Today I cut up my Chase credit card.
It's a small step, but it means a step in the right direction towards saving 300,000 jobs both here in Michigan and across the country, and if I could cut up 300,000 more credit cards to force JP Morgan Chase into negotiations with Chrysler, I'd gladly do it.
The jobs/economic situation in my home state is so bad that I truly fear that should Chrysler go bankrupt, my state would never recover.
Imagine that - Chrysler bankrupt, 300,000 jobs lost, retiree healthcare gone, all because of one greedy bank - JP Morgan Chase.
You might remember hearing how my dad was forced into a buyout last summer with 'Detroit Three' employer and how it devastated me. Since then, both of my uncles are barely working, an aunt lost her job with an automotive supplier, and the church that I grew up in an affluent Metro Detroit community has seen a massive chunk of its congregation unemployed and equally devastated. It's impossible to live in Michigan and not be affected by all the layoffs in nearly every aspect of your life.
So when I hear about how JP Morgan Chase gladly snatches $25 billion from the federal government, but can't be bothered to even talk with Chrysler about the $2.5 billion they hold, I think I'm justified in getting a little angry. (Emtpywheel has more about it here)
So I've cut up my credit card, I've emailed literally everyone I know and asked them to do the same - withhold new business, pull their current Chase accounts and invest their money instead into Michigan banks and credit unions, and sign the petition and sign the petition cooperatively produced by Firedoglake and my employer, Progress Michigan.
And now I ask the same of you. Help us -- the hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents and Americans across the country whose livelihoods depend on Chrysler -- by demanding JP Morgan invest in jobs and in our economy instead of bailing out on us because of greed.
Sign the petition, join the Facebook Group, show JP Morgan Chase that you want investment in America, and cut up that damned Chase credit card.