More than 5,000 people are packing the streets of downtown Chicago this morning, chanting, marching and rallying against Big Bankers and financial institutions that have taken taxpayer money and are using it to give big bonuses to CEOs and to lobby against financial reforms that would ensure they don't go back on the public dole.
The crowd is marching to the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, site of the American Bankers Association meeting, to protest the banking industry's greed and irresponsibility that crippled our economy, leaving millions of workers behind.
After the house of cards they built collapsed, bankers and the financial industry took $700 billion in taxpayer funds for a bailout. But rather than reform their failed practices, they want to go back to business as usual-with the chance of again precipitating another financial collapse and need for taxpayer bailout in coming years.
Have you seen the latest stories about the profits and bonuses of the biggest banks on Wall Street? Are they going out of their way to try to piss everyone off? Are they intentionally thumbing their nose at democracy to make it clear that they can and will get away with anything they want?
If you want to do something about it, I'd recommend going to Chicago next week. The American Bankers Association- which as far as I can tell is a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs opposed to all those small independent banks that are still trying to lend to customers and are getting badly hurt in the real economy- is doing their big convention in Chicago next week. And you know what? Thousands of regular folks are showing up to crash their party. Planners of these protests, which is called the Showdown in Chicago, have all kinds of things planned- marches, rallies, direct actions, and some really cool stuff I've been sworn to secrecy on. It will be fun and deadly serious all at the same time. Check out their website at showdowninchicago.org. They have all kinds of people coming- workers, farmers, students, retirees, religious leaders. Busloads from all over the country of people coming to raise hell.
These big bankers need to understand that they are in for a fight, that we are not going to let them wreck our economy and our democracy without an all out, no holds barred battle. Show up for the Showdown in Chicago. You will be glad you did.
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