We moved our money today!

Earlier today I posted that Betty and I were at Smart Financial Credit Union where we were transferring all of our money from Wells Fargo Bank to SFCU. My friend, Michele Caldwell, asked me "Why?" and I promised to post the answer.

After a lot of thinking, reading, studying and praying, we have come to the conclusion that the four major banks in the country who control the vast majority of the country's wealth are among the most culpable for our nation's recent financial meltdown. Of course there are many factors, but the four banks - Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank and Bank of America - played one of the major roles in the melt down. What appears to be their callous disregard for the common good of all the citizens of our nation is disgusting to us. That set of factors was a part of our decision.

As second part of our decision was what we view as the utter brokenness of our nation's political system. The influence of lobbyist (and particularly lobbyist that represent the four big banks) has turned our political system into a sham. There was a time when we would have turned to and trusted that system to pass laws to punish the banks for their behavior and to prevent their behavior from occurring again. There was a time where we trusted the honest dialogue between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans, who believe (mostly) in a free market system and the Democrats who believe (mostly) that the greed and avarice of the free market system must be regulated, in days gone by, could be trusted to bring a balanced and reasoned solution that included both of those credible and important views. Today, in our view, there is greed and corruption that is so rampant in both parties that there will be no political solution - at least not in the current environment. The problem will simply go on and be made worse by the partisan politics that are driven by money.

In the face of all that I often feel powerless to do anything. The problem is so large and I am just one voice. Several months ago I learned of a growing movement to speak to the banks at the place that it could have impact if we acted collectively. By moving money from the banks to Credit Unions which are not-for-profit and locally owned entities, we could hit the banks at the only place where there is any vulnerability.

So, after thinking, reading praying, and studying, we ultimately decided to act. Today we opened an account at Smart Financial Credit Union. In the next two weeks we will close our account at Wells Fargo and be done with them. I'll be writing a letter to the local Branch Manager telling her of the reasons for our decision. It may seem like a small thing - we don't have a lot of money - but it has integrity with our beliefs and values, and it is something.

I'll be voting in the 2012 Presidential election, but I have the sense that I cast a more important vote today.

If you are interested in knowing more about the role that these four largest banks have had in our current economic mess, I recommend that you see Inside Job. Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late 2000s financial crisis. It is directed by Charles Ferguson and won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 2010. The film is described by Ferguson as being about “the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption. The film explores how changes in policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis."