The big banks are "bracing themselves". They have bought into the symbolism of November 5th and are hoping to survive the flood of discontent.
The fee debacle will blow over, the anger will abate, the customers will forget. If only they can weather this storm and make it to Monday Nov. 7th, they hope the worst will be behind them.
They are wrong.
November 5th was only the beginning. This is not about fees. Fees were the spark, but this is about much much more.
It is about our democracy and its survival
It is about basic fairness
It is about justice and the rule of law
It is about unaccountable power
It is about hubris
It is about unparalleled greed
It is about smug dismissal of pain and suffering
It is about "get a job" when there are no jobs
We have had enough - and we're not going to take it any more.
It is up to us to go back on November 7th, and November 8th and every day after that.
Already, Move Your Money on Nov 5th, has morphed into Move Your Money Mondays.
It is a terrifying prospect for the banks.
They will tell you that all of this doesn't matter. After all, they don't need no stinking customers. They are sitting on an unprecedented mountain of cash. They don't make money off deposits. This can't hurt them, this won't hurt them.
They are lying:
They sit on unprecedented amounts of cash because they are also sitting on even bigger unprecedented amounts of toxic assets. They want you to forget that they have a balance sheet that is unbalanced. They hope you don't know about capitalization rates, about how they have to keep 15% of their assets in deposits and can loan out and invest only 85%. They hope you don't realize that they are invested to the hilt, if not under-capitalized. They hope you don't catch on to the fact that every dollar you take out forces them to pull back 85c of investments, which is where they make their profits. They hope you don't realize your fees are subsidizing their wealth management and rich client portfolios.
We know better. We understand finance and capitalism, even though they think we're just ignorant dirty hippies.
Bank of America is running ads non-stop, on TV, online, in malls, on buses. Why?
Why would they spend so much money if they don't need no stinking customers?
Because they're lying, as always. Because their ponzi scheme is a pyramid build on a base of small depositors. Because they have built a house of cards on your backs. Because they know, that without you they have no business. Because they know that once the bleeding starts, it will destroy them. Because they know, they won't get another bailout.
They are terrified. We are winning. They hope we will give up, because that's the only hope they have left
But we will not. Tomorrow is a new day and we have not stopped. Tomorrow is Nov 7th.
Tomorrow is MOVE YOUR MONEY MONDAY.
2:20 PM PT: I am beyond humbled by everyone's support. This is my 5th diary in one week to make the Rec list and today I ended up (accidentally) with two diaries on the Rec list at the same time. I had to delete and queue one for tomorrow. "Thank you" is not enough.