Finance

Occupy San Fran. Protesters Start Their Own Bank: ‘Redistribute the Money Locally’

The anti-big-bank Occupy protesters in San Francisco are branching out into entrepreneurship. The group is so fed up with big banks that they are now creating their own credit union. And while they are “practicing what they preach,” one blogger notes the move may not end well.

SF Weekly reports:

Members of Occupy SF announced their ambitious plans to turn protesters into bankers by creating the People’s Reserve Credit Union. According to Occupy SF’s Facebook page:

The goal of this project is to encourage San Francisco residents, businesses, as well as nonprofit and city agencies to keep their money out of the big banks and to redistribute that money locally. Initial services will include micro-loans for the working poor and homeless, and subsidized student loans at low interest rates.

The credit union is being created with the help of San Francisco’s Glide Community Church and Supervisors John Avalos and Eric Mar. The group filed its paperwork and has already crafted a thoughtful mission statement: The credit union will serve as a replicable model for other financial institutions to reinvest wealth in their local communities. They will support microenterprise, provide educational loans, and foster community improvement projects.

SF Weekly has a list of some of their other goals:

  • Accumulate capital assets of $7 million or more, through investments by different organizations, members, et al.
  • Open two credit union branches within the city of San Francisco. The first branch location in the mid-Market Street corridor , in the former Social Security Administration storefront (MOCD) , with the assistance of other local nonprofits. Each branch will have a cafe within it and a commercial kitchen available to rent.
  • The credit union will employ students and homeless, creating 60 part-time jobs.
  • Issue 300 to 500 micro-enterprise loans (max. $5,000).
  • Add 1,000 people overall to the city employment payroll.
  • Finance and start a food co-op large enough to support a neighborhood.

Blogger Zombie has a feeling the project will be entertaining:

The difference between the People’s Reserve Credit Union and the other banks is that other banks are eeeeeevil whereas the People’s Reserve Credit Union is good.

Welcome to the real world, Occupiers. The world of regulations and accounting and laws and audits and trying to meet payroll. This should be entertaining.

But that’s not all he takes umbrage with. See, part of the Occupiers plan involves micro-loans. Zombie points out that may not be a winning plan:

Occupy SF will soon learn that micro-enterprise loans are incredibly risky, because most micro-businesses fail. Risky loans are what caused the banking crisis in the first place — remember? Or was that too long ago for you?

“We believe the credit union serves as a model for other financial institutions to reinvest wealth in their communities,” Brian Mckune, an Occupy SF organizer, told SF Weekly. “We want to show them that there is a way to reduce the impact of large banks on the community at large, and the leakage of local funds internationally caused by the large banks, keeping the money where it belongs.”

You can see the Occupiers’ plan at their Facebook page for more details.

Comments (107)

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  • cyclops
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:50am

    How about coming up with a name for this soon to be newly created credit union? I recommend “Stinky Sulk Credit Union”……………….LOL!!!!!

    Report Post » cyclops  
    • DetritusScreener
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:10am

      Did you read the article or just comment on it?

      Report Post » DetritusScreener  
    • I support God's Israel!
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:31am

      I do NOT object to their efforts, as long as they abide by legal regulations and do these people right. It is a GREAT idea. But, they must also know that this IS CAPITALISM at its finest. Why? Because, in order for them to continue being a financial institution, they MUST make investments so MAKE MONEY, somehow. How they will do that, is the big question. There are all kinds of things that can make them fall: a run on the credit union (they must keep a reserve) and of course, they must pay for their employees, their building, any assets they have, etc. Guess what? WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF BUSINESS AND CAPITALISM fools.

      Report Post » I support God's Israel!  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 1:25pm

      I would like to “Borrow” Ten Million Dollars. Within two months I will become an OWS Forgive All Debt Thief, then consult John Corzine as to how to shield the loot from sight.

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • Marci
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 2:25pm

      This should be entertaining—the irony of this is that these losers are doing exactly what they rail against. They have shown time and again that it doesn’t take long for their “collectivist” society to start breaking out into real world mode as there will always be the group that does and the group that depends on others to do.

      Report Post » Marci  
    • JRook
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 2:29pm

      Good for them. Similar to what Michigan has done with its state pension funds. That is invest them in Michigan business rather than giving them over to Wall St. to squander again.

      Report Post »  
    • cyclops
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 5:19pm

      I read it and having fun with it too…….It is always a good thing to laugh my friend……about silly people out there…..

      Report Post » cyclops  
    • Anti_Spock
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:02pm

      They must have found the only copy of “Jim Jones: Manual For Cult Success.”

