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Posted: January 7, 2010 09:12 PM

Arianna: Move Your Money And Make Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Smaller (VIDEO)

What's Your Reaction:

Arianna appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann Thursday to explain Move Your Money, a project that encourages Americans to fight back against Wall Street's too-big-to-fail culture by moving their money from bailed out big banks to smaller, better-managed community banks. Olbermann gave the "brilliantly simple" project a ringing endorsement:

"Remember the banks that were too big to fail, the ones that took billions in taxpayer money and used that money not to help you with a loan, but to sweeten their balance sheets and pay lobbyists to fight financial reform...? Well, it turns out that you are not powerless in their... grasp... time to make those too-big-to-fail banks just a little bit smaller by moving your money to a local community bank."

Visit MoveYourMoney.info to find a community bank near you. Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about how to move your money.

WATCH:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Pledge to Move Your Money!
Take the pledge, join the movement, and invite your Facebook or Twitter friends to get involved.
 
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Cubanmom
Let's stop hate & violence with Love!
02:37 PM on 01/09/2010
Good idea......... let's all do this. And while we are at it, boycott ALL Fox Media!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AmeriGus
Wore On Terror
12:46 AM on 01/09/2010
Ha! I bet there is an advertising agency right this second somewhere producing TV spots that have lilting piano music and Kodak imagery, trying to spotlight all the community minded charity Chase and Citibank do, every day in your home town.

I picture softball teams, disabled veterans fundraisers and adopt-a-pet benefits in charming, quaint slo-mo. Shooting starts this week - editing, post production and voice overs will be banged out next week and they should be on the air by the end of the month.

Chase What Matters in YOUR Community

The Citi Never Sleeps in Hometown, USA

Bank of America - Helping Widows and Orphans, One Smile At a Time....

you get the drift.....
05:02 AM on 01/09/2010
You make a really good point when pointing to the problem of advertising.
That's why the media crisis is actually not so bad. When people get rid of useless
newspapers they save themselves such problems as being confronted with advertising
clearly against their interest.
Maybe of interest in the wider context: "Magazine Death Pool" of "Newspaper Death Watch",
to name just a few. Cases where it is much easier to consider problematic ad strategies,
no more frustration.
http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/
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05:23 PM on 01/08/2010
If enough people more their money out of those "too big to fail" banks, those banks will probably come crying to Congress about how those meanie American citizens messed them up so they need another bailout.

Would Congress bail them out if their problems were caused by their customers leaving them?
03:12 PM on 01/08/2010
I like the idea but I live in NYC and if I ever need cash (i.e. for laundry) I'm going to get hit with ATM fees... Any advice on that front? Comm. Banks lack presence in Upper Manhattan...

Ideas?
03:35 PM on 01/08/2010
Become a little more organized? I keep a emergency cash/change purse on me at all times.
08:24 PM on 01/08/2010
Just buy something you need from a store, and request cash back after the purchase. They don't charge any fees that way.
08:32 PM on 01/08/2010
Ditto. No fees, no hassle. Screw the big banks.
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Lizaxyz
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...
02:42 PM on 01/08/2010
Join a credit union!

I have been a credit union member for years and have been happy with their services.

"The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions throughout the United States and its territories.

NCUA administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, the NCUSIF insures the member accounts in all federal credit unions and the substantial majority of state-chartered credit unions."
02:26 PM on 01/08/2010
I think it is a great idea to move our money from a bank that is "too large to fail" to a smaller bank. I have another suggestion. I would like to see a news media start a list of the companies that have and continue to send American jobs over seas. Why should American patronize these companies. Here a start. Starwood Hotels & Resorts manages a large number of Sheraton Hotels, Westins and the W Hotels and their corporate office has been sending American jobs to India. As Americans if we stop patronizing the companies that do not hire Americans and send our jobs over seas this may shame them or financial hurt them enough that they will start insources instead of outsources our jobs.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
jrmarsh
02:01 PM on 01/08/2010
I wonder if this is just a phenomenon with progressives or if conservatives are joining in too. How ironic that we would have this in common.

