Editor, Vermont Commons:

In light of the recent financial crisis, it’s easy to get angry.  Since the first $700 billion bailout was proposed in September, I've been livid. 

I phoned our congressional delegation demanding that they oppose it, and organized a rally against the bailouts.  To no avail: the first round of bailouts passed, and they've been metastasizing ever since.  Now we're at a point where the federal government is casually throwing around the “trillion” word when referring to the deficit, and the Chinese are openly discussing the possibility of replacing the dollar with a new world reserve currency.  We need to do something.   

After a few months of feeling angry but powerless, I hit upon a way that we as individuals can act together to push back: a bank users strike.  If the banks and their politicians won't accept the consequences of their recklessness we should stop patronizing their institutions.  Now, this would be a tall order if the only alternative to the for-profit banking system were the space between your mattress and box spring.  Lucky for us, that's not the case: we have credit unions.   

For those of us who see the benefits of local economies, joining a credit union is a no-brainer.  If you're buying local food, you should be using a local financial institution.  Additionally, credit unions are consumer co-ops; as a depositor you own the institution.  Not only does this mean that the profits are redistributed to local members via better interest rates rather than being shipped off to distant shareholders, but the boards of directors are voluntary and elected by the member-owners.  This structure means the interests of the board and the members are aligned, and, as such, credit unions lacked the incentive to vigorously participate in the speculative frenzy that has forced our economy to its knees.  Indeed, the rate of mortgage delinquencies on credit union originated loans in 2008 was less than a third of that of loans originated by banks.   

I urge you to visit www.bankstrike.org and sign a pledge to divest yourself of the banks and join a credit union.  On July 1 we’ll be having a rally and mass withdrawal of funds from the banks; it seems no number of protests and votes can change the kleptocratic course of our political economy.  The one thing they pay attention to is dollars. I say we no longer let them use our hard-earned money as poker chips in their speculative games, and instead take responsibility for the financial system ourselves.

Matthew Cropp
Burlington