A Venue for Citizen Journalists
Thanks to generous donations from readers, this site is renovated and improved.
Affordability has been a ruse for creating market rate housing.
Represent Us and Our Interests. Please!
Local action in support of a proposal to rebuild nationwide infrastructure
Who’s Superman when you need him? We are.
From Musk’s big investment all the way to local campaigns, political “contributions” will be re-paid. Here’s how.
Private banks are fighting hard to keep us from starting our own state bank. There’s a reason.
To be so manifestly unqualified and yet not be deeply aware of that speaks exactly to the very point of not being qualified.
Chaos likely to ensue. Catastrophe cannot be ruled out.
There is no escape from the deep-throated roar and the clouds of filth produced by these machines.
A perspective from a very old liberal political junkie.
Deeds, not talk, count on Veterans Day
Several days ago, I received the following from Veterans Service Officer (VSO), Liz Witowski, of the Whatcom County Veterans Program (items below in bold are mine). On this Veterans Day, the
An off-budget $5 Trillion National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), along the lines of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) that operated between 1932-1957, means low-cost loans and no additions to the deficit.
Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare. Medicare is there to provide health care. Medicare Advantage is a business, there to make money.
David Swanson verifies what Jon Humphrey has said for years: good internet access benefits people, cities, counties, and states.
Or perhaps tragic farce or farcical tragedy might be more apt descriptors. Pick one, or both.
After nearly 30 years online, and literally being one of the oldest blogs on the internet, Northwest Citizen needs a major programming overhaul. To do so, we need your help.
The top 20% of commercial banks in the United States control 95% of our total banking assets. Remember “Too-Big-to-Fail”?
The City has created another useless document ensuring nothing changes and mediocre communication services are protected.
Why a vote for Jason Call for Congress is a good vote for conservatives, liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Yes, an unusual idea.
Heaven forbid our reps should attack the main problem, Medicare Advantage, head on. But no. They must nibble around the edges to give the appearance of doing something.
Morally significant double binds force doctors and combat soldiers into identical life and death quandaries, damaging their moral centers. To these two groups we can also add law enforcement officers.
Eric Hirst gives us a brief and clear explanation of the water adjudication process that is beginning now in Whatcom County
“Citing the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the paper  [Less Care at Higher Cost—The Medicare Advantage Paradox] notes that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have overcharged the
Aggressive citizen involvement carried the day.
Build-for-profit, incarceration-inspired housing is destroying our souls.
A 54-photo tour of the ruptured pipe area of the Whatcom Creek explosion taken in July 1999.
The last of the scrap metal is loaded on the ship and it will be gone from our town.
Below is an audio tape of 911 calls, emergency responders’ radio communications, and local radio coverage from June 10, 1999 when Whatcom Creek exploded in Bellingham
Whatcom County’s confusing water rights will be defined by court proceedings beginning now
The foam of secrecy hides all.
If not killed-in-action, they are still dying from the effects of their service in Vietnam.
Local presentations scheduled on a reasonable use framework for water resource management
Broadband-Washing: Greenwashing the Internet
Pacific Northwest organizers join a global campaign to abolish all nukes and push for a city council resolution to start
If the hospitals are smelling a rat, so should Medicare (Dis)Advantage victims (AKA enrollees).
With such a bank in place, we would likely not be scrambling around and asking Congress for rebuild monies, as we are now with the catastrophic event involving the Francis Scott Key bridge on March 26, 2024.
Port of Bellingham commissioners terminate last 13 years of ABC Recycling lease
No public fiber means we can’t compete with big telecom. EVER.

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)

Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)
Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Senator Bob Hasegawa brought information to the citizens of Whatcom County about the benefits of public banks and his bill to establish one in Olympia.

