Occupy Port Townsend

This letter has been worked on by a number of individuals.  The group read and edited this letter.  The GA consensed unanimously to pass this letter and have it delivered as a letter from Occupy Port Townsend.  It was requested that a few people add a quote from a 2nd source such as RollingStone magazine.  This was done.

May 1, 2012

Dear County Commissioner Phil Johnson, County Commissioner David Sullivan, County Commissioner John Austin, and County Treasurer Judy Morris.

We ask that you immediately take any and all steps necessary to move all moneys under your control out of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Chase Bank, and any other bank not chartered in Washington State and move this money into a financial institution chartered in Washington State such as Kitsap Bank, First Federal, or even better, a credit union.

Specifically, we understand Jefferson County has large accounts at Bank of America, and we ask that these be emptied and closed.   Based upon a review of the county’s recently renewed banking services contract with Bank of America, this relationship can be terminated with just 45 days notice.  We further ask that any moneys you place under the control of the Wa State treasurer be moved elsewhere until the State ceases using Bank of America as their primary financial institution.

We encourage you to research why the big banks are a problem.  One source you might consider (although many of us feel it hardly goes far enough) is the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Texas that wrote in its annual report this year:

It is imperative that we break up the big banks…The ultimate destination—an economy relatively free from financial crises—won’t be reached until we have the fortitude to break up the giant banks.
http://www.dallasfed.org/fed/annual/index.cfm

Another fine source is Matt Taibbi of RollingStone magazine who writes:

At least Bank of America got its name right. The ultimate Too Big to Fail bank really is America, a hypergluttonous ward of the state whose limitless fraud and criminal conspiracies we’ll all be paying for until the end of time.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bank-of-america-too-crooked-to-fail-20120314#ixzz1tUAjjAI6

Still another highly informative resource is a book by Simon Johnson and James Kwak titled “13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown.” Pantheon Books (2010)

Commissioner Johnson, Sullivan, Austin, and Treasurer Morris, is that not a rather broad spectrum of independent sources telling us the big banks are a problem?  We as a nation- according to the Texas Fed- will not have a strong economy until our nation “finds the fortitude to break up the giant banks.”   One way our nation can find that type of fortitude is for its local elected officials to stand up and say “We need to change.  We need to do things differently.”

We can no longer count on our State and National elected officials to lead with the independent courage and integrity we need- because to simply get elected these leaders must become partners with large corporate interests such as the Too Big To Fail banks.  We need our city and county elected officials to demonstrate what integrity and courage looks like.  We ask you to take a stand for us.  Stand up and say to Washington State: “Bank of America is no longer good enough for the people of Jefferson County.”

Sincerely,
Occupy Port Townsend General Assembly