Occupy this

[Scooter]

I've been hoping to come across a picture of Steve, but none of the placards I've seen so far are mind-numbingly stupid enough for him to be carrying.

[Sean]

His reads: "down with capitals".

[Lord Jim]

I've been hoping to come across a picture of Steve, but none of the placards I've seen so far are mind-numbingly stupid enough for him to be carrying.

Here's one for you:

[Scooter]

Nah, not crazy enough.

It doesn't even say that GWB was personally piloting one of the planes.

[dales]

Lib chortled:

Spark up another one Dales and relive those 60s one more time.

You still don't get it, do you.

[Sue U]

Stockholm Syndrome.

[Liberty1]

You still don't get it, do you.

No, I get it. You don't. They should all move their protests to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

[dales]

Stockholm Syndrome.

Don't confuse the poor lad.

He would question what a city in Sweden has to do with the current topic at hand.

[Liberty1]

Don't confuse the poor lad.

He would question what a city in Sweden has to do with the current topic at hand.

You believe she's talking about me (which she could be) but that's not how I took it.

It's a matter of perspective. No matter what you think, I am unaware of major issues where wall street broke laws. If you don't like the bail-outs, you're barking up the wrong tree.

[Liberty1]

[Grim Reaper]

And liberty1 posts yet another pointless cartoon that manages to completely and utterly miss the entire point and show that he has absolutely no understanding whatsoever what the OWS movement is about.

[Sue U]

You believe she's talking about me (which she could be) but that's not how I took it.

No matter what you think, I am unaware of major issues where wall street broke laws.

Seriously? Have you been comatose the last year? Goldman Sachs paid a $550 million penalty (largest ever for the SEC, but still peanuts to GS) to settle the Abacus CDO fraud litigation. In fact, the entire CDO/CDS market was probably the biggeest fraud ever perpetrated by the finance industry; look up "synthetic CDO" sometime -- the entire concept was essentially to sell a product that didn't exist in a transaction that was designed to fail. Oh, you might also try looking around generally under the heading "securities fraud." Since you appear to be clueless, here, let me help you.

Also, you ever hear of "robo-signing"? It's another fraud by the banks.

[Scooter]

Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton forced them to do it.

[Sue U]

Oh, here's some fun.

And if reading's too much for you, there's even a movie about the financial industry's fraud and who profited handsomely from it. Rent it.

[Liberty1]

I will admit to ignorance on much of the details of all this stuff, however......

Seriously? Have you been comatose the last year? Goldman Sachs paid a $550 million penalty (largest ever for the SEC, but still peanuts to GS) to settle the Abacus CDO fraud litigation.

OK, and whose fault is it that they only paid $550M?

In fact, the entire CDO/CDS market was probably the biggeest fraud ever perpetrated by the finance industry; look up "synthetic CDO" sometime -- the entire concept was essentially to sell a product that didn't exist in a transaction that was designed to fail.

Was this a real "fraud" (illegal) or not. Either way, it's not their responsibility to bring themselves to justice. All of your outrage is misplaced.

The purpose of a business is to make money, if they don't do it legally and are not stopped or not punished, that is not their fault.

[Sue U]

I will admit to ignorance on much of the details of all this stuff

And yet you jump right in to denigrate protestors' grievances and defend an industry whose practices you know nothing about.

The purpose of a business is to make money, if they don't do it legally and are not stopped or not punished, that is not their fault.

So it's okay to lie, cheat, steal, defraud and fleece as long as no one catches you? It's not your fault? There is something seriously wrong with you.

[dales]

Putting their money where their mouth is...

http://www.baycitizen.org/occupy-moveme ... amid-wall/

Credit Union Deposits Surge amid Wall Street Protests

Aaron Glantz/The Bay Citizen

Alli Panelas opens an account at Patelco Credit Union

Alli Panelas considers herself part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. But on this Monday afternoon, the 21-year-old cashier for the San Francisco Soup Company isn't camping out in front of the Federal Reserve. She's sitting inside Patelco Credit Union's office on Second and Mission streets, opening a checking account, a savings account and a certificate of deposit.

Within the week, Panelas said, she plans to close her account at Chase. "I'd rather invest my time, energy and money in a community institution rather than a large bank," she said.

Panelas is one of an increasing number of customers making the switch. Bay Area credit unions report hundreds of consumers have begun to move their money.

They say they are angry about the government's bailout of Wall Street and frustrated with plans by major banks to begin charging a monthly fee for debit card transactions. Panelas said five of her friends were also planning to move their accounts from banks to credit unions in the coming days.

