Press Room & Media
In the News
Postal service crisis — California is ready to pilot a postal banking solution
By Thomas M. Hanna and Jeff Olson, The Hill – Earlier this year Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders introduced the Postal Banking Act, which would restore financial and banking services to post offices throughout the country for the first time since the 1960s. “Postal banking will help us bring the same equality of service the USPS has for mail delivery to the financial system,” Gillibrand and Sanders contend.
Philadelphia Examining Whether Public Deposits Can Close Racial Disparities in Small Business
By Oscar Perry Abello, Next City – Derek Green believes the disparity in access to credit for small businesses between wealthier, whiter areas of the city like Society Hill versus poorer, Blacker areas of the city like North Philadelphia is one of the reasons why Philadelphia has remained the poorest big city in the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it both more urgent and more difficult for public bank supporters to keep pushing forward in Philadelphia.
Bank of Philadelphia? Study says a public bank could help small biz survive COVID
By Darryl C. Murphy, The Philadelphia Tribune – An independent report commissioned by the City of Philadelphia recommended the creation of a public bank that would allow city government to loan directly to small businesses. The feasibility study done by consulting firm HR&A Advisors looked at how a city-controlled financial authority could help Philadelphia tackle entrenched poverty and open up financial opportunities to businesses historically locked out.
What the unbanked need from the 2020 election
By McKenna Moore, Fortune – Experts say the most effective way a President could increase financial inclusion, though, is to simply make it a priority. Whether 2021 brings President Donald Trump’s second term or former Vice President Joe Biden’s first, the victor needs to acknowledge that there’s a problem and set policy goals to address it, says John Thompson, chief program officer at the Financial Health Network.
The Fed Is A ‘Development Bank’ – Make It Our Development Bank Again
By Robert Hockett, Forbes – Here’s something you might not have known. The Fed is a national development bank – our national development bank. Its mandate originally was and remains that of a facilitator of local business and productive community bank lending across the entire nation, not a bottomless liquidity hole for Wall Street high rollers.
How Our State and Local Governments Can Save More Than $160 Billion a Year by Cutting Interest Payments to Investors
By Saqib Bhatti and Brittany Alston, Action Center on Race & the Economy – By demanding Federal Reserve make long-term zero-cost loans available to all state and local governments and government agencies in the United States, it would enable our governments to take out new loans to pay for long-term capital projects to make our infrastructure more resilient without having to pay any fees or interest and refinance all their existing debt into new interest-free loans.
Local farms, small gardens see boost in interest, funding to tackle hunger
By Elizabeth Miller, New Mexico In Depth – COVID-19 has turned the world upside down, but one overlooked positive might be a rise in interest in gardening and local farms becoming a source for helping to feed a growing population of New Mexicans whose next meal is not guaranteed. Emergency grant money has flowed to small farms, helping them grow as they respond to a crisis of unemployment and food shortages.
Council Bills Could Pave the Way for a Public Bank in NYC
By Sadef Ali Kully, City Limits – The NYC City Council is considering measures that would scrutinize the city’s relationship with corporate banks and other financial entities—disclosures that could pave the pathway to creating a municipal public bank in the future. “Today we are taking a big step forward by introducing legislation which will give us the critical information we need to move ahead in this project—clear reporting on just where all of our money is sitting right now.”
In pandemic spotlight, public banks ponder a greener role
By Thomson Reuters Foundation, Eco-Business – Limping along after a Covid-19 body blow, the global economy needs investment by public development banks more than ever, and shifts in how they do business could set a precedent for a greener, more equitable future. From ending support for fossil fuels to expanding debt relief and protecting the rights of local communities affected by development projects, public bank decisions could spur sustainability.
2019 Census Data Shows Poverty Was On The Decline In Pre-Pandemic New Mexico
By NM Voices for Children, Los Alamos Reporter – Data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show a significant improvement in the poverty rate in New Mexico between 2018 and 2019. That tracks with an increase in the median income during that timeframe. However, the data show little progress for children younger than 5, and inequities continue to persist along racial and ethnic lines.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Episode: Everyone deserves a public bank
“I had the good fortune to work on this initiative before Bernie kidnapped all my time. This is one of those no-brainer initiatives that only the 1% could oppose. It has the potential to save the state millions of dollars by vastly reducing the cost of its bonds to improve infrastructure funding. in a public bank, our state funds can be used to build our local economy and our local infrastructure.”
– Paul Gibson
Retake Our Democracy