plus 3, Need for low-cost banking services is rising - LJWORLD |
- Need for low-cost banking services is rising - LJWORLD
- Poor, minorities struggle to access banks - Inside Bay Area
- Latest Articles - Dissident Voice
- Quick Cash, Quick Sand, Part 1 - San Francisco Chronicle
Need for low-cost banking services is rising - LJWORLD Posted: 08 Dec 2009 12:32 AM PST Advertisement There are millions of Americans — 60 million, in fact — conducting their day-to-day personal business outside the banking system, leaving many to be preyed upon by payday loan companies, rent-to-own establishments and other nonbanking financial institutions. Banks have largely ignored serving what are called the unbanked and underbanked, arguing it is difficult to figure out how to make money off them. But the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says it may look at using the Community Reinvestment Act — and the weight the act carries in bank examinations — to encourage financial institutions to provide low-cost banking services and products. A new FDIC report found that nationally, 17 million adults are unbanked. An additional 43 million adults are classified as underbanked. You are unbanked if you don't have a checking or savings account. The FDIC defined underbanked households as those that have a checking or savings account but use nonbank money orders, check-cashing services, payday loans, rent-to-own agreements or pawnshops at least once or twice a year. The FDIC survey, conducted by the Census Bureau, is the most comprehensive look to date of the unbanked and underbanked. The survey finally provides proof of the concern that consumer advocates have been expressing for years. They have been lobbying for products and services for the millions of people who are shut out from the traditional banking system. Under a 2005 law, the FDIC is required to monitor the financial industry in its efforts to bring people into the mainstream banking system. "We are really trying to use that information to develop accounts that would really be appropriate for this population," FDIC Vice Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said during a teleconference. Gruenberg said the survey provided the information the agency needed to push the banking industry to aggressively address the financial services needs of the unbanked and underbanked. The Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, was passed in 1977 to address the shortage of credit available to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. However, there was little focus on the need for banks to offer reasonably priced, basic financial services — such as check-cashing, money orders, affordable small-dollar loans and, most importantly, savings accounts. The CRA regulation favorably recognizes such financial services activities but in varying degrees, depending on the size of the bank, according to the FDIC. The regulation does not give as much weight to affordable banking services as it does to loans or investments. The FDIC is exploring a CRA regulatory proposal that would more clearly recognize basic financial services, and assign a higher CRA rating if warranted, thereby creating a more powerful incentive to offer products. Lower-income and minority populations are disproportionately represented among unbanked and underbanked households. Households with incomes under $30,000 account for at least 71 percent of the unbanked. An estimated 21.7 percent of black households as well as 19.3 percent of Hispanics are unbanked. It is important to bring the unbanked and underbanked into the mainstream banking system. But whatever incentive is used, the government should be careful that the products are truly helpful and affordable. If the housing crisis has shown us anything, it's that major lending institutions aren't above taking advantage of low-income people or credit-challenged individuals. The traditional banking system can be as abusive as the nonbank financial institutions when it comes to the underprivileged. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
Poor, minorities struggle to access banks - Inside Bay Area Posted: 04 Dec 2009 10:24 AM PST WASHINGTON — More than a million American households lost access to basic banking services like savings accounts last year, bank regulators say. Those families are among 30 million households that have little or no access to such services, according to a survey released Wednesday from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Poor and minority families are especially hard-hit. In all, 25.6 percent of U.S. households either lack bank accounts or use payday loans, check-cashing services and other costly alternatives to traditional banks, according to the survey. The report is part of an FDIC effort to bring the so-called "unbanked" into the financial mainstream. