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 )

Truthdigger of the Week: Ellen Brown

BLANK Aug 25, 2013 Ellen Brown is a major public intellectual and a tireless promoter of a tried and tested solution that may represent Americans' best chance at taking their society back from predatory bankers. 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 )

Think Your Money Is Safe in an Insured Bank Account? Think Again

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jul 5, 2013 An international trend to shift responsibility for bank losses onto blameless depositors lets banks take and gamble away your money. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Crime of Alleviating Poverty: A Local Community Currency Battles the Central Bank of Kenya

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jun 28, 2013 Former Peace Corps volunteer Will Ruddick and several residents of the Bangladesh slum in Kenya face a potential seven years in prison after developing a cost-effective way to alleviate poverty in Africa’s poorest areas: a complementary currency issued and backed by the local community. The solution has brought charges of forgery from the country's central bank. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Hundreds Gather for Public Banking and Economic Justice

By Matt J. Stannard, Political Context Jun 24, 2013 Earlier this month, leading scholars, activists and other concerned people met in San Rafael, Calif., to explore the idea of public banks: democratically run, fiscally transparent institutions designed to serve community stakeholders rather than capital shareholders. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Winner Takes All: The Super Priority Status of Derivatives

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Apr 10, 2013 With taxpayer bailouts no longer an option, a major derivatives crisis could transfer money currently held by state and local governments and citizens -- secured and unsecured, insured and uninsured -- into the hands of derivative claimants. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Banking: From Public to Private and Back Again

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 30, 2013 Once upon a time American banks supported the economy by financing the growth and development of industry. For the last many decades they've had the opposite effect by plowing money into existing assets and loading the economy down with debt. The consequences have been disastrous, economist Michael Hudson told The Real News Network this week. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )