October 19th - Oregon State Bank Meeting

The Oregon State Bank meeting was a success. A success in regards to setting tasks to people so the action can gain momentum. Many tasks were centered around the divestment movement.

What this means is people must start removing their money from the major banks. It almost seems like an obvious solution that people across the country should have picked up on long ago. They failed us, and when an entity fails you, you quit supporting it. Because banks invest our deposited money in other schemes, it would make sense to divest our money as soon as they fail. It removes their ability to invest in these faulty schemes.

The second point of the meeting was to discuss the creation of the Oregon State Bank. This again ties in to divesting in a way. Oregon banks through the major banks, as do our counties, cities, and people. This is in itself a very destructive way of handling our money. When our government and people invest their money in local [community] banks, the money stays local. As a result, the money is recycled through the local economy roughly seven times through job creation, wages, spending, etc.

It would seem we have all been fooled to so thorough a degree by the banks that we have been investing in entities which send the money to foreign markets and even markets across state borders. So what do we do?

Well let's start on a personal level. By participating in Bank Transfer Day on November 5th you will be making a significant statement as to your feelings about the operations in the current financial market. Then, there is what San Jose and some other cities have been doing. We must convince local and regional governments to bank through local institutions as well. Again, taking millions of dollars and pumping it into the local economy. Lastly, we must convince our state which runs billions of dollars through the large banks to create a state bank so all of the money stays within our state and the immediate region.


Some of this we can start immediately and some of it will take some time. However we operate on a deadline. The legislature meets in February, the same time frame mentioned by some of Medford's Occupy organizers for the parade to Salem.

This brings me to what I believe is one of the most important things I will write about. Through the Occupy Movement it has been made clear; there are a serious range of issues which we have all come together in the hopes to solve. However, we must focus on a select few to reach immediate results so the movement does not lose its momentum. A focus on the banks seems tantamount. By keeping money local, by punishing the major banks, we are making a major statement. We are saying, "We are sick of banks having this degenerative effect on society which seems to cycle throughout history, we are tired of being treated like sheep who only donate our wool to you so you can take it from us again next paycheck. We are tired of you selling our wool to the wolves who do not even bother dressing as a sheep any more."

So it would seem to me this should be a major purpose in the local Occupy Movement. It would seem this would garner results within the year. It would show we are unified in purpose and it would show the world that we have come together on the most obvious of issues. We are the 99%, we will succeed!

For additional reading, making informed decisions, and spreading the word, here is a 2 page tri-fold pamphlet about local banks and how to get involved in this movement. Please click for full-size images.