I don't get it Occupy who is against large corporation is willing to take money from Record Label Companies who are Millionaires and Billionaries and from singers like Jackson Browne, Crosby & Nash , Devo, Ladytron and Toots and the Maytals along with Micheal Moore who took in Millions and Billions on records and Movies. All of these people should give their money to the poor students and work for every student going to college. These kids are obsessed with the socialism their college Professors are teaching them.
I was in a bank and a college student with his father walked into the bank. The kid was loud. I guess his college professor taught him people will listen if you shout at them. He insisted in closing his account and demanded a check. There was no problem in closing the account but he went on to say I want to go to a Credit Union.
If you don't know what a credit Union is I will give you wikapedia;s
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members.[1][2][3] Many credit unions exist to further community development[4] or sustainable international development on a local level,[5] and could be considered community development financial institutions.
Mortgage-Market Trouble Reaches Big Credit Unions
A Credit Union Bailout: What Does It Mean For Consumers?
In case you haven’t heard, three credit unions got into a bit of trouble last week. Well, not “a bit,” really. They had to be bailed out by the National Credit Union Administration, which is to credit unions what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, is to banks.
Credit unions have been “rediscovered” by consumers lately, with their lack of “gotcha” fees and product features and historically sturdier lending standards that helped them survive the crisis that many banks didn’t. So we won’t be surprised to hear that the statement above alarms you and you probably have questions. Below, we’ve attempted to answer those most likely to be top-of-mind right now.
I heard the credit unions had to be bailed out on Friday. What actually happened?
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a federal agency, seized the nation’s three largest wholesale credit unions (also known as “corporate” or “central” credit unions): Members United, Southwest Corporate, and Constitution Corporate. This is on top of two even larger ones they seized in 2009.
If I’m a member of one of those credit unions, am I going to lose my money?
No, because you’re not a member of one of the failed credit unions. Average Janes and Joes can’t be members of wholesale credit unions. It’s not like Costco.
Then what does a wholesale credit union do?
“They are basically a credit union for the credit unions,” says Greg McBride, a senior analyst at Bankrate. Credit unions, some of which are really tiny, rely on wholesale credit unions for clerical services like check-cashing, ATM networks, and also to borrow and lend money on a short-term basis. Every consumer credit union is a member of a corporate credit union.
Okay, I’m a credit union member, and my credit union is a member of one of these failed wholesale credit unions. Is my money safe?
Yes. Credit union deposits are backed by the NCUA in exactly the same way as bank deposits are backed by the FDIC. That means individual accounts are insured up to $250,000 and joint accounts up to $500,000. But that’s not even relevant here, since it was only corporate credit unions that failed.
I’ve never heard of the NCUA. Is it just as good as the FDIC?
Yes. Full faith and credit of the US government, and all that.
Can a retail credit union fail?
Yes. According to the NCUA, 66 retail credit unions have failed since January 2008. Nobody lost any insured deposits.
I’m still confused. Do I need to worry about this at all?
“You really don’t need to worry about this,” says McBride.
How did the wholesale credit unions get in trouble?
Same way everyone else did: they invested in mortgage derivatives.
Is this yet another a bailout?
It depends how you define “bailout.” No taxpayer money is being used to rescue the wholesale credit unions.
Then where’s the money coming from?
From the credit unions themselves, which pay into the NCUA insurance fund, just like banks pay in to the FDIC fund.
So if I’m a credit union member, I’m ultimately on the hook for this?
Yes. “How can anyone deny that the costs won’t get passed on?” says Jeffry Pilcher, a former credit union industry consultant who now publishes The Financial Brand.
Greg McBride is not so sure. “Could this have an impact on consumers? Well, yeah, it could. But we’ve got to knock over a few dominoes between here and there.” If retail credit unions have to pay for wholesale credit union screwups, the costs will eventually be reflected in their fees and interest rates.
But fees and interest rates change all the time for many reasons, and it’s hard to point the finger at any one factor, especially in the midst of continuing turmoil in the financial system.
Should I forget this whole credit union thing and go back to a bank?
“At the end of the day, from a consumer’s perspective, you’re still going to be better off with a credit union,” says Pilcher. That’s because credit unions are nonprofit and treated favorably by the IRS; they’re still going to be the easiest places to find good interest rates and free checking. They’re also a handy source for small business loans, credit cards, and insurance.