State Senator Bob Hasegawa travelled from Olympia last Wednesday, May 22nd, to speak to Whatcom County residents about the benefits of public banking: “A State Bank for Washington – Invest in WA or Wall Street?” He laid aside his slides and launched into a captivating impromptu talk on the definition of public banking and its benefits, largely to finance public infrastructure projects, for government entities throughout the state. He then fielded questions for about 35 minutes which further engaged the public and several candidates for public office who were in attendance. [For background on current efforts in Olympia see my most recent article “Public Banking Bill Re-Introduced in the Washington State Senate”]

The questions from the public revealed the extent to which public banking and its benefits have been hidden from the citizenry. Several attendees expressed their surprise, as well as skepticism, that public banking, a system under which the government owns its own bank and profits from using its own money, was too good to be true. Sen Hasegawa pointed out that there has always been strong opposition from commercial bankers who do not want to lose the billions and billions of dollars that they get by using other people’s (local governments) money for their own gain rather than that of the people. He has been frustrated in getting his public banking bill to the Senate floor because of opposition and lack of votes at the committee level, and suggested to the attendees that they write to their senator in Olympia. Of course, this drew much laughter from the cognoscenti in the audience who knew they are represented by Sen Doug Ericksen (42nd Dist), a man who is not likely to anger his bankster friends by supporting public banking.

However, prior to this talk I spoke to Sen Hasegawa to determine the role Whatcom County and its cities could play to support his public banking bill. He asked that the local councils pass resolutions supporting his legislation and transmit those resolutions to, in the language of his suggested draft support resolution, the “Washington State Governor, House and Senate leadership, his own office, and other civic-minded stakeholders for further dissemination to, and education of, the general public.”

The path is clear but action must be taken.* I urge you to review the video of Sen Hasegawa’s talk. His remarks, beginning about two minutes into the video, are about 20 minutes long followed by about 35 minutes of questions. This will change your concept of public banks, both for governments and the people, forever.



*The following is a list of local officials to whom you can write to urge their support for public banking:

Bellingham City Council - ccmail@cob.org

Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville - klinville@cob.org

Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws - jlouws@co.whatcom.wa.us

Whatcom County Council - council@co.whatcom.wa.us

Representative 42nd Dist Sharon Shewmake - Sharon.Shewmake@leg.wa.gov

Senator 42nd District Doug Ericksen - Doug@SenatorEricksen.com

Representative 40th Dist Pos 1 Debra Lekanoff - No email - contact through this site.

Representative 40th Dist Pos 2 Jeff Morris - No email - contact through this site.

Senator 40th District Liz Lovelett - Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov



8 Comments, most recent 5 years ago

Satpal Sidhu · Lynden
Tue May 28, 2019

Hi Dick

I have written to Senator Hasegawa for a presentation to County Council in coming months and I would like to urge the Council to send a support letter.  I will keep you on the loop as I find out more.

Tue May 28, 2019

Broken link for the suggested resolution language. Please fix. Thanks.

Tue May 28, 2019

Michael,

Thanks for the tip.  I have corrected the link issue.

 

Dick

Robert Bystrom · Bellingham
Wed May 29, 2019

Thanks Dick.  An important topic.  Where can I find the cliff notes?

Wed May 29, 2019

Robert,

Not sure I understand what you are asking.  No cliff notes but if you go to the site of The Public Banking Institute you will get a good basic understanding of public banking.

Satpal Sidhu · Lynden
Fri Jun 7, 2019

Hi Dick / Michael Lilliquist:  And all residents interested in the PublIc State Bank  discussion in WA State. I have finally received the confirmation and the Council scheduing that Senator Hsegawa will be making a presentation on this topic in the Finance and Admin Services Committee on Sept 24th at 11 AM. I am currently Chair of Finance and Admin Services Committee. Please share this with all the interested citizen to attend this meeting.

I would like to propose that County Council pass a resolution in support of Public State Bank

Satpal Sidhu

Sat Jun 8, 2019

Satpal,

Thanks.  This is good news.  I will get the word out now and also follow up as we near the date. 

I agree on the passing of a resolution.  Public banking ought to be on the mind of all legislators, mayors, county execs and governors.  Government revenues and reserves are OUR money and we should not give it to the casino banks.

Dick

Mon Jul 8, 2019

Thank-you Dick and Satpal!    I’ve been working on this issue since my teach-in with Prof.  Simon Johnson on the bank collapse and Wall St takeover of our econonmy in 2010.   Our public sector was sucked dry,  but there’s a chance we could breathe life back into it.   