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said access to a bank account gives households "an important first step toward achieving financial security." Vulnerable families need the ability to save for emergencies and borrow on affordable terms, she said in a statement. "By better understanding this group — who they are and their reasons for being unbanked or underbanked — we will be better positioned to help them take that first step," Bair said. Households are considered "unbanked" if they report that no member has a checking or savings account. "Underbanked" households have bank accounts but still rely on costly, lightly regulated services like payday loans, check-cashing services and pawn shops. The survey found that black, Hispanic and native American families are more likely to fall into these categories. Seventy-one percent of unbanked households earn less than $30,000 a year, it found.The Census Bureau conducted the survey in January 2009 on behalf of the FDIC. It is the most thorough survey on the subject, providing specific data for geographic areas and demographic groups. "This is giving us a picture that we've never seen before," said Barbara Ryan, the report's lead writer. But it's unclear why 1.3 million households stopped having bank accounts in 2008. It may be a result of the nation's economic woes, or of some other "cycling in and out of the banking system," Ryan said. The survey also found: n"54 percent of black households, 44.5 percent of American Indian/Alaskan households and 43.3 percent of Hispanic households have limited access to banking. n"Households in the South are more likely to be unbanked or underbanked. n"About 28 percent of households headed by unmarried people are underbanked. For households with married couples, the number is 15.4 percent. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
Latest Articles - Dissident Voice Posted: 08 Dec 2009 07:56 AM PST They're numerous, outspoken, and range from secular to orthodox to one group calling itself "True Torah Jews Against Zionism." They believe that "traditional" Jews don't support Zionism, an ideology they call "contrary to Jewish law and beliefs and the teachings of the Holy Torah." They say Zionism:
They:
Toray Jewry says that believing Zionism protects Jews is "probably the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the Jewish People" and accuses Zionists of fostering global anti-Semitism. "Indeed, hatred of Jews and Jewish suffering is the oxygen of the Zionist movement, and from the very beginning has been (used) to deliberately incite hatred to justify the existence of the Zionist state — this is, of course, Machiavellianism raised to the highest order." Zionist founder Theodor Herzl (1860 – 1904) said:
In 1920, other Zionists voiced similar ideas, including Nahum Goldmann, later president of the World Zionist Organization and World Jewish Congress head. Israel's first president, Chaim Weizman, said Germany had too many Jews. In 1921, Jacob Klatzkin called for German Jews to undermine Jewish communities as a way to acquire a future state. In 1963, Moshe Sharett (Israel's second prime minister from 1953-1955) told the 38th Scandinavian Youth Federation Annual Congress that Jewish freedom imperiled Zionism. Delegates at the 26th World Zionist Congress were told that easing US anti-Semitism and freedom endangered Jews. Torah Jewry disagrees in affirming its desire to live in peace with their Arab and Palestinian neighbors and abide by sacred commandments "with a perfect heart and to delight in the radiance of the sanctity of the Land." They believe: "Zionists have no right of any sovereignty over even one inch of the Holy Land. They do not represent the Jewish people in any way whatsoever. They have no right to speak in the name of the Jewish people." Their ideology is "antithetical to Jewish law," and because they don't behave like Jews, "they desecrate the sanctity of the land." They feel that when Israel is recognized as a Zionist, not a Jewish, state, "Jews worldwide will be able to live in peace" and do it alongside Arabs in the Middle East. The Hidden History of Zionism In his 1988 book, Ralph Schoenman explained four Zionist myths: – the notion of "A land without people for a people without a land" to promote the fiction that an empty Palestine was there for the taking by its rightful original inhabitants; – Israeli democracy, the only "real" one in the Middle East; in fact, Israel is democratic like South Africa was apartheid and much worse; "Civil liberty, due process and the most basic human rights" apply only for Jews; – "security (is) the motor force of Israeli foreign policy" because it's surrounded by hostile Arab states; and – "Zionism (is) the moral legatee of the victims of the Holocaust… the most pervasive and insidious of the" Zionist myths; in fact, Zionists, like future prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, openly colluded with the Nazis for their own purposes — to use persecution as justification for a future Zionist state and more. It wasn't just to colonize Palestine. It was also to exploit indigenous people as cheap labor, dispossess and disperse them, replace them with arriving Jews, legitimize ethnic cleansing, and remove Palestinians from their land and history. Historical records were falsified. "Palestinians were re-invented as a semi-savage, nomadic remnant." Mass elimination methods were justified for a "people too many." In 1923, hard line revisionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky argued that Arab nationalists opposed a Jewish state and wouldn't accept one. Thus peaceful coexistence was unattainable, and Jews had to build "an iron wall of (superior) Jewish military force." The idea was to discourage Arab hopes of destroying Israel followed by a negotiated settlement giving Israel the upper hand to dictate terms. Terror was to be used the way Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency's Colonization Department, wrote in 1940:
