Are Public Banks Unconstitutional? No. Are Private Banks? Maybe

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt May 18, 2014 The movement to break away from Wall Street and form publicly owned banks continues to gain momentum. But enthusiasts are deterred by claims that a state-owned bank would violate constitutional prohibitions against “lending the credit of the state.” Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Why Jerry Brown’s Rainy Day Fund Is a Bad Idea

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt May 8, 2014 There is no need to sequester funds urgently needed by Main Street to pay for Wall Street’s malfeasance. Californians can have their cake and eat it too -- with a state-owned bank. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Wall Street Greed: Not Too Big for a California Jury

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Apr 25, 2014 Sixteen of the world’s largest banks have been caught colluding to rig global interest rates. Why are we doing business with a corrupt global banking cartel? Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Enough Is Enough: Fraud-Ridden Banks Are Not L.A.’s Only Option

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jan 30, 2014 JPMorgan Chase has been involved in more than a dozen felonies. Why are we still doing business with it? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

From Austerity to Prosperity: Why I Am Running for California Treasurer

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jan 16, 2014 California cannot solve its budget problems by slashing services that have already been cut to the bone or raising sales taxes that hurt the poor far more than the rich. We are fighting over a pie that remains too small. The pie itself needs to be expanded -- and it can be. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Overthrow the Speculators

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Dec 30, 2013 There will never be significant economic reform until megabanks are replaced by a network of state- and city-owned public banks. The revolution must be local. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Public Banking in Costa Rica: A Remarkable Little-Known Model

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Nov 11, 2013 In Costa Rica, publicly-owned banks have been available for so long and work so well that people take for granted that any country that knows how to run an economy has a public banking option. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

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 )

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 )