Anybody willing to go post on some conservative sites?
03:41 PM on 01/08/2010
Scary post on conservatives sites lol progressives put up with my anarchist leanings but the rightwingers teabaggers online sites would tie me to a stake and burn me as a witch even if I brought them the key to heaven.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Orcas Island
Speak the truth and ride a fast horse.
10:20 PM on 01/08/2010
The Moral Majority is still neither.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
pogiago
01:54 PM on 01/08/2010
I just lost 20,000 to Citi Group so they could pay back the TARP money. I think for the near future I will stick with Mason and Kerr.
01:47 PM on 01/08/2010
I just read several articles by MIT professor Simon Johnson. Google his name. He talks about the near term bubble being caused by the Big Banks continuing in their risky investments in China and other third world bubbles. Nothing has really changed. No real reform. Major concerns around the world but no political or practical muscle to change things. Ultimately a train crash is coming and the banks will not be able to respond because they are even more leveraged than before and do not have the liquid assets to respond. Read his articles. They explain the scenario better than I can here. I am not a dooms-day-type but like everyone was completely caught off guard with the 2008 financial meltdown. Well, it looks like the next one coming soon will be worse. Not only is it time to change from the big boys for all of the reasons sighted in MoveYourMoney, but it is probably time to just get your cash out of the "too big to fail" before they really do fail.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
dm92
01:39 PM on 01/08/2010
Instead of worrying about the banks (companies that largely hire and pay Americans, making some of them wealthy), we should concentrate our efforts on the large number of American companies who outsource as a way of life. Walgreens just announced they are laying off over 500 people as they switch their accounting function to India.
02:07 PM on 01/08/2010
Do both. Also stop giving companies like wallgreens tax breaks to build new walgreens.
01:09 PM on 01/08/2010
Arianna,

Great idea with Move Your Money. How about opening up a second front by advocating that people move their retirement investments to low fee Index Funds???

The big banks, indeed the entire financial services sector, make an astonishing amount of money on high management fees for mutual funds and other investment vehicles that try to beat the market sector average - but over time, never do. Why pay an "expert" 2% per year to deliver inferior returns versus what index funds can deliver for ~ 0.2% ? Lots of empirical data available to support this from John Bogle, Founder of Vanguard Funds, and others.

Money management that adds no value is a huge source of bonuses and profit for the big banks - but a parasitical tax for the average investor. Let's take it away.

Average investors are well-served by diversifying with index funds in different investment categories, .e.g stocks, bonds, real estate. Simple rules-of-thumb can determine the right allocation, (the older you get, the more of your money should be in bonds).

Tax strategy would dictate using 401Ks and IRAs to protect the interest from bond index funds, while buying stock index funds with non-retirement account $$.

Check back every year to see if any particular sector is over-valued or if your portfolio is overweighted in a particular sector.

It's not a lot more complicated than that, and certainly not worth subsidizing the lifestyles of big bank executives to have them pretend otherwise.
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Irazu
I have nothing to declare
01:09 PM on 01/08/2010
I'm a little confused (as usual!) - wouldn't it be better to have your money in a bank that's "too big to fail"?

I mean, what benefit is it to the depositor to put their money in an institution that's "just the right size to fail"?
02:09 PM on 01/08/2010
Too big to fail banks rob taxpayers and communities. Local banks keep money local and create or sustain jobs.
05:08 PM on 01/08/2010
If your deposits weren't insured, perhaps 'too big to fail' would be a useful trait, but under current practices their size provides no benefit to the depositor. If anything, it increases the odds that their management are acting rapaciously and will not act in its depositors' interests. A local bank is less likely to charge you 30% on your credit card, and is more likely to pay you interest on your deposits. They're also more likely to work with you to settle disputes and fee charges, instead of having your complaints go unresolved or misunderstood overseas.
12:40 PM on 01/08/2010
You go Arianna!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Donuthole
Gimme some sugar.
12:31 PM on 01/08/2010
I opened a credit union account 25 years ago, but got seduced by BofA when my AA sponsor was a VP there. Fortunately, I kept the credit union membership all these years. Now I've moved all my money back over to the credit union and am in the process of closing my BofA accounts. Thank you Arianna for spearheading this movement. (Still sober, BTW...lol, and so is my former sponsor--though he now works for a non-profit.)
11:27 AM on 01/08/2010
About time the rest of you caught on, I moved my money, what little there is, to credit unions 30 years ago and have not looked back since. I just don't see where the advantage is to a large bank except to the bankers. I suggest that the big bankers go to a bar turn the stool upside down, sit and spin.