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How about if congress creates a "public option" bank. Then we can stop letting the private banks steal our money through tricks like this, and if that makes th

How about if congress creates a "public option" bank. Then we can stop letting the private banks steal our money through tricks like this, and if that makes them collapse, so-be-it. Honestly I think every major institution should have a public-option competitor. If it turns out that the private companies are worse than a government run version, then they must really suck.

seldo 17y ago
The problem with a public option in this case is that the investment arms of these banks aren't providing a service to anybody, they are profit-making institutions in their own right. We the public are not "customers" of these banks, so we can't take our money elsewhere; they're using their own money. The obvious government reform required here is stop lending the goddamn banks money at 0% interest.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- cookingrobot 17y ago
  I agree, but I think the general assumption is that if we stop giving bailouts and 0% loans, then the banks would fail and bring down the economy. That's why we should have public banks ready to replace them.
lionhearted 17y ago
> Honestly I think every major institution should have a public-option competitor. This was a common line of thinking from 1930 to 1980 or so, and lots of world governments had public run businesses. England is a great example actually - the English government owned a lot of business that got preferential treatment in the UK. Under Thatcher, most English government businesses were sold off and most public housing was sold to its current tenants. Here's a short list of some of the businesses that were sold off, you can click on each individual business to see how they fared and the changes to industry afterwards. Generally speaking, it was a very positive thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher#Second_government http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher#Second_govern... -- "British Petroleum was privatised in stages in October 1979, September 1983 and November 1987; British Aerospace in January 1981 and 1985; the government share in British Sugar in July 1981; Cable and Wireless in November 1981; Amersham International and National Freight Corporation in February 1982; Britoil in November 1982 and August 1985; Associated British Ports in February 1983; Jaguar in July 1984; British Telecom in November 1984; the National Bus Company in October 1986; British Gas in December 1986; British Airways in February 1987; the Royal Ordnance in April 1987; Rolls-Royce in May 1987; the British Airports Authority in July 1987; the Rover Group in August 1988; British Steel in December 1988; the Regional Water Authorities in November 1989; Girobank in July 1990; and the National Grid in December 1990." -- On a personal note, I'm an American, and the worse service I've ever experienced have been at the hands of U.S. government run institutions: The various state-run DMVs, TSA, Homeland Security, the IRS, and the Post Office. About the Post Office, by the way: I was frequently traveling 3-10 days at a time for work, and my mailbox would get completely full and my mail would get wrinkled and ripped and crushed. I ran into my postman one afternoon, and asked him, "Hey there - if I leave a note on my mailbox, can you stop delivering the bulk mail/junk mail? I don't want it, and my mail is getting ripped up and crushed from my stuffed mailbox." He said that the Post Office is paid to deliver the mail, and I have no say in what gets delivered. But, I could request the Post Office hold my mail and pick it up when I get done traveling. Now, can you think of any private business that runs like that? Could you imagine the outrage if FedEx dropped off junk samples at your door without your permission and refused to stop? Look at how outraged we get at email spam - but you're both legally required to have a mailbox, and can't tell the Post Office to stop spamming you. This is what happens when a business can't go out of business - they hold no respect for their customers. I mean, how much nicer, more efficient, and pleasant would the DMV instantly become if they had a competitor for licensing and registering cars?
Hoff 17y ago
A form of "public option" bank does exist: a credit union.

seldo 17y ago

The problem with a public option in this case is that the investment arms of these banks aren't providing a service to anybody, they are profit-making institutions in their own right. We the public are not "customers" of these banks, so we can't take our money elsewhere; they're using their own money. The obvious government reform required here is stop lending the goddamn banks money at 0% interest.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
cookingrobot 17y ago
I agree, but I think the general assumption is that if we stop giving bailouts and 0% loans, then the banks would fail and bring down the economy. That's why we should have public banks ready to replace them.

lionhearted 17y ago

> Honestly I think every major institution should have a public-option competitor. This was a common line of thinking from 1930 to 1980 or so, and lots of world governments had public run businesses. England is a great example actually - the English government owned a lot of business that got preferential treatment in the UK. Under Thatcher, most English government businesses were sold off and most public housing was sold to its current tenants. Here's a short list of some of the businesses that were sold off, you can click on each individual business to see how they fared and the changes to industry afterwards. Generally speaking, it was a very positive thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher#Second_government http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher#Second_govern... -- "British Petroleum was privatised in stages in October 1979, September 1983 and November 1987; British Aerospace in January 1981 and 1985; the government share in British Sugar in July 1981; Cable and Wireless in November 1981; Amersham International and National Freight Corporation in February 1982; Britoil in November 1982 and August 1985; Associated British Ports in February 1983; Jaguar in July 1984; British Telecom in November 1984; the National Bus Company in October 1986; British Gas in December 1986; British Airways in February 1987; the Royal Ordnance in April 1987; Rolls-Royce in May 1987; the British Airports Authority in July 1987; the Rover Group in August 1988; British Steel in December 1988; the Regional Water Authorities in November 1989; Girobank in July 1990; and the National Grid in December 1990." -- On a personal note, I'm an American, and the worse service I've ever experienced have been at the hands of U.S. government run institutions: The various state-run DMVs, TSA, Homeland Security, the IRS, and the Post Office. About the Post Office, by the way: I was frequently traveling 3-10 days at a time for work, and my mailbox would get completely full and my mail would get wrinkled and ripped and crushed. I ran into my postman one afternoon, and asked him, "Hey there - if I leave a note on my mailbox, can you stop delivering the bulk mail/junk mail? I don't want it, and my mail is getting ripped up and crushed from my stuffed mailbox." He said that the Post Office is paid to deliver the mail, and I have no say in what gets delivered. But, I could request the Post Office hold my mail and pick it up when I get done traveling. Now, can you think of any private business that runs like that? Could you imagine the outrage if FedEx dropped off junk samples at your door without your permission and refused to stop? Look at how outraged we get at email spam - but you're both legally required to have a mailbox, and can't tell the Post Office to stop spamming you. This is what happens when a business can't go out of business - they hold no respect for their customers. I mean, how much nicer, more efficient, and pleasant would the DMV instantly become if they had a competitor for licensing and registering cars?

Hoff 17y ago

A form of "public option" bank does exist: a credit union.