Pay US Back Actions Alerts

9/19/11

It’s not only Wall Street that’s occupied …
Across the Country, Americans Say Wall Street Must “Pay U.S. Back”

Thousands of homeowners, clergy, congregants, unions, and students across the country are conducting direct actions demanding that banks such as Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America pay their fair share of taxes, end the mortgage crisis, and create jobs. For more information and our demands, go here. For downloadable posters and signs, go here.

Schedule of Direct Actions

Seattle	September 20-21, 2011 Stories, photos and video: http://tinyurl.com/3clz2x3 Media: http://tinyurl.com/3app7ps, http://tinyurl.com/44xjvo9
San Francisco/Bay Area	Sept 26-30, 2011 Daily actions with mass mobilization on Sept. 30
Boston	September 29 - October 1, 2011 Large-scale direct action at a bank focused on foreclosures. Story, photos and video: http://www.newbottomline.com/take_back_boston_draws_over_1000_people
Los Angeles	Monday, October 3, 2011 TEACH-IN AT THE BANKS Tuesday, October 4, 2011 WALL STREET EXECUTIVE HOME VISIT Wednesday, October 5, 2011 WALL STREET EXECUTIVE HOME VISIT >> Story, photos and video here. Thursday, October 6, 2011 MAKE THE BANKS PAY MOBILIZATION >> Stories, photos and video here. Organized by POWER-LA
Chicago	October 10, 2011 GOOD JOBS NOW - MAKE WALL STREET PAY Meet at The Hyatt Regency (151 East Wacker Dr), @ 4pm Mass mobilization, escalating actions throughout the week. Focus on revenue, jobs, foreclosure, and TIFs More information and flyer: http://showdowninamerica.org/oct10
New York City	October 5, 2011 COMMUNITY & LABOR MARCH ON WALL ST Foley Square, Duane St and Centre St (outside 26 Federal Plaza) at 4:30pm March to Zuccotti Park Download the flyer >> October 11, 2011 THE MARCH ON THE BILLIONAIRES Press conference at 59th St. and 5th Ave. at 12:30 pm with "champion" millionaires, and continue to the tour bus at 1 pm. For more info: Jeremy Saunders (VOCAL) jeremy@vocal-ny.org.
Minneapolis	Tuesday, October 11, 2011 MAKE WALL STREET PAY ACTION Meet at Lake Nokomis Recreation Center, 2401 E. Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55417, @10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Friday, October 14, 2011 RALLY TO SAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM Gather at Peavey Plaza, 11th St S and Nicollet Ave, downtown Minneapolis, @3:00 PM For more info: chris@takeactionminnesota.org
Denver	October 25-29, 2011 Direct actions targeting Wells Fargo on foreclosures, predatory/payday lending, and private prison divestment.
Honolulu	November 5-7, 2011 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.

More Information

The actions from Boston to Honolulu are launching 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.

The direct actions include taking over bank buildings, meetings of corporate officials, civil disobedience, prayer vigils, mass mobilizations, and more.

In the first actions of the “Pay US Back” campaign last week, hundreds of protestors gathered at Chase Bank in Seattle and called on banks and CEOs to do more to help the struggling economy. Eleven people were arrested. In addition, 200 protesters disrupted wine tastings and golf tournaments at the Association of Washington Business Policy Summit at a secluded resort in Cle Elum, WA.

“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.

Our Demands

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.

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