      Report Post » Anti_Spock  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on December 6, 2011 at 12:57am

      @I support God’s Israel!
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:31am
      I do NOT object to their efforts, as long as they abide by legal regulations and do these people right.
      ****
      I’m certain I read that as of this year. Obama had Federalized the Student Loan Program? How can they make low interest student loans? I wonder how many OTHER new regulations they’ve broken, Didn’t Barnie, & Chuckie just pass a whole passel of them?

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on December 6, 2011 at 9:29am

      .
      Would you invest your life savings there?
      “Employ the homeless” That’ll work well.
      “Make loans to people who won”t / can’t pay them back”
      We already have Fanny / Freddy for that.

      They forgot the last item:
      “Get a gub’rnment bailout.”

      Hay, maybe they’re on to something!

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • pavepaws
      Posted on December 6, 2011 at 1:57pm

      Wait until the credit union sucks the church and investors dry. I suppose they will go easy on creditworthiness.

      Report Post »  
  • Liberalismkills
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:50am

    Why do these occutards insist on continually reinventing the wheel?

    Report Post »  
    • DetritusScreener
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:11am

      Some people can‘t learn from other people’s mistakes. They have to learn lessons first hand for themselves.

      Report Post » DetritusScreener  
    • I support God's Israel!
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:43am

      I understand where they are coming from and I do applaud their efforts and hope they do it legally and without malice toward anyone. There doesn’t seem to be any recourse for CEOs making millions off the backs of the little people. THERE SHOULD BE A CAP and it has gotten totally out of control. Is it right to read about a CEO making 10 million dollars and then laying off 5,000 people so their stock will improve? NO. I wouldn’t go after the CEO, I would go after the BOARD who gave the CEO their contract. READ that contract. In it reads something like ” you an do anything you want, as long as the stock goes up exponentially within your term as CEO” or you will be fired or replaced. So, that CEO MUST take drastic measures to see that it happens, including firings, and laying off of people to produce results. GO AFTER THE BOARD. Know who is on the board and find out who they are. Afterall, they are only on that board TO MAKE MONEY, and lots of it! AND, if you have a 401k, DO NOT BE A PART OF IT. Save or invest your own money in something else. 401ks are not what they are cracked up to be. If you don’t use the right formulas in your 401k, then you could lose a whole lot of it by the time you retire. Stop contributing to it and take that money (yes, after taxes) and put it in a Savings account and keep it there or BUY GOLD. You’ll do better.

      Report Post » I support God's Israel!  
    • award1989
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 12:52pm

      I Support God’s Israel,
      You say its wrong to see a CEO make $10 million just after laying of 5,000 employees. What happens if that CEO has found a way to design the business to function with 5000 less employees just as well if not better than it did with those extra 5,000 employees? How is it wrong for the CEO to be rewarded for that? That is the nature of business. Most if not all companies dont fire employees just so they can reduce expenses for that quarter/ year. It would be idiotic. If there was demand for the given product or service that was large enough to require those employees the company will keep them if there is not enough demand (given the rules, taxes regulation etc…) then the person is fired. This image you have created of evil CEO’s firing employees for short term profit at the expense of long term strategy is not only patently false, but dangerous and ignorant.

      Report Post »  
    • Liberalismkills
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 2:16pm

      @I support God’s Israel, I’ll tell you what, you go put your money in the occutard bank where they make “micro enterprise loans” to the homeless (I guess they pay it back in beer piss) and build a food co-op that will be doomed to failure from day they sell their first jar of organic hummus and put it in a hemp bag. I’ll put my money in a real bank run by people who have actually accomplished something more than sitting in a drum circle mindlessly repeating the tripe spewed from some occutard leader- duly elected by the general assembly of course.

      Oh and remember: Thou shalt not covet made God’s top 10 list.

      I believe in free market enterprise and as such I do not worry myself with how much the CEO makes. If the CEO is guiding the company to increased profits then the CEO deserves a cut.

      Report Post »  
    • JRook
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 4:45pm

      @award1989 And neither is the impression that they always deserve the compensation they received. Your business 101 analogy is similarly superficial and flawed. I am reminded of an individual who was hired as the CEO of ATT back in the late 80‘s or 90’s and was fired for poor performance after 21 months. He received a $27 million golden parachute. So in that instance his bad performance which hurt investors, employees and probably some of their customers was rewarded. If as you say the CEO should be rewarded for good performance, what is the rationale behind rewarding them for poor performance. Not to mention the notion of social utility and that corporations should function in a partnership with government and the community at large to improve the economic situation for all. Like individuals, corporations have placed less and less importance on citizenship, other than when it fits a marketing pitch. There’s is no doubt that moving jobs overseas helps the company and thus the CEO in the short term, at the expense of the overall economy in the long term. Particularly when the cost savings achieved by the exploitation of workers in developed countries does not translate into price reductions for the consumer. And please don’t try and argue that paying workers $5 a day in China, a level which does not allow them to purchase US goods, benefits anyone other than the company and perhaps the CEO in the short term.

