Banks used to GET robbed
The following is an excerpt (updated March 02, 2020) from my book Solutions: Enough complaining. Let's fix America, which can be bought at the links listed below.
“What
purpose do banks serve to the masses anymore?”
Do banks pay any interest these days? Or, more accurately, do they pay appreciable
interest that helps the communities in which they reside. How does one benefit from a savings account
today? At least with a checking account,
paying bills is made easier, but is convenience the only standard that we
should have for banks? Aren’t banks and
all businesses as much a part of the community as any individual living within that
community? While the corporation under which a particular bank may operate may be
headquartered in some other state, the people employed in a local branch live in the communities in which they work. And, as members of the community, how do
banks treat the rest of us? In my own
personal experience, banks have treated me worse than a stereotypical movie
loan shark. In Solutions: Enough complaining. Let's fix America, I discuss what is meant by this claim.
The stereotypical movie loan shark loans money then expects the
debt to be repaid with heaps of interests on top of the original loan. If the debtor does not or cannot repay the
debt, the loan shark breaks the debtor’s leg or arm or threatens the debtor in
some other way. Now, in comparison, the banks loaned billions of dollars to a lot of debtors, then tanked the economy with
their fraudulent, illegal and immoral behavior. This would be
akin to a loan shark loaning money to a person in need of a loan then breaking the debtor’s leg shortly after making the loan.
In other words, the banks loaned out billions of dollars then
effectively eliminated the means by which many of those loans could be
repaid. No credit. No payroll. No payroll. No work.
What did our Government do in
response? The Government’s first
instinct was to loan the loan sharks money to cover their losses. It did this without any restriction as to how
that money would be used to help the economy.
And, what did the loan sharks in sheep's clothing do with all of that Government
cheddar? The banks gambled it on
America’s broken economy in the world's biggest casino, Wall Street. They bought
stocks at wholesale prices and paid back the loans that the American taxpayer shelled out in the form of bailouts and the CEOs of the biggest banks have become richer still: Both Jaime Dimon (JP Morgan) and Llyod Blankfein (Goldman Sachs, which is a sordid story in and of itself) have both personally become billionaires since helping crash the economy in 2008. The banks also foreclosed
on and took ownership of people’s homes (5.1 million homes went into foreclosure under Obama) and businesses, becoming even bigger
than they were when they were only “Too Big to Fail.” In the end, Americans ended up footing the
bill for crooked bankers and today banks are not only to big to fail but “Too
Big to Fight”. Because of their illegal and fraudulent behavior, a few bankers
committed suicide (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/business/07suicide.html), a practice subsided as it became apparent that bankers
would not be held accountable for their part in bringing the American Economy
as close to a second Great Depression as was possible and currently probable in 2020.
So, the banks have grown larger and the
CEOs running those banks have become more emboldened in their criminality. Examples like Wells Fargo opening millions of
fraudulent accounts in their client’s name, so Wells Fargo could then charge
fees for those fraudulent accounts (Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/timeline-wells-fargo-accounts-scandal/story?id=42231128). And then Wells Fargo was exposed as having foreclosed on
homes that were eligible for government-assisted refinancing programs? And, in 2019, a reporter was reassigned after exposing the fact that Wells Fargo is the go-to bank for gun
manufacturers. (Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-07/nra-s-banker-wells-fargo-climbs-to-top-of-gunmaker-debt-market) Is that all? Let me think... Oh yeah, that same bank was also got caught adding unnecessary insurance to policies bought by customers who insured their cars through Wells Fargo (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/business/wells-fargo-unwanted-auto-insurance.html). Now, I could understand clients remaining with Wells Fargo through one of these scandals, maybe two, but three strikes usually means you're out and I actually pointed out four strikes above. And then there is the question as to who was held accountable for the illegal, immoral, illicit corporate atmosphere that allowed so many scandals permeate throughout the bank. In the end, only low-level employees lost their jobs while the CEO’s paid no
penalty. This behavior brings to mind
something Jimmy Dore says: “In the old days people used to rob banks.” To me, the irony is that had Wells Fargo
offered its customers greater reasons to bank with them, they probably could
have legally and ethically made Wells Fargo’s shares more enticing to
investors. How about offering a 1.0% interest rate on
a savings account? Ultimately, however, WE THE CONSUMER are to blame for Wells Fargo's continued criminal behavior... How does anyone keep one dollar in a Wells Fargo account? Sure, you might still get ripped off, but you might not, because the bottom line is, THERE ARE OTHER BANKS!!!!!
The sad truth is that corporations like Wells Fargo will
probably take a hit in their stock price for their indiscretions but like BP, they will rebound in time for the next catastrophe.
“Corruption
rewarded is corruption enabled.”
Buy "Solutions: Enough complaining. Let's fix America" in paperback
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Or
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