Public Banking

Creating the New Economy: Public Banking

When our cities and states want to fund worthy projects, they normally go to big banks for a loan or to help issue and sell bonds. But working with a private bank adds costs to project financing, as interest paid on loans and fees on banking services go to reward investors and increase bonuses for top-level bank management. And when private investors play a role in public spending, the preference is for projects that will offer the best return on investment, encouraging gentrification and privatization of necessary services like water and transportation.

Can we afford to give Wall Street an ever-larger slice of the pie? Or should cities and states create their own publicly-owned banks, where state revenues can be deposited and used to back loans for worthy purposes, such as infrastructure, housing, small business development and student loans?

This is the step that populist farmers in North Dakota took a century ago when, badly served by eastern banks, they founded the Bank of North Dakota. And now, across the country, groups of activists are following in their footsteps and organizing for public banks.

Alliance for Democracy members and supporters are working on local public banking projects in Boston, Portland OR, and Washington DC. Follow links to learn more about those efforts. Download, read, or order our issue of Justice Rising on public banks, and watch and share other Alliance-produced media related to public banking below.

Public Banking for a new economy

Justice Rising:

Our Spring 2014 issue of Justice Rising, entitled Public Banking: Creating Jobs, Building Communities and Reclaiming the Commons is online here. You can download individual articles or the entire issue, or request print copies by contacting the Alliance. This issue featured articles by Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Ellen Brown, Ira B. Dember, Steve Seuser, Jeremy Mohler and Tom Sgouros, as well as Alliance writers and activists Ruth Caplan and Jim Tarbell.

Public Banking in California on "Corporations and Democracy"

Dan Hamburg, Mendocino County Supervisor, and John Avalos, of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, talk about the campaign to bring public banking to communities in California, including broader discussions on how government and civic-minded entities should invest their money, democratic control of banking, and the ins and outs of charter government. Tom Wodetzki hosts from the KZYX Philo studio.

The latest news

Follow the latest public banking news on our blog.

Ellen Brown on "Populist Dialogues"

In this episode of "Populist Dialogues," Ellen Brown, author of The Web of Debt and founder of the Public Banking Institute, discusses the advantages of public banking in the United States and around the world. She reviews how money is created, how the Federal Reserve was established, how some nations escaped the Great Recession, and postal and land-banking. First broadcast 11-11-12.

Money and Democracy

The economic status quo enriches corporate elites through the actions of the US Federal Reserve Bank and international financial institutions. Another system is essential. This article by Dave Lewit looks at some components of this new system and calls for popular education on issues and solutions.