appeared dead. Pundits across the country warned of the end of the progressive agenda. Meanwhile in Oregon, hundreds of volunteers poured into union halls to collect the canvass materials to educate voters on tax fairness and the need to preserve social services. The result? Oregonians stood up to say that they valued social services and didn’t mind asking those who have weathered the storm of the recession to finally pay their fair share to keep them around. Continue reading »

Washington CAN! Demands That Chase Pay Its Fair Share!

By Danisha Christian on April 16, 2010

On March 15th, 2010, Washington Community Action Network and close to 100 protesters chanted outside of Chase’s headquarters in downtown Seattle, demanding that the company and other big Wall Street banks pay their fair share to help maintain crucial state services. Continue reading »

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