VISION

The Problem

Right now, the money and banking system isn’t working for most people. Big banks pursue endless growth and profit at the expense of people, communities and the planet. They invest heavily in fossil fuels and engage in risky behaviour that causes house price bubbles, invites financial crises and fuels ecological and climate catastrophe — all of which impact marginalized and vulnerable populations first and worst.

This system has produced an overly–financialized economy, an underproductive real economy, and increasingly high inequality. As such it is failing to serve people and communities in the US fairly, and it is also a driver of global inequities.

The money and banking system does not operate in isolation.  It sits within and is connected to a larger network of powerful interest groups, institutions, ideologies and power structures, each benefitting from and propping-up the other. As such, big banks and financial institutions have accrued too much power.

Our Vision

We believe that the money and banking system should enable a fair, democratic and sustainable economy. We believe that reforms to this system can help solve the complex and intersectional social, economic and environmental challenges we face today.

Money and banks should be tools that serve people, not the other way around.

Our Proposals

Our proposals to help make our economy fairer, more democratic and sustainable include,

1. A treasury and central bank working together on a macroeconomic policy that supports well-paid and secure green jobs, and investments in productive sectors of the economy that will reduce inequality and serve society’s needs.
2. A more diverse banking and central banking system that promotes democratic ownership structures, with more women, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), and professionals with experience of the real economy appointed to key committees and positions.
3. Government and central bank mandates that reflect the fact that we cannot sustain infinite growth on a finite planet. Instead of focusing on short-term profit for private gains, their policies should protect our climate and the environment, and serve the public interest in the long-term.
4. Central banks that take bold and immediate action to protect the financial system and therefore the entire economy against a crisis fuelled by climate change. Central banks must do everything they can to steer finance away from risky fossil fuel investments and towards green, job-creating alternatives.