Why we need public banks & how will we get them soon

PDA-CA SF presents a free public forum

Having learned from the 2008 financial crisis how much damage the big banks can do to ordinary people by investing our money in things we don't want, like fossil fuels and weapons of war, we are in the midst of a movement to create public banks that will allow us to invest in affordable housing, renewable energy, and other essentials for a society that shares and cares.

Our February forum explores the history and progress of four Bay Area public bank projects and how close they are to becoming a reality. We will also learn how we can divest our money from fossil fuels and the war machine now, while waiting for the public banks to become established.

Speakers:

JACKIE FIELDER, co-founder of the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition, lecturer in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State. She holds a Bachelor's in Public Policy & a Master's in Sociology from Stanford.

SUSAN HARMAN, having fallen in love with public banking 8 yrs. ago, has been instrumental in getting the East Bay Public Bank through its feasibility study and developing its business plan.

JUDY YOUNG, a follower of Ellen Brown's work with the Public Banking Institute for many years, Judy works with the South Bay Progressive Alliance Public Banking Action Team.

LEE CLARK sees the work on a Public Bank as critical for recovery from the severe financial crisis in the aftermath of the Santa Rosa fires, for replacing city infrastructure, and for other social justice uses.

CYNTHIA PAPERMASTER will focus on divestment. She is coordinator of the Golden Gate Chapter of CODE-PINK and a member of the Berkeley Mayor's Task Force on Socially Responsible Banking,