      Report Post »  
    • Capitalist Mama
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 5:27pm

      Why should there be a cap?

      As a CEO, I work hard, so eventually I can make millions of dollars (maybe).

      What there should be is
      - NO government bailouts
      - NO lobbyists
      - LESS regulations

      These big companies want to pay out bonuses and lay off the little guys? Well, the FREE MARKET would take care of that- people would get fed up and not buy those products!

      The problem is with all the government intervention, taxes, and regulations, we do not have free markets anymore. Free markets mean free people!

      Report Post »  
  • Paulmtmorris
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:49am

    It will be interesting who they blaim the inevitable failure on because it can’t be that they are morons. They aren’t an “evil bank”, they won’t blame it on big government.

    Report Post »  
  • jklbus
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:48am

    If the credit union utilizes the same discipline they’ve shown so far, I wouldn’t put my money in it, but I’d sure be willing to take out a loan!

    Report Post »  
    • arty6164
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 9:15pm

      Yeah. I wonder if they’ll provide insurance for their part-time employees? Will these “employees” get a background check or be bonded? Yeah, I wonder….

      Report Post »  
    • db321
      Posted on December 6, 2011 at 12:56am

      Is this fantasy Bank going to hire the guy that poops on cop cars. He might go around pooping on his co-workers desk. Look if Soros wants to put up the money for your fleabagging Bank let him and I wish you well. I will advise you your Business model sucks. Please do not come to the US Tax payers for a bail out when your homeless employees rips the bank off for Millions.

      Report Post » db321  
  • Hickory
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:48am

    This should really be good. People with no money start a bank…… does that make sense?

    Report Post » Hickory  
    • RULISTENING
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:08am

      ……..and people with no money, no job and no collateral borrow from the bank. Of course they won’t be able to pay the loan back…..but hey…….free enterprise is making a come back in Looney Town.

      Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 12:17pm

      Unless they make investments (and become EEEEEVIL Capitalists), they will have to pay their rent, electric bills and employees out of the money deposited. That means a reverse bank. We’ll hold your money and instead of paying you interest for your checking/savings accounts, you PAY US for the priveleged of not being in an EEEEVIL regular bank so we can support ourselves.

      Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:47am

    I will be applying for a loan from them, and then i will Default : ))

    Report Post »  
    • I support God's Israel!
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:35am

      People with real HONOR do NOT make comments like you just made. I wish them well, but I do not think they will make it because there are people just like you, who make those statements, follow thru and then leave them holding the bag. Is this what this country has become? I believe the majority of us would say NO, so why are you even on this board making such dumb statements? Of course, I also see that CU blaming US if they don’t make it, but I digress, I do hope they keep their heads and do well. If they do it all right and legally, they will. If they take shortcuts or do things illegally, society will be blamed.

      Report Post » I support God's Israel!  
    • Jim in Houston
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 12:51pm

      I support God’s Israel!: Do you post while listening to Shirley Temple singing “On the Good Ship Lollipop”? Either that or you have OD’d on feel good medicine.

      Report Post »  
    • adastra2005
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 12:53pm

      If you default they will Occupy Your Kitchen … so I’d never take a loan from them. Heck, even if you don’t default they will probably just declare everything you have is theirs.

      Report Post »  
  • Conservophiliac
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:46am

    Can you imagine actually depositing your money in this place LOL

    I’m supposed to walk into a building and hand my money to a homeless guy who is then going to loan it to other homeless people. Sounds a lot like charity. How do they expect to pay the rent in a city like SF?

    Report Post » Conservophiliac  
  • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:44am

    I expect that there is greed in this group, also. I predict that they will find that some of their money goes missing.

    Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • MidWestMom
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:50am

      Why are they setting up a credit union and planning on loaning people money?

      I thought they advocated everyone should empty our wallets & bank accounts, send it to them so they could equally divide the grand total and send us our “fair share”.

      What happened to the Free Money For All concept?

      Report Post »  
  • barber2
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:38am

    This ought to end up well. These Lefties are so economically challenged that they believe that the tax payers are an endless source of funds that these Lefties are entitled to . Hey, maybe these anti-capitalists will actually something about economics . Lesson one : money does not grow on trees …

    Report Post »  
  • Justacapitalist
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:38am

    This is one of the best things that could have happened.
    They’ll quickly get an education in what it takes to run a bank.
    One of two things will happen from here;
    Either they‘ll spend the next year trying to slog thru the mess of banking regulations and paperwork and in doing so they’ll learn that it’s the government that they should be protesting.
    Or they’ll ignore all of that and the feds will shut them down.
    Either way, a few of them might learn something about how the real world works.

