Our grassroots public banking movement received a powerful shoutout from @rashidatlaib in the The Guardian! From LA to NY, we’re working to prove that finance can serve people and empower local investment. Democratic mandates can build renewables, affordable housing, an community wealth.
Creating a democratic economy is about dismantling the oligarchy, reinvesting in our communities, and reclaiming power from the grips of extractive big banks. Thanks to bold voices like @reprashida and Mike McCarthy, the economic democracy movement is gaining ground nationwide!
“From Los Angeles to New York, for example, there are dozens of grassroots movements across our country building public options for finance. Democratic #publicbanks and public asset managers are not run by a corporate board at the command of profit-driven shareholders lounging on yachts somewhere on the other side of the world. Instead, democratic finance draws people from across a community, through processes of random selection, election or appointment, to deliberate over and make binding decisions about how pools of assets should be allocated and invested. Without shareholders or marketing expenses, and often tax exempt, these forms of democratic finance can offer much lower-cost loans and services to working people.
Powered by democratic mandates, they can make investments in renewable energy, affordable housing, community wealth-building and other institutions that meet people’s real needs. The Detroit Justice Center, for instance, is working to develop community land trusts, which are non-profits that establish community control of land and permanent affordability of housing. Democratic public banks, such as those promoted by the Public Banking Act of 2023, could provide a ready source of capital.”
Read the article in The Guardian by Rashida Tlaib and Mike McCarthy: “Republicans want corporate oligarchy. We need economic democracy.”
