Pro-tax Occupation Protests Held Across U.S. (O.W.S. Thread)

[INDY500]

99% vs. the 1%. Granted it's easier to write on a sign but is anyone else nostalgic for proletariat vs. bourgeoisie?

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by INDY500

99% vs. the 1%. Granted it's easier to write on a sign but is anyone else nostalgic for proletariat vs. bourgeoisie?

not particularly, but then, i'm not nostalgic for the wealth inequality of 1929 either.

[Irvine511]

proving, once and for all, that regulations kill economic growth and that if you love markets then you need to set them free, and Obama's not an American, and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be in jail.

Bank Of America Earnings Report: Bank Sees $6.2 Billion Profit


Bank of America earned billions of dollars in profits last quarter, even as banking officials expressed concern recently about the effects of new regulations on their bottom line.

The largest bank by assets reported third quarter gains of $6.2 billion, compared to a $7.3 billion loss during the same quarter last year. The boost in profits came largely from an accounting gain and the pre-tax benefits from the sale of its stake in a Chinese bank.

The increase in profits comes after Bank of America roiled customers by announcing that it will start charging customers $5 per month to use their debit cards for purchases in 2012. Shortly after the bank announced the fee, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan defended it, saying that the bank “has a right to make a profit.”

Moynihan and other banking officials have said that they need to start charging fees on debit cards and checking accounts for once-free services to recoup the revenue they expect to lose as a result of financial reform regulations -- including a cap on the debit card swipe fee banks charge merchants -- passed as part of the Dodd-Frank act.

Bank of America isn’t the only bank adding new fees. Wells Fargo announced in August that it would test a $3 debit card fee this fall, while Citibank said earlier this month that it would start charging certain customers a $20 fee for low account balances.

President Barack Obama criticized the banks for the slew of fees in an interview with ABC News earlier this month, saying that they don’t “have some inherent right just to, you know, get a certain amount of profit” if their “customers are being mistreated.”

"Banks can make money," he said in the interview. "They can succeed, the old-fashioned way, by earning it."

The fees are already pushing some customers away from traditional banks. The nation’s largest credit union reported that the volume of new account openings was more than 20 percent above normal the weekend after Bank of America announced the debit card fee.

Bank Of America Earnings Report: Bank Sees $6.2 Billion Profit

[Tiger Edge]

Citibank said earlier this month that it would start charging certain customers a $20 fee for low account balances.

where is the logic??

Louis CK on Bank Fees - YouTube

[BVS]

Originally Posted by Tiger Edge

where is the logic??

Why do you hate capitalism?

[Tiger Edge]

Originally Posted by BVS

Why do you hate capitalism?

Ha

I failed economics in high school, but I can spot a scam from a mile away. I'm gonna start hugging Chase from a friendly distance.

You hear that, Chase? I will not even rub your back in a semi-circle motion while we embrace!

[MrsSpringsteen]

Warren Buffett just invested five billion dollars in Bank Of America. What have they done with that?

Unfortunately they just took over my Master Card. Now I want to pay it off and get rid of it.

[kramwest1]

USBank just started charging $8.95 per month if you don't keep a minimum of $1500 in your account. I only keep the account because I have their credit card and use the checking account to pay the card. I'd love to cancel the credit card, but I don't want to take the hit on my credit report.

Assholes.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes that's how they hold you hostage-the credit report issue. They've got themselves covered in every possible direction.

Maybe soon they'll be a fee to open a door at a bank. Or a parking fee.

[MrsSpringsteen]

I guess Geraldo got that because he works for FOX. That could have gotten in his eyes, whatever that was. At least they left his hot brother alone.

Occupy Wall Street: Geraldo Attacked by powder - YouTube

[PhilsFan]

My money is in a local credit union. It is not-for-profit. I like it that way.

[Steved1998]

Originally Posted by Tiger Edge

where is the logic??

I don't know why people even bank with these huge national banks. Stick with a local community bank or a credit union. No one should put their money in Chase, BOA, Wells Fargo or Capital One.

[Steved1998]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Yes that's how they hold you hostage-the credit report issue. They've got themselves covered in every possible direction.

Maybe soon they'll be a fee to open a door at a bank. Or a parking fee.

I paid off my 3 credit cards after 10 years a couple months ago and closed 2 of the accounts right away. I was willing to keep the capital one acct open, but they wanted to try to charge me a $60 membership fee.

Screw them and that you need debt to gain credit scam. That's one of the reasons this country is fucked.

[Tiger Edge]

Originally Posted by Steved1998

I don't know why people even bank with these huge national banks. Stick with a local community bank or a credit union. No one should put their money in Chase, BOA, Wells Fargo or Capital One.

