“Ethical Markets supports the Public Banking Institute (PBI) and its brilliant founder Ellen Brown, lawyer, author of Banking on People (2019) and many other books. We are happy to have Ellen Brown on our Advisory Board and I serve on hers at PBI. See this new PBI video supporting restoration of the US Postal Banking system, which offered savings accounts to millions of Americans until the 1960s. This new video shows this history and shows all the other democratic nations who still offer their citizens non-profit postal savings accounts. Current political attacks on the USPTO, are deeply worrying, since we rely on our Post Office to deal with all the new mail-in ballots needed from the November elections, to give people safety from Covid-19 exposure at polling places. Five state already conduct their elections with all mail-in voting, secure and civilized!! Please help circulate this video!
~Hazel Henderson, Editor“
New video series premieres: Why we need postal banking. It’s time to think outside the mailbox!
The USPS is under attack from private corporate interests that want to acquire the enormous volume of delivery services it provides. Our new video series, premiering today, highlights how other countries are investing in their postal services while our new Postmaster General is intent on cutting them.
We need to think outside the mailbox. The USPS provided basic banking services from 1911 until the late 1960s. While banks focused on businesses and affluent customers and redlined people of color, working people often lacked bank accounts. The USPS stepped in to serve as a nondiscriminatory alternative, providing inclusionary access to savings accounts and low-cost money orders.
Today, 9 million households are handicapped by not having a bank account, and bank branches are disappearing rapidly, especially in poor urban and rural areas. It is time for the Post Office to step in again and restart this critical public service. You can call 1-800-ASK-USPS to express your concern.
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Public banking gains powerful endorsement from Credit Union Association of New Mexico
New Mexico’s Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity announced that the Credit Union Association of New Mexico, a statewide trade organization that advocates for credit unions, has formally endorsed a public bank for NM. This is a key endorsement and bolsters the group’s growing alliance to advance upcoming legislation that will be introduced in 2021. From ALEP’s release:
“Paul Stull, President and CEO of CUANM, gives three compelling reasons to support a public bank:
- Increased opportunities
- Economic resilience
- Prosperity for New Mexico
“‘While federal and state financing has been made available, it falls far short of assuring New Mexico’s progress in changing the current lack of economic development, jobs and opportunity,’ Stull said. ‘There is a need for creativity and rethinking age-old practices that may be good at preserving the status quo, but fail to bring about increased opportunities to build infrastructure, solve decades-old housing problems and create jobs through new capital investment.’
“‘Now is the time for New Mexico to end its reliance on banking services that have no benefit to our state. A public bank focused on New Mexico is the answer,’ he said.”
[read the full endorsement]