The Bank Guarantee That Bankrupted Ireland

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Nov 2, 2013 When the indomitable Irish spirit is awakened, organized and mobilized, the country could become the poster child not for austerity, but for economic prosperity through financial sovereignty. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Is Homeland Security Preparing for the Next Wall Street Collapse?

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Oct 7, 2013 An Associated Press article in February confirmed a purchase order by the Department of Homeland Security for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. That’s enough to sustain an Iraq-sized war for over twenty years. Someone in government seems to expect some serious civil unrest. Why? Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Debate: ‘Public Banks Are Key to Capitalism’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Oct 4, 2013 Former Truthdigger of the Week and Public Banking Institute President Ellen Brown led a debate in The New York Times' opinion pages this week, arguing: "We actually need publicly owned banks for a capitalist market economy to run properly." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

A Postal Savings Bank: Infrastructure That Doesn’t Cost Taxpayers a Dime

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Sep 23, 2013 Necessary banking services the post office performed efficiently in the past, such as infrastructure funding, serving the "underbanked," and providing a safe place to save your money, could be revived with a single legislative stroke. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

The Armageddon Looting Machine: The Looming Mass Destruction from Derivatives

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Sep 19, 2013 Increased regulation and low interest rates are driving lending from the regulated commercial banking system into the unregulated shadow banking system. Although free of government regulation, these banks are propped up by a guarantee hidden in the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act pushed through by Wall Street. The result is a perverse incentive for the financial system to self-destruct. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Making the World Safe for Banksters: Syria in the Cross Hairs

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Sep 5, 2013 Iraq and Libya have been taken out, and Iran has been heavily boycotted. Syria is now in the cross-hairs. Why? Here is one overlooked scenario. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Can the FDIC Protect Your Money From Another Crash?

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Aug 31, 2013 The first of a planned three-part series on the dangers of private banking highlights government documents describing plans to confiscate the deposits of individuals as well as cities, universities, counties and pension funds when another banking crash occurs. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Leveraged Buyout of America

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Aug 26, 2013 Giant bank holding companies now own airports, toll roads, and ports; control power plants; and store and hoard vast quantities of commodities of all sorts. They are systematically buying up or gaining control of the essential lifelines of the economy. How did they pull this off, and where did they get the money? Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Not Too Big to Jail: Eliot Spitzer Is Wall Street’s Worst Nightmare

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Aug 20, 2013 Before his infamous resignation as governor of New York in March 2008, Eliot Spitzer was one of our fiercest champions against Wall Street corruption in a state that had some of the toughest legislation for controlling the banks -- and by extension, an advocate for women. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Detroit Bail-In Template: Fleecing Pensioners to Save the Banks

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Aug 5, 2013 The Detroit bankruptcy is looking suspiciously like the bail-in template originated by the G20’s Financial Stability Board in 2011, which exploded on the scene in Cyprus in 2013 and is now becoming the model globally. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Green Light for City-Owned San Francisco Bank

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Aug 2, 2013 Moving San Francisco's money into a municipal bank would protect the city's deposits and reduce its debt burden. A chief roadblock to forming such a bank was recently overcome by a legal opinion issued by one of the city's deputy attorneys. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Collateral Damage: QE3 and the Shadow Banking System

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jul 26, 2013 Rather than expanding the money supply, quantitative easing has actually caused it to shrink by sucking up the collateral needed by the shadow banking system to create credit. This “failure” has prompted the Bank for International Settlements to urge the Fed to shirk its mandate to pursue full employment, though the sort of QE that could fulfill that mandate has not yet been tried. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )