Media Advisory beginning September 20, 2011
Alert for: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and cities TBA
Contact: Margot Friedman at 202-332-5550 or mfriedman@dupontcirclecommunications.com
www.newbottomline.com twitter: @NBLcampaign
Americans to Wall Street: “Pay US Back”
(Washington, D.C.) Starting on September 20 in Washington State, everyday people fighting to create good jobs, reverse the foreclosure crisis, and build an economy that works for everyone will engage in a series of direct actions in 10 cities targeting big banks that bankrupted the country and drained wealth from American families. The direct actions primarily target JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo and include taking over bank buildings, meetings of corporate officials, civil disobedience, prayer vigils, mass mobilizations, and more.
The first of 10 direct actions will take place on September 20-21 at Suncadia, a mountain resort near Cle Elum, WA, where The Association of Washington Business (the statewide chamber of commerce) will be holding their annual policy summit. Two hundred low- and middle-income people allied with Washington Community Action Network will demand that banks, corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of taxes. On September 21 from 12-1 p.m., protesters calling for an end to corporate tax loopholes will gather at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Seattle after Phyllis Campbell, Northwest Director of Chase Bank, speaks at Suncadia.
The weeks of rolling actions (schedule below) will also publicly launch The New Bottom Line, a new nationwide coalition representing more than 1,000 faith-based and community organizations that seek to hold Wall Street accountable and find solutions for struggling and middle-class families.
“We are struggling with less and less, while the big banks profit more and more. The big banks have done nothing but dodge taxes, throw people out of their homes and choke small business, all the while draining our wealth to pad their bottom line. It’s time for JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo to pay US back,” said George Goehl, Executive Director of National People’s Action, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line. “We are fighting to build an economy that works for all of us. Our bottom line means good jobs, healthy communities, and a government that fights for everyday people.”
“The nation’s banks are sitting on a historically high level of cash reserves of $1.64 trillion, but they refuse to help the country. It’s downright unpatriotic. It’s time for a new bottom line: banks must pay their fair share of taxes, end the mortgage crisis by agreeing to principal write downs for all underwater homeowners, and help create jobs through small business loans,” said LeeAnn Hall, Executive Director of Alliance for a Just Society, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line.
Each city (schedule below) has a local demand or proposal for making that community whole after years of mortgage fraud, predatory lending, and other wealth-stripping practices.
Nationwide, thousands of people are demanding that the banks “Pay US Back” and they must:
Following the fall actions, grassroots organizations across the country will be putting Wall Street accountability on the 2012 campaign agenda, including ballot initiatives, local, state, and federal legislation and divestment campaigns forcing city and state governments to divest from the big banks that are destroying their communities. New Bottom Line members will advance policies that make candidates choose, “Which side are you on: Wall Street or the people?”
“Wall Street’s big dollars are getting our elected officials to rig the system for Wall Street. So it’s no surprise that politicians talk about cutting our kids’ education and our parents’ health care as though there’s no money. It’s a big lie. We know where the money is to keep our communities strong and healthy. It’s not in Grandma’s pension. It’s not in the homes of families fighting foreclosure. And it’s not in the pockets of American schoolchildren or schoolteachers. It’s not in cuts to what we care about most. The money is on Wall Street,” said Peggy Mears, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line.
Schedule of Direct Actions Demanding that Wall Street “Pay US Back”
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The New Bottom Line is a new and growing movement fueled by a coalition of community organizations, congregations, labor unions, and individuals working together to challenge established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities. Together, we are working to restructure Wall Street to help American families build wealth, close the country’s growing income gap and advance a vision for how our economy can better serve the many rather than the few. Coalition members include PICO National Network, National People’s Action (NPA), Alliance for a Just Society, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Industrial Areas Foundation of the Southeast (IAF-SE) and dozens of state and local organizations from around the country. Learn more at www.newbottomline.com
Additional groups organizing events include SEIU locals, Right to the City, and more.
Alert for: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and cities TBA
Contact: Margot Friedman at 202-332-5550 or mfriedman@dupontcirclecommunications.com
www.newbottomline.com twitter: @NBLcampaign
Americans to Wall Street: “Pay US Back”
Thousands of Homeowners, Clergy, Congregants & Unions in 10 Cities Demand That Banks Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes, End the Mortgage Crisis and Create Jobs
(Washington, D.C.) Starting on September 20 in Washington State, everyday people fighting to create good jobs, reverse the foreclosure crisis, and build an economy that works for everyone will engage in a series of direct actions in 10 cities targeting big banks that bankrupted the country and drained wealth from American families. The direct actions primarily target JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo and include taking over bank buildings, meetings of corporate officials, civil disobedience, prayer vigils, mass mobilizations, and more.
The first of 10 direct actions will take place on September 20-21 at Suncadia, a mountain resort near Cle Elum, WA, where The Association of Washington Business (the statewide chamber of commerce) will be holding their annual policy summit. Two hundred low- and middle-income people allied with Washington Community Action Network will demand that banks, corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of taxes. On September 21 from 12-1 p.m., protesters calling for an end to corporate tax loopholes will gather at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Seattle after Phyllis Campbell, Northwest Director of Chase Bank, speaks at Suncadia.
The weeks of rolling actions (schedule below) will also publicly launch The New Bottom Line, a new nationwide coalition representing more than 1,000 faith-based and community organizations that seek to hold Wall Street accountable and find solutions for struggling and middle-class families.
“We are struggling with less and less, while the big banks profit more and more. The big banks have done nothing but dodge taxes, throw people out of their homes and choke small business, all the while draining our wealth to pad their bottom line. It’s time for JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo to pay US back,” said George Goehl, Executive Director of National People’s Action, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line. “We are fighting to build an economy that works for all of us. Our bottom line means good jobs, healthy communities, and a government that fights for everyday people.”
“The nation’s banks are sitting on a historically high level of cash reserves of $1.64 trillion, but they refuse to help the country. It’s downright unpatriotic. It’s time for a new bottom line: banks must pay their fair share of taxes, end the mortgage crisis by agreeing to principal write downs for all underwater homeowners, and help create jobs through small business loans,” said LeeAnn Hall, Executive Director of Alliance for a Just Society, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line.
Each city (schedule below) has a local demand or proposal for making that community whole after years of mortgage fraud, predatory lending, and other wealth-stripping practices.
Nationwide, thousands of people are demanding that the banks “Pay US Back” and they must:
- Pay their fair share of taxes: Stop draining government of revenue and pay their statutorily required 35% corporate income tax. Stop gaming the system through off-shore tax shelters and loopholes.
- Stabilize the housing market and revitalize the economy: Reduce principal for all underwater homeowners to current-market value. This would end the foreclosure crisis, reset the housing market, pump billions of dollars back into the economy and create one million jobs a year.
- Invest in American jobs: Stop sitting on trillions in cash reserves that could be invested in small businesses, the main source of jobs in the U.S., and other job-generating investments.
Following the fall actions, grassroots organizations across the country will be putting Wall Street accountability on the 2012 campaign agenda, including ballot initiatives, local, state, and federal legislation and divestment campaigns forcing city and state governments to divest from the big banks that are destroying their communities. New Bottom Line members will advance policies that make candidates choose, “Which side are you on: Wall Street or the people?”
“Wall Street’s big dollars are getting our elected officials to rig the system for Wall Street. So it’s no surprise that politicians talk about cutting our kids’ education and our parents’ health care as though there’s no money. It’s a big lie. We know where the money is to keep our communities strong and healthy. It’s not in Grandma’s pension. It’s not in the homes of families fighting foreclosure. And it’s not in the pockets of American schoolchildren or schoolteachers. It’s not in cuts to what we care about most. The money is on Wall Street,” said Peggy Mears, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an organizational member of The New Bottom Line.
Schedule of Direct Actions Demanding that Wall Street “Pay US Back”
Seattle | September 20-21 | Series of direct actions focusing on closing corporate tax loopholes at the annual policy summit of the Association of Washington Business (the statewide chamber of commerce) and JPMorgan Chase Bank in Seattle, Olympia and Spokane. |
San Francisco/Bay Area | September 26-30 | Daily actions with mass mobilization on Sept. 30 |
Boston | September 29 to October 1 | Large-scale direct action at a bank focused on foreclosures. Build up of actions at homes and banks throughout September. |
Los Angeles | October 3-6 | Mass mobilization on Oct. 6 |
Chicago | October 9-14 | Mass mobilization, escalating actions throughout the week. Focus on revenue, jobs, foreclosure, and TIFs |
New York City | October 11-14 | Range of actions targeting banks, billionaires, state agencies and donors of elected officials against extending millionaires' tax. Tactics include marches, subway turnstile hopping, using moving trucks as props. |
Minneapolis | October 10-14 | Community groups, faith and labor organizations will confront banks and financial institution from Oct 11 - 14 with demands that they support jobs not budget cuts, repay the public, and reform the worst practices of the industry. Coalition event Fri., Oct 14th at 3 pm, Minneapolis. |
Denver | October 25-29 | Direct actions targeting Wells Fargo on foreclosures, predatory/payday lending, and private prison divestment. |
Honolulu | November 5-7 | All-day conference kicking off New Bottom Line campaign in Hawaii, clergy leaders speaking at more than dozen Oahu churches. Holding events/actions during Asian Pacific Economic Conference. |
###
The New Bottom Line is a new and growing movement fueled by a coalition of community organizations, congregations, labor unions, and individuals working together to challenge established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities. Together, we are working to restructure Wall Street to help American families build wealth, close the country’s growing income gap and advance a vision for how our economy can better serve the many rather than the few. Coalition members include PICO National Network, National People’s Action (NPA), Alliance for a Just Society, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Industrial Areas Foundation of the Southeast (IAF-SE) and dozens of state and local organizations from around the country. Learn more at www.newbottomline.com
Additional groups organizing events include SEIU locals, Right to the City, and more.