- Commenting is closed -

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)

Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)
Sen Bob Hasegawa Addresses the Bellingham City Club (Photo by Dick Conoboy)

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Public Banking - Senator Hasegawa at the Bellingham City Club

Senator Bob Hasegawa brought information to the citizens of Whatcom County about the benefits of public banks and his bill to establish one in Olympia.

State Senator Bob Hasegawa travelled from Olympia last Wednesday, May 22nd, to speak to Whatcom County residents about the benefits of public banking: “A State Bank for Washington – Invest in WA or Wall Street?” He laid aside his slides and launched into a captivating impromptu talk on the definition of public banking and its benefits, largely to finance public infrastructure projects, for government entities throughout the state. He then fielded questions for about 35 minutes which further engaged the public and several candidates for public office who were in attendance. [For background on current efforts in Olympia see my most recent article “Public Banking Bill Re-Introduced in the Washington State Senate”]

The questions from the public revealed the extent to which public banking and its benefits have been hidden from the citizenry. Several attendees expressed their surprise, as well as skepticism, that public banking, a system under which the government owns its own bank and profits from using its own money, was too good to be true. Sen Hasegawa pointed out that there has always been strong opposition from commercial bankers who do not want to lose the billions and billions of dollars that they get by using other people’s (local governments) money for their own gain rather than that of the people. He has been frustrated in getting his public banking bill to the Senate floor because of opposition and lack of votes at the committee level, and suggested to the attendees that they write to their senator in Olympia. Of course, this drew much laughter from the cognoscenti in the audience who knew they are represented by Sen Doug Ericksen (42nd Dist), a man who is not likely to anger his bankster friends by supporting public banking.

However, prior to this talk I spoke to Sen Hasegawa to determine the role Whatcom County and its cities could play to support his public banking bill. He asked that the local councils pass resolutions supporting his legislation and transmit those resolutions to, in the language of his suggested draft support resolution, the “Washington State Governor, House and Senate leadership, his own office, and other civic-minded stakeholders for further dissemination to, and education of, the general public.”

The path is clear but action must be taken.* I urge you to review the video of Sen Hasegawa’s talk. His remarks, beginning about two minutes into the video, are about 20 minutes long followed by about 35 minutes of questions. This will change your concept of public banks, both for governments and the people, forever.



*The following is a list of local officials to whom you can write to urge their support for public banking:

Bellingham City Council - ccmail@cob.org

Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville - klinville@cob.org

Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws - jlouws@co.whatcom.wa.us

Whatcom County Council - council@co.whatcom.wa.us

Representative 42nd Dist Sharon Shewmake - Sharon.Shewmake@leg.wa.gov

Senator 42nd District Doug Ericksen - Doug@SenatorEricksen.com

Representative 40th Dist Pos 1 Debra Lekanoff - No email - contact through this site.

Representative 40th Dist Pos 2 Jeff Morris - No email - contact through this site.

Senator 40th District Liz Lovelett - Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov



8 Comments, most recent 5 years ago

Satpal Sidhu · Lynden
Tue May 28, 2019

Hi Dick

I have written to Senator Hasegawa for a presentation to County Council in coming months and I would like to urge the Council to send a support letter.  I will keep you on the loop as I find out more.

Tue May 28, 2019

Broken link for the suggested resolution language. Please fix. Thanks.

Tue May 28, 2019

Michael,

Thanks for the tip.  I have corrected the link issue.

 

Dick

Robert Bystrom · Bellingham
Wed May 29, 2019

Thanks Dick.  An important topic.  Where can I find the cliff notes?

Wed May 29, 2019

Robert,

Not sure I understand what you are asking.  No cliff notes but if you go to the site of The Public Banking Institute you will get a good basic understanding of public banking.

Satpal Sidhu · Lynden
Fri Jun 7, 2019

Hi Dick / Michael Lilliquist:  And all residents interested in the PublIc State Bank  discussion in WA State. I have finally received the confirmation and the Council scheduing that Senator Hsegawa will be making a presentation on this topic in the Finance and Admin Services Committee on Sept 24th at 11 AM. I am currently Chair of Finance and Admin Services Committee. Please share this with all the interested citizen to attend this meeting.

