I laugh. Oh the CEO's of all the major banks... they've all been on CNBC/Bloomberg this week and serve up all kinds of lip service on this and that. Hi Jamie. "We strive to embrace and empower the African American communities, and we are committed to.... "blah blah blah... We are so racially diverse, its our #1 core tenet." Bullshit. They may be in their hiring.... but they sure as hell aren't in who they select as customers. The underprivileged get raped monthly. See people like Dimon who come on and say all this BS.... they have no idea. (And don't get me wrong... I'm not blaming the CEO's like Dimon; rules are rules, but they have powerful voices and they need to speak up) The reality is.... poor people can't even open an account at these banks. These people get f'd. And what happens(?)... when they go to cash a check.... they have to go to one of these scam check cashing operations. You've all seen them. Pay-day loans, title loans, the little corner buildings painted in bright colors in all the "bad" areas. They're all the same. You want real change to begin? You want to make a difference and actually help people that are getting f'd by the system... and the ones f'ing them are raking in cash hand over foot? Then shut down all these pay-day loan operations (most disguised as a myriad of other things because they're smart). You all probably have no idea how bad people get screwed. Well they do. In a big way. Daily. I know for a fact that certain people with a voice in the financial press read what's written here on ET. I know that 100%. Laugh if you want, but its a fact. So I'm not gonna drop any company names to short in this post, I've done my DD. I know which ones they are. These f'rs are leeches and they prey on the very people that all these protests are screaming to protect. It will change. Laws will be passed. So with all that said... karma's a bitch.... Take these f'rs down. And go ahead and make a killing along the way. Short em to zero at the same time Congress realizes these are the kind operations that perpetuate generational poverty and exploit it for all its worth. No one needs to pay $28 to cash a $300 check. That's bs. Bill...Jamie...$BAC CEO....$C CEO... Why don't ya'll use your power and position to institute the groundwork for a real change... put your money where your mouth is. And just for fun....Bill.... short these leeches to zero; no one will bat an eye brother because you'll be a hero.... a hero for all those who can't do it themselves.
Can't say the big banks are much better. Borrowing from the Fed at 0-0.05% APR, and charging 26% APR credit card rates? We used to have usury laws in this country to prevent against this type of exploitation of people. That all changed in the 1970s when the country decided to go all-in on financialization - which was only made possible due to the bastardization of the currency. And I know, I know, the Randians and Friedmans will now chime in with "well, no one forces you to use the cards".....to which one could respond with "no one forces people to use the payday loan services....or the overpriced hospitals...or heroin."
Well the thing is, the communities where these operations thrive are the only option these folks have and hence there is no choice. I had to use Western Union yesterday so I actually graced one of these places, hence the inspiration for this post. It was pretty damn sad. I stood in line and watched 4 cashiers behind bullet-proof glass sit there and cash checks or load money onto people's debit cards and it was unbelievable. Their fee's are right there for all to see. The percentages are unreal. I don't know how they are allowed to do this. Its pure exploitation of minorities and it should be stopped. Several of these companies have been taken private because they know damn well what they're doing. Americans want change... well there's room in lots of areas, and this is one that needs fixed imo.
Yeah that's a good question. I don't know. Require the likes of Chase or Citi to provide direct deposit debit cards and atm priviledge's for free to people/families below a certain income level regardless of past credit history? I dunno. That's why we have 450 Congress people that get paid handsomely. It's their job to figure it out and fix stuff like this. Concerned citizens can only be the messengers.
Being Canadian I'm not sure about US politics but up here the politicians job is to get re-elected. If they do anything it's at the bidding of the people who paid for their election campaign.
Killer Mike (he's a rapper/activist) is on CNBC with Joe and Andrew saying exactly what I wrote above. Word for word. Good. These check cashing places need to go. They rip people off, and unfortunately it falls heaviest on people of color. Apparently this guy is starting a movement and he says he's gonna get Biden to shut them down as job 1 in January. He's got a lot of heavyweights behind him too. ... told ya'll so.