logo

Bank of America and the $5 Revolution

image
Author: Alan Markow
Created: 03 October, 2011
Updated: 13 October, 2022
3 min read

Bank of America may have tipped the scales toward a true movement of independence in 21st century America.  By announcing that it would charge $5 per month for use of a debit card beginning early next year, the bank has single-handedly dumped a new inflationary burden onto many Americans who shop for items such as groceries and clothing using their debit cards.  And the bank is doing so just at the time when Americans can least afford it – with the economy teetering on the edge of yet another recession.

The $5 a month fee for debit cards comes on top of a continuous escalation of charges for use of ATM machines to retrieve cash from bank accounts.  The new charge adds yet another layer of cost to the ability to use your own money in a safe and convenient manner.  For many families, particularly in low and moderate income neighborhoods, carrying cash into stores is much more risky than shopping with a debit card.  Loading an extra $60 a year in fees for use of a debit card seems both cruel and insensitive to our most vulnerable citizens. Meanwhile, B of A and the entire banking industry continue to do quite well, thank you, partially as a result of a bail-out in which we risked hundreds of billions in public funds to ensure that these “too big to fail” entities would endure as the stalwarts of our economic recovery.

It is no coincidence that a tiny Wall Street sit-in is now metastasizing into a national movement against the financial industry, and that we are beginning to see the signs of violent protection of the wealthy infrastructure by pepper-spray wielding cops who have an innate link to the powers that be. 

The question for Bank of America’s management is this:  do they believe that it is their customers who must make all the sacrifices in these economic times?  Do they not see themselves as playing any role whatsoever in America’s economic recovery vs. their own individual corporate success?

This is not the old Bank of America that was the brainchild of Amadeo Giannini, an Italian immigrant who wanted to help his fellow immigrants.  He founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904 to overcome the prejudice that standard American banks displayed toward immigrants, and went national as B of A in 1929.

Today’s Bank of America contains the old San Francisco-based operation, but its heart and soul is Charlotte-based NCNB (North Carolina National Bank), which has gone through a number of transitions, name changes and growth spurts to become the nation’s largest and most aggressive bank.  While the bank has suffered through some weak earnings, those problems have mostly been the result of the purchase of Countrywide Mortgage (a demand placed on B of A by the Federal government under the TARP agreement, but at a cost of only $.10 on the dollar) and its own poor judgments in the mortgage arena.  For the most part, the bank is making money hand over fist.

It currently sits on top of the industry in both assets and equity holdings.  And while it has had an earnings problem because of the aforementioned mortgage issues, its second quarter profit, excluding real estate issues, was nearly $6 billion (third quarter earnings will be announced October 18).

The reality is, B of A and every other major bank in America could well afford to live without $5, $3, or any other per use charge for its debit cards.  But America’s citizens cannot afford to pay those charges.  And it is doubtful whether this time around the public is going to stand for the gouging of its recession-ravaged income by these fat cat and TARP-buoyed financial institutions.

IVP Existence Banner

It’s high time that a movement of real independence form to oppose the power that has accumulated on Wall Street and in the halls of America’s banking industry, a power that has been largely facilitated by both major parties.  Let $5 be the rallying cry for the new revolution.

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read