Enough is Enough

Yesterday afternoon, more than 1,000 people from 20 states came by bus, train, and plane to the Showdown in Chicago to deliver the message "Enough is Enough" to the American Bankers Association at their annual convention.

At the opening session, story after story spoke to the pain and frustration that the American people are feeling. Whether it was Ferol Wegner, an 81-year-old, widowed retiree from Des Moines who described how she lost 30 percent of her pension or Mitzi-Rivers Singleton from Wichita who passionately detailed how she was taken to the cleaners by payday lenders. Amanda Pascal of Syracuse described how she was ripped off by a predatory lender and lost her home.

Showdown attendees then swarmed the ABA "Bankers Ball" at the Sheraton hotel with the simple message: Enough is Enough!

Enough with sky-high credit card interest rates.

Enough with stealth overdraft fees.

Enough with foreclosing on families every 13 seconds.

And enough with the same banks that created this crisis, putting a boot on the neck of the American Dream by lobbying to kill common sense reforms that would protect people and prevent a future meltdown.

The big banks and their lobbyists have had their way in Washington for decades. Their drive to deregulate the financial markets has failed miserably. It is time for new ideas - and the incredibly diverse crowd of everyday Americans gathered in Chicago tonight put forth a set of clear proposals.

• A Consumer Financial Protection Agency that protects people from bad financial products. As the Rev. Tony Pierce of Peoria, IL said, the government can make sure our milk is safe, they can surely make sure financial products are safe.

• Break Up the Big Banks. JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup have become too big and too unaccountable. As Keya Alvarez from Springfield, MA said, the only thing that is too big to fail is the American people.

• Allow judges to modify mortgages to prevent foreclosures. We are on track for well over 2 million families to lose their home, but this simple policy change at the federal level would stop the fallout. As the Rev. Barnes of Champaign, IL said, America can do better.

The Showdown in Chicago has only begun. Today starts at 9:00 a.m. with FDIC Chair Sheila Bair addressing the crowd. Then, at 10:30 a.m., people will gather outside the Chicago headquarters of Goldman Sachs to demand that they donate their estimated $23 billion 2009 bonus pool to programs to prevent foreclosures and rebuild communities.

But it's not over then. At noon the crowd will grow and we will return to the American Bankers Association conference. And then, on Tuesday, more than 5,000 people will march back to the ABA's Convention. If you've had enough with bank bailouts, bonuses, and a hijacked democracy, it's not too late to the join the Showdown.

 

 

Comments

[nanderson65]

Great work with the protest.
I love and support what you are doing.
I'm from San Francisco where we know protest like our brothers and sisters in Chicago!

Progressive activism has brought all of the great changes to our society, so don't ever stop.

The Declaration of Independence
A Constitution!
A Bill of Rights!?! wow
Abolition of Slavery
Women's Suffrage
The right to vote for Senators, (I'd forgotten that one)
40 HR work week, vacations, disability, worker's rights
Collective bargaining and safety
Civil Rights!
Gay Rights!
Women's Equality
Children's Rights, spanking? Really? Spanking?
Ecology
Organics
Health
Yoga, mmmm yoga

These are all the good things worth fighting for and victories from our recent past
Thanks again for the work you've done!

[Marmoset72]

The Showdown in Chicago was the first major protest I've ever participated in and it was incredible experience! This was not a group of whiny lazy "libs" looking for a handout, nor was it an event bankrolled by corporate interests. It was a truly grassroots coalition of hard working Americans, some Democrats, some Republicans, some Independents, of all walks of life. What unified us was that we are all mystified and angry about the current state of the Too Big to Fail financial system that is so tone-deaf they seem shocked that people are angry about millions of dollars in bonuses being handed out to the same incompetent CEOs that are largely responsible for the current crisis. The Showdown marked just the beginning of a movement, but to make it grow into a force to be seriously reckoned with people must organize and mobilize. Thanks to National People's Action for spearheading a transformational event! Ain't no power like the power of the people because the power of the people don't stop!