Updates

By: Matt Stannard, Occupy.com. Matt talks with Trinity Tran and Phoenix Goodman in his latest article for Occupy.com. This is Part 5 of a 10-part series on public banking and economic justice.

In 2014, then-Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales recognized that poverty and shrinking city budgets were problems that needed out-of-the-box solutions. Deeply concerned with inequality, Gonzales welcomed a discussion about public banking and even participated in a conference featuring leading figures in the movement. He later cheered on his Santa Fe City Council’s approvalof a feasibility study that concluded that a city-owned bank would have an impact of millions of dollars a year in savings and investment potential for the city.

By: David Dayen, The New Republic. David talks to Dave Jette of Public Bank LA and Walt McRee of the Public Banking Institute on finance moving from blind profit to solving actual public needs. The Ultimate Cash Crop - How a pot crisis restarted a conversation about public banking in America.

In January, days after Californians were first allowed to buy recreational marijuana in the state, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo to federal prosecutors instructing them not to shy away from enforcing federal pot laws. “Marijuana is a dangerous drug,” Sessions wrote. “Marijuana activity is a serious crime.”

On April 10, 2018, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) unanimously voted to endorse the Public Bank of Los Angeles, taking a position in favor of socially and environmentally responsible, state-chartered public banks. The resolution is a significant milestone for the public banking movement, as the LACDP represents over 2.4 million registered Democrats.