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Big congrats to our longtime ally Professor Michael McCarthy! His book The Master’s Tools: How Finance Wrecked Democracy (and a Radical Plan to Rebuild It) grew out of his work with Public Bank LA and just won 2 national awards. Professor McCarthy helped write briefs on what a democratic public bank could do for Los Angeles. His argument: you can’t fix democracy without fixing who controls the money. Wall Street steers investment toward profit, while our communities wait on housing, clean energy, and public goods. The answer? Public banks run for the people, by the people.  Read the interview: https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/10/to-save-democracy-put-financial-power-in-the-hands-of-the-people/ Read Professor’s McCarthy’s Democratic Governance plan for Public Bank LA: https://publicbankla.org/democratic-governance-frameworks/

Luz Castro with Inclusive Action for the City and Public Bank LA’s Trinity Tran co-wrote an article on how a public bank in Los Angeles can help with investments and opportunities for LA’s immigrant communities. Hi there, we’re so glad you’re here! Through the Public Bank Los Angeles coalition, we’ve been working to transform our economic and financial systems so they actually work for working people in Los Angeles. When we talk about who gets left out of the U.S. financial system, immigrants are at the top of the list. Recent data shows that about one in four Californians lacks full access to financial systems. Approximately 7% are unbanked, and another 18% use alternative financial services. Many of these Californians are minority, low-income, and immigrant households. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribe Being shut out of banking access is expensive. It means paying check cashers to access your own...

Who controls your city’s money? Trinity Tran, 2026 TED Fellows and Executive Director of Public Bank LA and California Public Banking Alliance, shows how cities could stop sending their money to Wall Street and start investing it back home. In just 5 minutes, she breaks down how public banks work and what it takes to build one in your community. Watch and share! https://www.ted.com/talks/trinity_tran_who_controls_your_city_s_money Want to go deeper? Catch Trinity on the TED Talks Daily podcast on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/episode/42yH48wLfzVNKc9Y3dytw4

Assemblymember Matt Haney led two back-to-back hearings on the California State Bank. In the Assembly Banking Committee, he was joined by our expert witnesses, including Jennifer Finger of the California Public Banking Alliance, who testified in support of AB 2243. A retired banker with over 35 years of experience across institutions like Bank of America, community banks, and Beneficial State Bank, she brought deep industry insight to the discussion. The bill passed out of the Assembly Banking Committee on April 23, following its passage out of the Assembly Economic Development Committee on April 14. Public Bank LA’s Trinity Tran led the coalition efforts for the Earth Day launch at the State Capitol on April 22. Speakers included Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Trinity Tran, Michael Tubbs, Max Vargas, Tristan Brown, and Dr. Flojaune Cofer. Read the press release: https://haney.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260422-california-launches-state-public-bank-effort-keep-taxpayer-dollars-out-wall Read...

Corporate monopolies don’t just control what we buy — they control the infrastructure that connects and sustains our communities. But people are fighting back. We’re thrilled to be part of “The Corporate Power of It All,” a special edition from Liberation in a Generation and The Forge. In the conversation, Public Bank LA’s Trinity Tran breaks down how communities are organizing for public banking and building alternatives to corporate control. The tools to win are already in our hands. Read the article here.