WHY LOS ANGELES SHOULD START A PUBLIC BANK

By: Harold Meyerson, Los Angeles Times. Harold Meyerson is executive editor of the American Prospect. He is a contributing writer to Opinion.

With all that’s at stake in the midterm elections, Los Angeles voters would be forgiven for overlooking Charter Amendment B, a referendum that would amend the city charter to conform with an ordinance the City Council enacted earlier this year.

But Charter Amendment B is no municipal snoozer. It proposes the most fundamental change to our economic system that Angelenos have ever had the opportunity to vote on. The amendment would allow for the creation of a Bank of Los Angeles: a public bank to be operated by and for the city.

Currently, when L.A. collects tax revenue, that revenue does not immediately flow back out to pay city employees. Instead, the revenue is deposited into one of several mega-banks, to be withdrawn when the city needs the funds. This spring, the city’s portfolio came to $9.5 billion. We’re not talking chicken feed.

L.A. has already withdrawn its funds from Wells Fargo, whose steady stream of abusive and fraudulent practices compelled the bank to pay billions in fines in recent years. But the alternatives — the other Wall Street behemoths that brought us the 2008 crash and saddled us with the Great Recession — also have a deference to shareholders and commitment to bonuses that exceed any interest they may have for the well-being of L.A.

Last year, a group of concerned Angelenos who’d formed an advocacy organization, Public Bank LA, began talking to the City Council about establishing a municipal bank. They pointed to North Dakota, which since 1919 has had a state-owned bank that is used to make loans to businesses and farms.

Share this article

Related Posts

pblabudgeth
TURN OUT. SPEAK UP AT LA BUDGET HEARINGS!
486792559_684769964065543_776552836532380825_n
TRINITY TRAN LA AT GOVERNOR'S CATALYST CONVENING
485833762_18039772388576012_1251808412571528752_n
PUBLIC BANKING ADVOCACY DAY AT THE STATE CAPITOL!
485274271_18353831365177988_2502060129470294124_n
PUBLIC BANK LA RECEIVES A SHOUTOUT FROM RASHIDA TLAIB IN THE GUARDIAN!

RECENT POST

pblabudgeth
TURN OUT. SPEAK UP AT LA BUDGET HEARINGS!
486792559_684769964065543_776552836532380825_n
TRINITY TRAN LA AT GOVERNOR'S CATALYST CONVENING
485833762_18039772388576012_1251808412571528752_n
PUBLIC BANKING ADVOCACY DAY AT THE STATE CAPITOL!
485274271_18353831365177988_2502060129470294124_n
PUBLIC BANK LA RECEIVES A SHOUTOUT FROM RASHIDA TLAIB IN THE GUARDIAN!
2025 Jan Newsletter Email (2000 x 1144 px) - Panelists 1
TRINITY TRAN JOINS SHELTERBOX USA'S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY PANEL