That’s a lot of services. Are credit unions becoming more like banks?
Yes. “Credit unions today are different from 15 or 20 years ago,” says McBride. “They have a vast product lineup that looks a lot more like a bank and can differ sharply from what many people have conjured up in their minds about a credit union.”
This makes a lot of people nervous, including Pilcher. “What they’ve done, bit by bit, is get rid of their feel-good membership and add more product. They’re blurring the customer’s perception: what’s the difference between a bank and a credit union?”
Even the credit union’s lobbying arm, CUNA, frequently refers to the “credit union movement,” as if customers are marching on Washington waving DOWN WITH BANKS picket signs.
McBride has no problem with credit unions expanding their services into areas formerly dominated by banks. “In terms of expanding their product and service offerings, that’s likely to continue, and that’s a favorable development for consumers, particularly at a time of continuing consolidation in the banking industry.”
If there’s nothing to worry about, why is everybody freaking out about this?
Because people think of credit unions as lovable and cuddly, and the idea of a credit union bailout makes customers jittery and bankers—who are no fans of credit unions and their tax-exempt status—giddy.
Democrats cut food stamps subsidy to bailout teachers unions
Featured NewsWednesday, August 11th, 2010
President Obama signed the $26 billion dollar bailout package for teachers unions that will be paid for mostly by cuts in the food stamp program and the Department of Energy’s renewable energy loan guarantee program.
The House vote went mostly along party lines passing with a 247-161 margin. Two Republican’s voted for the measure three Democrats voted against the bill.
With the bills passage the big losers were renewable energy advocates which took a $1.5 billion dollar cut to help cover the costs. This on the heals of the Department of Energy’s renewable energy program taking a $2 billion dollar cut from the failed cash for clunkers program.
But the group that took the biggest hit were those people on the governments food stamp program which has grown astronomically over the past year as high unemployment continues to grip the country. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamp program had their funding reduced by $12 billion dollars to help pay to prop up the teachers unions.
There are currently 41 million Americans dependent on the federal assistance program and they lobbied hard to defeat the bill, but were unable to get enough Democrats to vote against it.
The big winners for the passage of the bill is somewhat clouded. It’s clear that the teachers unions were by far the biggest winners as were fiscally irresponsible states that didn’t make the cuts necessary to sustain their states budgets. The other big winners ‘could’ be Democrats themselves as they are bound to get a windfall of the bailout money flowing back to their elections campaigns this election season from the teachers unions.
While Democrats are ensured a lot of that money returning to help them with their campaigns, the question is will the American people who are already angered over the constant bailout of banks, Wall Street, car manufacturer’s and now teachers union’s see this as a good thing. The teachers unions had already received a bailout as part of the stimulus package and now they’re getting another one to help keep 160,000 teachers on the job at the expense of 41 million people who are on food stamps.
Is the Occupy movement about to go indoors? Cities want to move protesters inside as policing costs soar to $13million
- Move would 'weed out drug addicts and drunks'
- Police told: 'Don't stop media from covering protests'
- Music stars to produce benefit album to raise money
Last updated at 2:13 PM on 24th November 2011
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065672/Cities-want-Occupy-protesters-inside-policing-costs-soar-13m.html#ixzz1edm9Grsw
The Occupy movement could soon be moving indoors - as the cost of policing the protests across the U.S. soars to $13 million.
City officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles are considering giving protesters indoor space, as they desperately seek a long-term solution to end the drain on their resources.
It would allow the movement to carry out its work in more sanitary conditions, and could help them weed out drug addicts, drunks, and those not wholly committed to the cause.
Going inside: Occupiers across the country could soon be
moving indoors, like this protester who slept in a New York church earlier this
month after police raided Zuccotti Park
Costly: Cities across the U.S., such as Los Angeles (left)
and New York (right) have had to spend $13 million policing the
protests
San Francisco is negotiating with Occupy SF members about moving their encampment from the heart of the financial district to an empty school in the city's hip Mission district.
It would give the occupiers access to toilets and a room for their daily meetings, while camping out in the parking lot of what was once a small high school.
