How would you like to own a bank? A public bank such as the Washington Investment Trust (SB 5464) would be owned by us, the taxpayers of WA State. When our state receives revenues from taxes and fees, rather than depositing those funds into a commercial bank and sending profits in the form of interest to giant Wall Street banks like Wells Fargo, they would be deposited at our own state bank.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hasegawa, targets investments in public infrastructure but also allows for collaboration with economic development agencies, local financial agencies and community-based organizations to invest funds in the public interest.
The Public Banking model works to boost local economies and the well-being of we the people. Tell our legislators to support SB 5464 by filing a comment in support of the bill.
I went to Olympia and testified in favor of this bill on Thursday. The gist of my statement is this: The Wall Street banksters crashed our economy in 2008. This hurt millions of people trying to save for retirement. They bet that Americans would fail…and made sure they would profit from that failure. This behavior is unethical and unAmerican. The WA Invesment Trust’s mission is to help Washington State citizens to succeed. Please support SB 5464.
Please watch the video for the hearing to learn more: Senate Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee – SB 5464.
