Friday, October 14, 2011

Banks Failed the Public Trust So Why Not Public Option In Banks?

Today's must read:

[T]he demand isn't simply to make a public bank, but is to treat the banks generally as a public utility, just as you treat electric companies as a public utility.... Just as there was pressure for a public option in health care, there should be a public option in banking. There should be a government bank that offers credit card rates without punitive 30% interest rates, without penalties, without raising the rate if you don't pay your electric bill. This is how America got strong in the 19th and early 20th century, by essentially having public infrastructure, just like you'd have roads and bridges.... The idea of public infrastructure was to lower the cost of living and to lower the cost of doing business.
People scream about taxes but what's the difference between taxes and fees? Isn't the fee on using a debit card to access your own money actually a tax levied by industry instead of government? There is no value provided by the bank that is any way equal to the fee charged. It is simply a tax levied by private industry the use of which the people have no vote on.

An analysis

Also read Krugman

No comments:

Post a Comment