This good idea will not die

            Rep. Bob Hasegawa’s proposal to create a state bank failed to get sufficient support from Democrats on the House Business and Financial Services Committee to keep the bill alive and moving through the legislative process.

            A major reason for lack of support was State Treasurer Jim McIntire’s opposition to the bill.  Although a majority of the committee’s Democrats supported the legislation, a small group of Democrats and all the committee’s Republicans opposed it.  Our readers should note that the outcome followed the bidding of the large commercial banks -- the institutions that brought us the most profound economic crisis since the Great Depression.

            This good idea will not die.  Significantly, similar bills were introduced this year in the legislatures of Oregon, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and Massachusetts.  Look for more in-depth analysis, including the names of the Democrats who opposed Hasegawa’s bill, in a future issue of The Retiree Advocate.