Make Wall St. Pay - National Days of Action

Make Wall St. Pay - National Days of Action
                                                              

Immediate Release
Media Contact Ellis Goldberg EllisG237@aol.com 925 451 4303 / 925 831 8355
Dublin Action Contact Eloise Hamann Hamanne@comcast.net 925 829 8967

Make Wall St. Pay - National Day of Action - We are Dublin's 99%

Thursday November 17. 2011 from 11:30AM to 12:30 PM
7496 Dublin Blvd in front of B of A

The 99% tsunami originating on Wall St. hit the west coast crashing into San Francisco and flooding Oakland. The wave burst into suburban Contra Costa County with several local actions in Concord, Walnut Creek & San Ramon in the last month and now in Dublin (in Alameda County) all coinciding with a movement called Rebuild the American Dream sponsored by MoveOn, 70 other organizations and unions. Some demonstrators have been deeply hurt by Wall Street, but most demonstrate because of the injustices perpetrated by Wall Street on the world economy, not about a $5 fee.  Like the rest of the country, they are calling for a sea change and are growing stronger with each action. National Days of Action mold public opinion which is the ultimate determining factor in a democracy. 

When asked why the protests are targeting big banks, event organizer Eloise Hamann, responded, “The biggest banks:

• sold mortgages to the unsuspecting unqualified,
• bundled these high risk mortgages with OK mortgages from the qualified,
• had the bundle rated as AAA even though they were risk infested,
• insured them with AIG, Fannie & Freddie,
• bet on them defaulting,
• sold the bundle to some other bank,
• got the Federal Government (our taxes) to cover the losses at AIG, Freddie & Fannie
• new owner banks foreclose & do not negotiate with the borrowers.

The problem is the insurance guarantees the banks will get the money owed on the mortgage if they foreclose (by our federal tax dollars backing up the insurers). So while the banks promised to re-negotiate loans, they drag their feet until borrowers give up in frustration. The new owner banks bought the high default risk mortgages at wholesale rates and are now making profits by foreclosing. The bank bailout is the insurance guarantee for the banks that they will be made whole. 7 million are facing foreclosure; millions have already left their homes. That is why we are out here.”

Hamann continued, “Grassroots groups and individuals from all over Contra Costa and the TriValley, who cannot stand by while our country is decimated by greedy corporate interests, are encouraged to join in. Bring signs and energy.  We are Dublin's 99%.”  

Karen Beck, TriValley MoveOn Organizer added, “Protesters are angry at corporate greed, money in politics, corporate welfare, but they are out into the streets because they believe

• America is broken and we need to fix it
• We are patriotic and we love America
• The private sector (business) doesn't exist without us, the public sector
• When things work right, there is fairness for all
• We have responsibilities to one another”

Make Wall Street Pay is targeting banks that are “Too big to fail” with bankers who are “Too rich to jail”.  In Dublin they will be satirized as the piggies that they are. Those dealing with foreclosures, eviction, job lose, denial of credit or other catastrophe caused by sub-prime mortgage scams and similar activities are asked to step forward and tell their stories.”

MoveOn Regional Organizer Frank Burton stated, “The goal of actions on 11/17 is to call attention to the massive effects of the Great Republican Recession on our economy. We know that the Big Banks in their reckless, unregulated greed caused the Recession, and this National Day of Action is to highlight the drastic effects all across America on families forced out of foreclosed homes, closed local businesses, crumbling infrastructure, and laid-off teachers and drastic increases in class sizes in our schools. These events are focused on the effects of the GRR, not on the banks as such, though we can tie the two together. The effects of the GRR are less visible in affluent areas like the Tri-Valley than in other areas, making our job more difficult than in Detroit or Las Vegas. Please consider the effects of the GRR on the students and staff of Las Positas College and the various school districts in the Tri-Valley area.  Las Positas and other post-secondary institutions have been drastically affected, with reductions in availability of classes which are required for graduation, unconscionable increases in tuition and fees, teacher layoffs, and students unable find jobs for months and years after they graduated.”

Media Coordinator Ellis Goldberg added  “We are a part of actions throughout America working for a change in values: away from greed and unfairness;  toward empathy, responsibility and courage.  A change from the corporate controlled political machines to real democracy. 
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings  that are being experienced by another
Responsibility not just for one’s self but for others, some not born yet, other species and ultimately the planet
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation

If these are your values please join us in announcing it to the community. If you have been hurt by the economic repercussions of corporate corruption and greed, please join us and tell your story. The media wants to know about you."