    Report Post »  
  • bigfatslob
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:33am

    It will never happen, on its face it will violate every part of DODD-FRANK legislation, how ironic !

    Report Post » bigfatslob  
    • barber2
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:48am

      Ha. Wonder if Holder’s DOJ, the IRS, and all of those new banking regulators will harass them…

      Report Post »  
  • Secessionista
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:30am

    Good thing they aren‘t privy to what’s really going on. If they were, they would have printed their own currency and really gotten some attention. As it is, they simply are going to give their investment money to homeless people and declare bankruptcy. They are not too big to fail, but they are too dumb to succeed.

    There is absolutely nothing preventing them from trading coupons, like S&H greenstamps. As long as they do not call it “money”, they are safe. Unless they succeed, then they are toast.

    Report Post » Secessionista  
  • Rickfromillinois
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:28am

    Reality check. These clowns are going to try to start a credit union with their idiotic idea of staffing it with the homeless and students and basically giving loans to every loser who couldn’t get a loan elsewhere. When the inevitable happens and it goes broke, do you think that they just might demand that someone bails them out? Many of them are already demanding that their student loans be paid off by the tax payer, do you think they may do the same when their joke of a Credit Union collapses? Most credit unions that I have heard of are started up for working people. This one is for people who don’t work. Wait and see, we are going to see them getting start up money from the Government and then a bail out from the Government and then failure.

    Report Post » Rickfromillinois  
  • SmallGovBigGuns
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:28am

    hahahaha these people are so dumb. there are already websites and companies that do micro loans here in america and across the globe. they are extremely risky and thus demand a high intrest rate.
    this credit union is gonna be ran by a bunch of western asain women’s culture majors with no concept of finance. any money they have will be out in a few months. MORONS

    Report Post »  
  • Eleutheria
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:25am

    I guess these idiots didn’t learn anything from the Community Reinvestment Act and the housing crisis.

    Maybe after stepping in this steaming pile they will realize one shouldn’t loan money to anyone who cannot service the debt, like the so called “working poor”.

    Report Post » Eleutheria  
  • Depressed_American
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:24am

    Oh yeah, this will work out well, when people feel that it is OTHER people’s responsibility to support them……. People owe them, not that they need to contribute to the cause……

    Report Post » Depressed_American  
    • Detroit paperboy
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:28am

      I predict they will be applying for a federal bailout…. Soon !

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:35am

      Better vote out Obama .. this is just the type of cr*p he likes to give American TAXPAYER money to!

      TEA!

      Report Post »  
  • donflow
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:24am

    Breakout the pop corn !!!

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 12:00pm

      I thought they didn’t have any money … yes this should be “interesting” .. I wonder where oh where will the money come from ?(unions (SEIU,etc) , thugs and thieves (Obama government))

      Report Post »  
    • RightThinking1
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 1:12pm

      @Don,
      Yup, lol, this is going to be an interesting show!

      Report Post »  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:19am

    Epic Fail in the making.

    Report Post » KickinBack  
  • armymp
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:18am

    I want to borrow money from them and whine about having to pay it back. touche’

    Report Post »  
    • MidWestMom
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:41am

      My thought exactly! Only I want whine and then DEMAND that my loan be “forgiven”.

      Report Post »  
    • barber2
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:45am

      I want to borrow from them and then NOT pay them back. Say I am poor and, thus, entitled to their money. I’ll call in ACORN ( I’ll have to google their new name ! ) to help me…

      Report Post »  
  • Freefromyou
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:15am

    But will they take the Government bailout?

    Report Post »  
    • cyclops
      Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:38am

      Sure, it is just the government redistributing wealth from the Tax Payers money………LOL!!!!

      Report Post » cyclops  
  • UlyssesP
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:13am

    People’s Credit Union? Is that anything like Jones’ Peoples Temple? In a year they’ll be moving the bank to Guyana….

    Report Post » UlyssesP  
  • Islamislame
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:10am

    Where can I sign up to be a charter member! Can’t be anything more trustworthy than a bunch of commie-hippies managing my accounts! This is way overdue!

    Report Post »  
  • Eric_The_Red_State
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:08am

    It’s about time they started DOING something rather than bitching about it.
    Good for them.

    Report Post » Eric_The_Red_State  
  • mowspower
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:05am

    I applaud their efforts. they will now learn about capitalism……see the other side of the coin

    Report Post » mowspower  
  • ares338
    Posted on December 5, 2011 at 10:04am

    Thus, you become the thing that you hate!

    Report Post » ares338  
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