Because a large amount of local banks go belly up from time to time

[deep]

most don't know what to think of W S occupiers

Most Americans Uncertain About "Occupy Wall Street" Goals

[Achtung11]

I'm pasting my post from another thread, because I think it might be useful in this discussion about the new bank fees:


The fees are ways of making more money yes, but the banks have also had to cut or limit many ways of making money, both voluntarily and by new regulatory requirements. Examples include: debit card merchant fees, overdraft fees, ATM overdraft fees, and credit card fees.

Bank of America in particular stopped allowing debit card purchases if there is no money in the account. It used to be that the customer was charged a $35 fee for overdrafts. The Federal Reserve enacted new rules that forbid banks from charging overdraft fees unless customers allow it but BofA went one step further and got rid of overdrafts all together.

In addition to the cutback in fees, like you mentioned, U.S. and international capital requirements have become much stronger after the financial crisis. The banks now have to hold more equity capital than they used to. This means that overall profitability decreases.

So in order to offset the decreasing profitability and the loss of various sources of fees, monthly debit card and other fees are being introduced for customers of many banks.

The profits may seem obscene to you and many others, but you have to apply to their large capital bases: BofA's which is currently $220 billion and possibly will have to be increased with Basel III (new international capital standards which will take effect in the next few years). A sufficient income on that capital base is desired. After all, this is a money making business, not a non-profit organization. And banking is a competitive industry - there are roughly 7,000 banks in the country. If the fees become too high and unnecessary, they will come down.

As far as lobbying in D.C. goes, I disagree that the protest should be taking place on Wall Street. Wall Street may be feeding money to Washington in order to influence lawmakers, but can you really blame them? It's the lawmakers who should be responsible not to let money influence their decisions. If I had billions of dollars and knew that I can use the money to lobby Washington effectively, I'd probably do it too. The overall culture of lobbying with money needs a fix, and that fix can only be made in Washington.

And re: the banks nearly destroying the world. They get more blame than they deserve. There were many other parties involved as well, including: mortgage borrowers, mortgage brokers, home builders, house flippers, investors, investment banks, insurance companies, rating agencies, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, the Federal Reserve, and Washington D.C. They were all sipping the same kool aid.

[KhanadaRhodes]

Originally Posted by Achtung11

Bank of America in particular stopped allowing debit card purchases if there is no money in the account. It used to be that the customer was charged a $35 fee for overdrafts. The Federal Reserve enacted new rules that forbid banks from charging overdraft fees unless customers allow it but BofA went one step further and got rid of overdrafts all together.

i have to admit, i'm gobsmacked.

i need to remember to cancel my overdraft next time i'm in the states actually, i don't use my us account much for obvious reasons but i've always thought charging $35 to borrow a few bucks is ridiculous.

(just for the record, in nz they have overdrafts too but it works like a loan: instead of charging you a huge fee, you get charged interest. so if you screw up and overspend by like $2 you can potentially fix it easier and cheaper. or if you choose not to have one, your card just won't work if you try to spend more than you have.)

[kramwest1]

Originally Posted by KhanadaRhodes

i have to admit, i'm gobsmacked.

i need to remember to cancel my overdraft next time i'm in the states actually, i don't use my us account much for obvious reasons but i've always thought charging $35 to borrow a few bucks is ridiculous.

(just for the record, in nz they have overdrafts too but it works like a loan: instead of charging you a huge fee, you get charged interest. so if you screw up and overspend by like $2 you can potentially fix it easier and cheaper. or if you choose not to have one, your card just won't work if you try to spend more than you have.)

I think there are a few banks in the U.S. that still do something like that. If I'm not mistaken, it's generally only for their best customers (like they fucking need it).



It's not like there aren't options out there for banking. Yes, it is not convenient to drive to hell and back or to mail-in your deposit at a single bank or credit union location. But seriously, this is like the airline industry nickel and diming the customers to death, except that I think there are more choices in banks to service you than airlines. This is one time that consumers really do need to vote with their dollars.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by Achtung11

The profits may seem obscene to you and many others, but you have to apply to their large capital bases: BofA's which is currently $220 billion and possibly will have to be increased with Basel III (new international capital standards which will take effect in the next few years). A sufficient income on that capital base is desired. After all, this is a money making business, not a non-profit organization. And banking is a competitive industry - there are roughly 7,000 banks in the country. If the fees become too high and unnecessary, they will come down.

profits are one thing; 8-figure executive bonuses are something else. that's where the anger comes from. everyone knows a bank needs capital, but do executives need to make 400x that of the average employee at said bank? banking bonuses of the size and scale we've seen in recent years were unheard of before the 1980s, and when you're dealing with profits like that, there's ever more incentive to break, bend, circumvent, and ultimately rewrite the rules.

is that capitalism? or is this using money to rewrite the rules to make more money to rewrite the rules to make more money to rewrite the rules?

[MrsSpringsteen]

Banks are certainly still not lending (nowhere near the way they used to), so where is it all going?