Your Money: Spotlight: Move Your Money Campaign

In 2009 America learned a hard lesson about the widespread power of its banking industry.  This system of financial institutions, who, with its unethical and unsustainable loan and credit practices, brought about America's biggest economic downturn since The Great Depression, felt little consequence for their actions.  The survival of America's economy was so intricately tied to the survival of these corrupt companies that the Federal Government had no recourse other than investing billions of dollars to ensure these financial entities wouldn't fail.

The idea that these institutions were "too big to fail" is truly unsettling.  That is why economist Robert Johnson, columnist Arianna Huffington and filmmaker Eugene Jarecki have teamed up to create the Move Your Money Campaign (http://moveyourmoney.info).  The campaign initiative calls for ordinary citizens to invest in their local banks as a means to restrict the stronghold of the top banking institutions (Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs).  Using the beloved George Baily character from Its A Wonderful Life, Move Your Money makes a compelling plea:

     

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I like the proactive nature of this campaign.  I like that a problem has been identified and a true push is being made to effect change.  I personally have a couple of accounts with a small bank.  I enjoy the level of customer services I receive their.  Their reps smile at me when I walk through the doors.  They engage in small talk.  I am very happy with my small bank.  I also have some socialist tendencies.  And for all these reasons I support the idealistic ingenuity of the Move Your Money campaign,  even if in practicality the likelihood of me moving all my accounts to local banks is remote.

Watch economist Robert Johnson discuss the premise of the Move Your Money campaign on Democracy NOW.