I have been pushing for divestment in the four worst banks. I base my choice of worst banks on several criteria: customer service complaints filed with the Comptroller of the Currency, predatory lending practices including racist policies and targeting veterans, right wing politics including support for tax breaks for billionaires while advocating cutting social programs, whinging about "big government" while begging for taxpayer funded bailouts, etc. To some degree I also base it on the rating system of the Responsible Shopper website.

I have been targeting Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo. Of these four, three are also the worst on the Responsible Shopper website: Bank of America, Chase, and Citibank. Fidelity and Vanguard are also among their worst. I haven't targeted them because they aren't really "banks."

I have been pushing as alternatives to the worst banks switching to Credit Unions, TD Bank (a large bank that avoided all the predatory lending practices), USAA (for Veterans and their families), and small local banks.  read more »

Big media would have us believe, the dirty unorganized uninformed pinko commie spoiled brats camping, organizing and protesting at Zucotti Plaza don't know what we want. Well, here's sample of what we don't know what we want:  read more »

I'm going to keep plugging this action, now focused more specifically on the worst four banks in America: Bank of America, Chase, Citicorp and Wells Fargo.

I have personally been switching my money (credit cards, accounts, mortgage) away from the big bad mega-banks that screwed Americans with predatory lending and took taxpayer handouts with better banks and financial institution. And I invite you to join me. It is a way of moving your money at least a step away from the worst of Wall Street.

In particular I pick four banks to target: Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo

I base my recommendations on three things:

1. Customer service complaints. The banks that get the most customer service complaints are as follows: (according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I think these numbers are from 2009)

Bank of America: 7,230 complaints (25.5% of total)
J.P. Morgan Chase: 4,890 complaints (17.3%)
Citigroup: 3,742 complaints (13.2%)
Wells Fargo: 2,695 complaints (9.5%)
HSBC North America: 1,963 complaints (6.9%)
Wachovia: 1,265 complaints (4.5%)
U.S. Bancorp: 1,027 complaints (3.6%)  read more »

by @sgarbata

Today #OccupyWallStreet had a peaceful march on sidewalks up to City Hall but more than 5,000 people came to the event. So the occupiers did everything they could to follow any NYPD requests; even after the police brutality suffered by many last week, and even after all the harassing demands they have used with them down in Wall Street.

via @NewYorkist

One such of those demands has been their insistence on prohibiting umbrellas at Zucotti Park, were the Occupiers have set up residence. Not content with enforcing the ban on tents, the police has made their lives miserable by forcing them to be exposed to this inclement weather, to the point of also prohibiting the use of chairs, sticks, boxes or anything that could prop up tarps of plastic covers over them they have been promptly undone with threat of arrests by the NYPD.

via @Colin_Jones

The Occupiers have tried to accommodate the increasingly hostile and abusive demands of the New York Police Department. And today was the same. When the marchers were told by the NYPD to go onto the bridge, they did. It was a trap as the NYPD rushed to close both ends of the bridge to entrap them.

Here are records of their entrapment.

via @OccupyWallStreetNYC
First person account:

 read more »

I have personally been switching my money (credit cards, accounts, mortgage) away from the big bad mega-banks that screwed Americans with predatory lending and took taxpayer handouts with better banks and financial institution. And I invite you to join me. It is a way of moving your money at least a step away from the worst of Wall Street.

Green America (which I have been associated with since they were Co-op America) has some resources:

* The basics about socially responsible investing

* How to retire with one million dollars in a just and sustainable world

* How your savings and checking accounts can build healthy communities through community investing

And I have some suggestions below.  read more »