Banks' Secret $7.7 Trillion Bonanza- Descent into Plutocracy

Dave Johnson, Campaign for America's Future

It is pretty clear from these graphs that we are sliding rapidly (some would say- we are already there) into plutocracy- the antithesis of democracy- where the richest few rig the system to enrich themselves beyond imagining, while controlling and impoverishing the rest of us. It has been in the works for decades and has gone into high gear since the economic collapse of 2008. We all know about TARP- the $700 billion bail out that Bush pushed through Congress for the biggest banks- but that was the least of it.

 "The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the biggest bailout in US history a secret. Now the rest of the world can see what was missing," says Bloomberg News (of all sources) in an article- "Secret Fed Loans Helped Banks Net $13 Billion". The actual amount the Fed loaned to the banks, with virtually no strings attached, was $7.77 TRILLION   ($7.77 thousand billion)! Congress and even top Bush administration officials were kept in the dark about it which shows how out of control the Federal Reserve is. Senator Dorgan (D-ND) said recently that if they had had knowledge of the loans they would have pushed to reinstate Glass Steagall (the Act that kept banks relatively honest for over six decades). Well, Senator Dorgan and all the rest of you Democrats- what is stopping you now?

The banks have made more profit in the last 30 months than in the 8 years preceding the economic meltdown that they created. The secret nature of these massive loans helped Wall St to "preserve a broken status quo and enabled the biggest banks to grow even bigger."

Thousands of billions have been showered on banks that bankrupted and looted our economy, while everyday Americans suffer on a massive scale. A recent report says that food insecurity is up 30% during this Great Recession. Almost 49 million people in our country lived in food insecure households last year- that is one in seven households. There have been millions of home foreclosures (many occurring because of mortgage fraud to people who have not missed one payment!). There are record numbers of families living in their cars, medical expenses bankrupting people who have worked their whole lives and one in four very young children now lives in poverty in our country.

We need to rise up to demand a reversal of this dangerous descent into plutocracy. If you live in the Hudson Valley come to the first Regional Assembly for Occupy Hudson Valley this Saturday, Dec 3 at 6:30PM at Hulme Park in Poughkeepsie (right after the bridge on the right). Occupy Poughkeepsie is reaching out to the broader community so that "greater resources can be focused on a commitment to direct actions that promote freedom, community and awareness" in the Hudson Valley. For more information go to  occupypoughkeepsie.org.

Police Surrounding Peaceful Occupiers in Phoenix

If you live outside the Hudson Valley go to occupytogether.org to find an occupation near you!

Our strength is in our numbers and our unity!