Recently, Santa Fe community leaders (Mayor Javier Gonzales, Rabbi Neil Amswych, Sensei Joshin Byrnes, Councilor Renee Villarreal, Elaine Sullivan of Banking on New Mexico) spoke on “Economic Justice in Santa Fe” and reminded us to become active participants. The presentation might have been titled “Community: How to use money to build and maintain it.” We learned that economic justice is both a social and moral issue. A public bank might just help us build and maintain community. A public bank focuses local money on local projects. Instead of paying big banks to hold the assets of Santa Fe, it would serve as the savings bank for Santa Fe, and it would serve as the lending bank for Santa Fe city government projects. All the interest earned on loans would come back to the public bank for future loans to contribute to the community’s welfare and to economic justice here in Santa Fe.
George Gamble – Santa Fe