In Los Angeles, Occupy members said officials rescinded a similar deal, in which the city would have leased a 10,000 sq ft space that once housed a book store in Los Angeles Mall to the protesters for $1 a year.
Plans: San Francisco and Los Angeles might be going
indoors, but will others, such as these protesters go the same way?
'DON'T STOP MEDIA FROM COVERING PROTESTS'
Police officers in New York have been told not
to interfere with journalists covering the protests - and have been warned those
that do will be disciplined.
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly sent out an internal message after several journalists were arrested covering Occupy Wall Street demonstrations last week.
The message said: 'When incidents spill over or occur on private property, members of the media will not be arrested for criminal trespass, unless an owner or representative expressly indicates that the press is not to be permitted.'
It also made clear that journalists are entitled to cross police and fire lines, unless it is unsafe or a live crime scene, and officers have a duty to provide access and information to the extent they can.
A coalition of media outlets sent police a letter protesting the treatment after at least half a dozen journalists were arrested.
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly sent out an internal message after several journalists were arrested covering Occupy Wall Street demonstrations last week.
The message said: 'When incidents spill over or occur on private property, members of the media will not be arrested for criminal trespass, unless an owner or representative expressly indicates that the press is not to be permitted.'
It also made clear that journalists are entitled to cross police and fire lines, unless it is unsafe or a live crime scene, and officers have a duty to provide access and information to the extent they can.
A coalition of media outlets sent police a letter protesting the treatment after at least half a dozen journalists were arrested.
Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo said yesterday that the encampment around City Hall would be shut down at some point next week.
It is not known whether the city will continue to negotiate with Occupy LA for a new location.
Whatever happens, the talks in both cities mark a distinctly different approach than tactics used elsewhere, that have seen police sent in to dislodge Occupy camps.
Violence and arrests have plagued camps in Oakland and New York, while the use of batons and pepper spray against peaceful protesters on University of California campuses has led to national outrage and derision.
Los Angeles officials initially endorsed the movement and allowed more than 480 tents to sprout on City Halls lawns.
Sanitary hazard? The move indoors would improve health
conditions for protesters, city officials have claimed
MUSIC STARS TO PRODUCE BENEFIT ALBUM
It will be on sale 'some time this winter' and also feature Third Eye Blind, Lucinda Williams, DJ Logic, Warren Haynes, Mike Limbaud, Aeroplane Pageant and Yo La Tengo.
Activist film-maker Michael Moore is also planning to sing.
Musician Jason Samel is putting together the album and hopes to raise $1million to $2million to help fuel the movement against income disparity.
He said: 'It's really going to be an amazing help for years to come.'
Money raised will go through the non-profit Alliance for Global Justice, with half the proceeds given to the New York movement.
The remainder will go to offshoots across the world who apply for specific projects.
It will be available in digital form first, with plans for a physical CD still unclear.
In San Francisco, several hundred protesters have been hunkered down for some six weeks in about 100 tents at Justin Herman Plaza, at the eastern end of Market Street and across from the tourist-catching Ferry Building on the bay.
The city has declared the plaza a public health nuisance.
But city officials have also credited the campers for their efforts to rid the camp of garbage and keep the grassy area clean.
Mayor Ed Lee has met with the occupiers at several heated closed-door meetings at City Hall.
He has repeatedly told them he supports their cause and the right to protest the nation's confounding inequality between the rich and the poor.
But they cannot, he has said, continue to camp out overnight in a public plaza.
A survey by The Associated Press found that the first two months of the nationwide Occupy protests had cost taxpayers at least $13 million in police overtime and other municipal services.
The movement is demanding more out of the wealthiest Americans.
The survey gathered figures from government agencies in 18 cities with active protests and focused on costs until November 15, the day protesters were evicted from New York's Zuccotti Park, where the protests began September 17 before spreading nationwide.
The spending comes as police departments across the U.S. have cut overtime budgets, travel and training to respond to the recession.
Nonetheless, officials say they have no choice but to bring in more officers or hold others past the end of their shifts to handle gatherings and marches in a way that protects free speech and safety
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065672/Cities-want-Occupy-protesters-inside-policing-costs-soar-13m.html#ixzz1edWZSxe9
