Public Banking And Washington state - 100 Years Behind The Times

Update Thur, Sep 5 - Senator Hasegawa’s speaking to the Bellingham City Council on Mon, Sep 9, has been cancelled. We expect this to be rescheduled for Nov or Dec. We will post about it when we know.

If Washington state is a century late (unfortunately among all states save North Dakota), it is not because of the efforts of Sen Bob Hasegawa from Seattle. If the legislature had the financial interests of the citizens of this state in mind, Sen Hasegawa’s legislative package on a Washington state public bank would have long since passed and already been operating for nearly a decade. Instead, the private banksters and their shills have fought the WA legislature tooth and nail to prevent what most people think is a no-brainer, i.e. public banking.

North Dakota, a state that pretty much waltzed financially through the 2008 financial crisis, celebrated its 100th year of public banking in July 2019. Its Bank of North Dakota provides support statewide:

As an Economic Development Bank

With Returns to the General Fund

By Partnering with Local Financial Institutions

By Serving a Role in Disaster Relief

By Assisting in Home Ownership

By Providing Post-secondary Education Funding

By Assisting with Infrastructure Funding

Where do government monies get deposited in Washington? With the large commercial/investment banks, the likes of which caused the last financial meltdown. Investment returns largely go to these mega-banks while a pittance of earnings are returned to the citizens. North Dakota keeps its own revenues in its own bank and leverages them to the benefit of the people. Therein lies the no-brainer.

Senator Hasegawa, who spoke before the Bellingham City Club a few months ago, will return to Belllingham twice in September to speak to the Bellingham City Council on September 9th (cancelled - see update at top of page) and to the Whatcom County Council on September 24th. [Check the councils’ schedules for these dates here and here respectively.] Senator Hasegawa will be seeking to inform your representatives and asking for resolutions from each council in support of public banking in Washington. You can help by attending these council meetings and writing supportive letters on public banking to your respective councils at ccmail.cob.org (Bellingham City Council) or council@co.whatcom.wa.us (Whatcom County Council).