The Shift: Episode 1 – County Charter

Doug interviews Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Hamburg, Chairman and President of The Public Banking Institute Ellen H. Brown and Jessie Lee VanSant 

about the movement to make Mendocino County a “Charter County” and create a public bank for the County of Mendocino and citizenry.

read the charter here :  Mendocino County Charter #12b

Brown’s two most recent books are “The Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free,” and “The Public Bank Solution: From Austerity to Prosperity.” Her talk is part of the Mendocino County Public Banking Coalition’s educational campaign, leading up to the June 2014 election when voters will have a chance to make Mendocino California’s 15th Charter County. California law requires that counties have a charter in order to have a public bank and manage their own money. Why do governments store their money in private, for-profit banks? In 2008 it became obvious that private banks do not necessarily serve the best interests of their depositors.

On the other hand, a public bank has only one depositor—the government—and the returns on its investments are used to benefit the citizens of the state or county instead of private shareholders. A public bank can increase liquidity by partnering with community banks and credit unions, and can reduce county debt service by underwriting public infrastructure projects. Although 40% of the banks in the world are public banks, the Bank of North Dakota is currently the only public bank in the USA. It remained strong and solvent while the rest of the country was falling into recession. In her talk, Ellen Brown will explain why and how we can start our own publicly owned bank. She will also answer questions from the audience after her presentation. This is a free event but donations are appreciated to cover expenses.