"It's not just a matter of fees. Credit unions and banks just have two different models," said Brett Martinez, the president and CEO of Redwood Credit Union, which has 18 branches in San Francisco and the North Bay.

Unlike banks, "which try to make as much money as possible from their customers and give it back to their shareholders," credit unions are nonprofit organizations that return profits to their members in the form of better rates on loans and deposits, Martinez said.

He said 160 depositors had switched from Bank of America to Redwood Credit Union since Oct. 5 and cited the new monthly debit card fee.


A spokeswoman for Patelco, which has 40 branches throughout Northern California, said the credit union has seen has seen the number of new accounts increase from 78 a day in September to 118 a day in October.

A representative of San Francisco Federal Credit Union, with three branches in the city, reported a more modest increase in new accounts. But industry observers say there is more to come.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," said Henry Kertman, spokesman for the California Credit Union League.

Organizers have dubbed Nov. 5 "Bank Transfer Day" and are encouraging people nationwide to move their money from banks to credit unions. Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement are supporting the plan. On a Facebook page dedicated to the cause, more than 48,000 people say they plan to participate.

Nov. 5 is the date when Englishman Guy Fawkes' plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605. Some of the Occupy Wall Street protesters have worn masks of Fawkes' face.

In interviews, representatives of the banking industry were dismissive of the plan to switch to credit unions.

Beth Mills, spokeswoman for the California Bankers Association, called it "misguided."

Mills insisted the banks decided to add the new fees not out of greed, but because of what she described as costly new regulations passed by Congress. "Five dollars a month is probably less than you pay every day for coffee. Sixty dollars a year is less than most people spend in a month for cable."[why the h#ll should I give you $5 for accesing my own money?]

Betty Rises, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, predicted customers would stay with BofA even after its new debit card fee takes effect next year because of the convenience that large banks offer — from plentiful ATMs to online banking.

But credit unions counter that they offer those services too, and are able to do so without fees, because they are not for profit.

Most credit unions, including Redwood and Patelco, are part of a national network in which members are not charged a monthly debit card fee and can use any of 28,000 credit union or 7-11 ATMs nationwide free of charge.

"This is the biggest grass-roots reaction that we’ve seen from the financial crisis yet," said Anne Stuhldreher, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute.

"A lot of people have been waiting for something and wondering why something like this hasn't happened sooner," she said.
[the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step]

I absolutely despise Chase and withdrew every penny I had from them 2 years ago. I have NEVER had an account with BofA, they've always been a predatory institution.

I now use a local small bank for my miniscule monetary needs.

[Liberty1]

And yet you jump right in to denigrate protestors' grievances and defend an industry whose practices you know nothing about.

I saying very little about (virtually nothing until you brought it up), "the industry I know nothing about", I'm saying a lot about the motivations and ideologies of those doing the protesting.

So it's okay to lie, cheat, steal, defraud and fleece as long as no one catches you? It's not your fault?

Absolutely not! But if you know this, and it's as common knowledge as you claim don't you think the anger is misplaced.

And liberty1 posts yet another pointless cartoon that manages to completely and utterly miss the entire point and show that he has absolutely no understanding whatsoever what the OWS movement is about

How can you not look at the majority of the people in pictures at OWS and not laugh.

And they wonder why they can't get a job, puhleese.

[Sue U]

I now use a local small bank for my miniscule monetary needs.

I had done the same, dales, but then my community bank was bought by a regional bank which was then bought by the 7th or 12th (depending on what figures you use)largest bank in the country.

[Sue U]

So it's okay to lie, cheat, steal, defraud and fleece as long as no one catches you? It's not your fault?

Absolutely not! But if you know this, and it's as common knowledge as you claim don't you think the anger is misplaced.

No, this is exactly why there is so much anger. Wall Street -- and the economic elite whom it serves -- have been 1) committing financial crimes and 2) benefitting from skewed treatment by both financial regulation and the tax structure. These are fundamental truths, no matter how many tattoos or piercings the protestors have or how "smelly" they are: the rich are not only getting richer, they have never had it so good, particularly in relation to "the 99%." And the financial wizards who tanked the economy through massive fraud appear to be getting away with it, due in large part to a lack of enforcement resources. It appears to me their anger is aimed directly at the appropriate targets.

ETA:

Also, if it is not okay to lie, cheat, steal, etc., whatever did you mean by this:

The purpose of a business is to make money, if they don't do it legally and are not stopped or not punished, that is not their fault.