A bank of, by and for the people

By Will Parry

The developing campaign to establish a publicly-owned bank in Washington State will bring Ellen Brown, a nationally-recognized authority on the subject, to speak in Seattle at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 26, in 120 Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus.

State Representative Bob Hasegawa, the prime sponsor of the State Bank bill in Washington, will share the podium to speak about the campaign in our state.

The State Bank concept has caught fire in Washington and other states because of the remarkable economic achievements of North Dakota, which since 1919 has had the nation’s only publicly-owned bank.

Hasegawa’s bill, House Bill 2040, called for a bank patterned after North Dakota’s. HB 2040 didn’t pass in the 2011 session, but drew strong support from House Democrats and some support from House Republicans as well, Hasegawa reported.

“Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, who has been very supportive of this concept, initiated an Infrastructure Financing Task Force to work in the interim between sessions,” Hasegawa said. Its mission is to recommend, for consideration by the 2012 legislature, ways to establish “a financial institution to be owned by the public.”

Washington’s state funds are currently deposited with Bank of America, one of the four banking giants that dominate the industry and that have earned the nation’s contempt, both for their failure to make the loans that could revive the economy, and for the unvarnished greed of their executives.

The state-owned Bank of North Dakota, in contrast, partners with small and medium-sized banks in that state to finance farms, start-up businesses, and business expansions, spurring economic growth.

North Dakota also has the nation’s fastest growth in payrolls, 3.2 percent in the last year. It has the nation’s lowest foreclosure rate. And it is the only state to be in continuous budget surplus since the banking crisis of 2008. Its balance sheet is so strong that it recently reduced individual income taxes and property taxes by a combined $400 million.

The author of eleven books, Ellen Brown is about to release a twelfth, Web of Debt, tracing the evolution of the existing privately-owned banking system. She has also written nearly one hundred articles on issues related to public banking.

Her Seattle appearance is being sponsored by Keep Our Money in Washington and by Just Sustainable Economy. The Puget Sound ARA has signed on as a co-sponsor. A $5 admission fee will be charged at the October 26 Kane Hall event. Students with ID will be admitted free.