Greetings friends:
The evidence of the influence of money in politics is still all around us. Our upcoming elections will again demonstrate the power of billionaires. Anyone could be excused if he or she felt powerless. But we are not. After two years of study, WeArePeopleHere! is finding more and more promise in the idea of a local public bank as a way to re-create democracy here at home. It is a way to keep our money at work locally, to reduce the interest stream that currently finances the derivative markets of Wall Street, and to support community purposes such as education, health, infrastructure and small business. A public bank can also be designed to partner with community banks and credit unions, to reinforce them, and to counter the squeeze that is forcing them out of business all over the country. To do all this we don’t have to attack the plutocracy head-on, or overcome it, or wage a struggle against overwhelming power. With a public bank we can take the initiative, become self-responsible and do a great deal to support our own needs here at home.
Mayor Javier Gonzales is behind the idea. Other officials from around the state have become interested as well. We have planned a major symposium to introduce the idea to the public on September 27th of this year and the national organization, Public Banking Institute, is so impressed with our plans that they are now joining the Santa Fe symposium for their national gathering.
For a public bank to actually come into existence, it will require more than official support. It is going to require a groundswell of popular enthusiasm fueled by our urgent desire to re-create economic democracy at home. No mayor, city counselor, state legislator or other official can venture into this new territory without public understanding, support, and sufficient knowledge to be able to explain how this relates to the issues that we have been working on so long.
Please plan to attend the symposium on September 27th. It will be at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center and feature speakers from New Mexico, all around the country and even from Germany. It will include conversations about the needs of our local communities in areas of health, small business, and among Native Americans. It will offer a way for us to fight the despair we are tempted to feel because of the spreading tentacles of plutocracy. We can do something ourselves!
On September 26th, the Friday night before the Saturday symposium, we will present the dramatic reading which itself bears the title “We Are People Here!” The last time we performed this show the actors received a standing ovation. It is an exciting tribute to the spirit and courage of those who have gone before and upon whose shoulders we now stand. Plan to come to this Friday night wonderfully entertaining dramatic presentation, and plan to come the next day to learn more about public banking, what you can do to help, and the steps forward to recapture a measure of economic independence here at home.
For details about the Symposium and to purchase tickets, go to our public banking website www.bankingonnewmexico.org. Sign-up; join us; help us carry the idea outward from Santa Fe to all of New Mexico.
Browse this website and www.publicbankinginstitute.org to learn more about public banking.
See you on September 26th for the dramatic reading, and we hope for you to spend the day with us on the 27th!
Craig
