The Best Way to Start the New Year: MOVE YOUR MONEY!!
Somehow, amidst the din of the holidays, a true gem of an idea is taking flight. And, if it works, we may be looking at a way to (finally) fix what’s wrong with the money system in the US. And, again if it works, it should please all those anti-regulatory conservatives out there who somehow seem to think the Great Recession was caused by working folks who borrowed more than they should have to buy houses. Like all those Wall Street suits had nothing to do with it. But that’s another story.
Taking a cue from the healthy foods crowd who brought us the idea of buying locally, that sneaky duo of Rob Johnson and Ariana Huffington have been pushing this new idea…. “Move your Money.” What a concept! Green your money!…well, I suppose it’s already green, but it’s not Green. It’s not local. So, how to get this across?
It turns out that one of the mainstays of our holiday season is a wonderful film called, cleverly, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Initially considered a flop in 1946 when it came out, it has emerged as perhaps the best loved American holiday film ever. And the enduring story has such strong parallels to today’s financial crisis, it’s scary. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and do so. If you have, I don’t need to remind you about how a community-based bank can prevail over all those avaricious Wall Street sharks. And the real point is, let’s remember, and then act like, George Bailey in the film, or rather his customers. Let’s put our money in locally based banks that know us. Let’s take all those savings out of banks that are “too big to fail” because, in fact, they HAVE failed. Were it not for us taxpayers, they wouldn’t be in business today, much less enjoying record-setting bonuses that seem to suggest an inverse relationship between financial performance and executive compensation.
So check out http://moveyourmoney.info and consider the option. The four minute clip, largely from the movie, captures it all so well.