Los Angeles Voters Reject First Public Bank Bid for U.S. City

[brooklynite]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles voters rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed the city to establish a public bank, which would have been a first for a U.S. metropolis.

About 58 percent of voters cast ballots against the charter amendment that would have started the process, with 78 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Proponents said the city should manage its own deposits to benefit its residents instead of letting big banks profit from them. They had hoped the bid, supported by the city’s mayor and council president, would also give momentum to those around the country. The only public bank in the 50 states is Bank of North Dakota, established in 1919.

But questions of how it would work and cost, which have dogged attempts in Massachusetts and elsewhere, weighed on the effort.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/los-angeles-voters-reject-first-public-bank-bid-for-u-s-city

[Tiggeroshii]

2. No! That's bad. A public bank would have helped a ton of people.

Not have to be beholdent to the greedy corporate numbskulls like the fascist bofa or hellsfargo.

[iluvtennis]

4. I guess I read it wrong. Sorry. Thought it would be a BOFA or Chase or WF

[stuffmatters]

3. Another case of what's best being defeated by stupidity & fear ("how it would work & cost")

It would bring substantial financial independence and stability to Los Angeles and profits (instead of to Wall Street).& North Dakota figured out decades & decades ago "how it would work.",,,there's no mystery.

[Tiggeroshii]

5. So ridiculous

[marylandblue]

6. It works fine - See First and Second Banks of the United States.

[GitRDun]

7. I like the idea of a state owned bank

Here's an article that explains the benefits:

[link:http://www.governing.com/columns/public-finance/col-case-state-owned-bank-north-dakota.html|

Look at North Dakota. Its bank accepts deposits from ordinary folks and, when the state collects tax revenue, instead of depositing it in big banks that might have another agenda, it goes into BND, which is more likely to take that tax revenue and other deposits and lend it within the state. It's one of the reasons North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Yes, the state also has an oil and gas boom, but so do Montana and Wyoming and they have high unemployment.

Voters need to be educated as to the benefits of having a state run bank, infrastructure banks.

They are great new sources of financing infrastructure, local small businesses, etc.