I would like to propose that County Council pass a resolution in support of Public State Bank

Satpal Sidhu

Sat Jun 8, 2019

Satpal,

Thanks.  This is good news.  I will get the word out now and also follow up as we near the date. 

I agree on the passing of a resolution.  Public banking ought to be on the mind of all legislators, mayors, county execs and governors.  Government revenues and reserves are OUR money and we should not give it to the casino banks.

Dick

Mon Jul 8, 2019

Thank-you Dick and Satpal!    I’ve been working on this issue since my teach-in with Prof.  Simon Johnson on the bank collapse and Wall St takeover of our econonmy in 2010.   Our public sector was sucked dry,  but there’s a chance we could breathe life back into it.   

- Commenting is closed -
A Venue for Citizen Journalists
Thanks to generous donations from readers, this site is renovated and improved.
Affordability has been a ruse for creating market rate housing.
Represent Us and Our Interests. Please!
Local action in support of a proposal to rebuild nationwide infrastructure
Who’s Superman when you need him? We are.
From Musk’s big investment all the way to local campaigns, political “contributions” will be re-paid. Here’s how.
Private banks are fighting hard to keep us from starting our own state bank. There’s a reason.
To be so manifestly unqualified and yet not be deeply aware of that speaks exactly to the very point of not being qualified.
Chaos likely to ensue. Catastrophe cannot be ruled out.
There is no escape from the deep-throated roar and the clouds of filth produced by these machines.
A perspective from a very old liberal political junkie.
Deeds, not talk, count on Veterans Day
Several days ago, I received the following from Veterans Service Officer (VSO), Liz Witowski, of the Whatcom County Veterans Program (items below in bold are mine). On this Veterans Day, the
An off-budget $5 Trillion National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), along the lines of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) that operated between 1932-1957, means low-cost loans and no additions to the deficit.
Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare. Medicare is there to provide health care. Medicare Advantage is a business, there to make money.
David Swanson verifies what Jon Humphrey has said for years: good internet access benefits people, cities, counties, and states.
Or perhaps tragic farce or farcical tragedy might be more apt descriptors. Pick one, or both.
After nearly 30 years online, and literally being one of the oldest blogs on the internet, Northwest Citizen needs a major programming overhaul. To do so, we need your help.
The top 20% of commercial banks in the United States control 95% of our total banking assets. Remember “Too-Big-to-Fail”?
The City has created another useless document ensuring nothing changes and mediocre communication services are protected.
Why a vote for Jason Call for Congress is a good vote for conservatives, liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Yes, an unusual idea.
Heaven forbid our reps should attack the main problem, Medicare Advantage, head on. But no. They must nibble around the edges to give the appearance of doing something.
Morally significant double binds force doctors and combat soldiers into identical life and death quandaries, damaging their moral centers. To these two groups we can also add law enforcement officers.
Eric Hirst gives us a brief and clear explanation of the water adjudication process that is beginning now in Whatcom County
“Citing the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the paper  [Less Care at Higher Cost—The Medicare Advantage Paradox] notes that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have overcharged the
Aggressive citizen involvement carried the day.
Build-for-profit, incarceration-inspired housing is destroying our souls.
A 54-photo tour of the ruptured pipe area of the Whatcom Creek explosion taken in July 1999.
The last of the scrap metal is loaded on the ship and it will be gone from our town.
Below is an audio tape of 911 calls, emergency responders’ radio communications, and local radio coverage from June 10, 1999 when Whatcom Creek exploded in Bellingham
Whatcom County’s confusing water rights will be defined by court proceedings beginning now
The foam of secrecy hides all.
If not killed-in-action, they are still dying from the effects of their service in Vietnam.
Local presentations scheduled on a reasonable use framework for water resource management
Broadband-Washing: Greenwashing the Internet
Pacific Northwest organizers join a global campaign to abolish all nukes and push for a city council resolution to start
If the hospitals are smelling a rat, so should Medicare (Dis)Advantage victims (AKA enrollees).
With such a bank in place, we would likely not be scrambling around and asking Congress for rebuild monies, as we are now with the catastrophic event involving the Francis Scott Key bridge on March 26, 2024.
Port of Bellingham commissioners terminate last 13 years of ABC Recycling lease
No public fiber means we can’t compete with big telecom. EVER.