The secret Koenig Report, later published in 1976, said: "We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population." Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-Election of Tel Aviv mayor Shlomo Lahat (1974-1993) stated: "We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves." Former IDF Chief of Staff Raphael Eitan (1978-1983) said: "We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel…. Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours." Other Israeli leaders voiced similar extremism, including David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, saying in 1937 that "We must expel the Arabs and take their place and if we have to use force, to guarantee our own right to settle in those places – then we have force at our disposal." At inception, Zionists like Herzl were pragmatic, yet devious, in believing imperial power backing was needed to establish a Jewish state. It could have been anywhere, but Palestine was chosen for its symbolic significance as the ancient Jewish homeland. Colonization began after the first Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland in 1897. Herzl later wrote: At Basel, I founded the Jewish state…. If not in five years, then certainly in fifty everyone will realize it." It took 51 by dispossessing indigenous Palestinians and replacing them with Jews. Ever since, Zionism's most effective legitimacy claim is the notion of preventing another "Holocaust." It's justified the most outrageous crimes, characterized as "self-defense" by a tiny Jewish minority surrounded by hordes of hostile Arabs. It seized Palestinian land, Judaized it, created a new nation for Jews alone — undemocratic, imperial, militant, violent, exploitive, oppressive, racist, and hostile to core Judaic dogma. It's why growing thousands of Jews globally oppose an ideology based on power, conquest, dispossession, and violation of the most fundamental Jewish ethical and moral teachings, ones Zionists disdain. Not In My Name It calls itself a "predominantly Jewish organization deeply committed to a peaceful and just resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, a resolution that will provide safety, security and freedom for Jews, Palestinians, and all others living in this region." It opposes:
It champions Palestinian self-determination, the right of return, and "full equality, civil rights and economic justice for all." It's for a shared Jerusalem and nuclear-free Middle East. It wants an end to violence and injustice and the equitable sharing of vital resources, including water, oil, gas, electric power, and all other essentials to life and well-being. It wants all US aid stopped until Israel ends its occupation and acts like a civilized state. It deplores Zionism and what it represents. It's activists have chapters around the world. They organize protests and demonstrations, hold vigils and religious ceremonies, communicate with the media, foster dialogue between Jews and Palestinians, sponsor teach-ins, educational forums and study groups. They believe that moral human beings are obligated "to speak out and take action." They refuse to remain silent or accept Israeli crimes passively. They're one among other like-minded organizations that say "Not In My Name." Not now or ever. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) JVP is "a diverse and democratic community of activists inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, and human rights." They support the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for security and self-determination. Their agenda mirrors Not In My Name and states that "We are among the many American Jews who say to the US and Israeli governments: "Not in our names!" They call on America and the international community to end wars and violence and support Palestinian self-determination free from occupation and oppression. They headline: "Israelis and Palestinians. Two Peoples, One Future," free from Zionist oppression. Brit Tzedek V'Shalom It's a Jewish Alliance for Justice & Peace calling itself "America's largest grassroots Jewish organization dedicated to promoting a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." With around 50,000 supporters, including over 1,000 rabbis, they educate and organize the US Jewish community for a US foreign policy supportive of Israelis and Palestinians alike. It conducts campaigns, holds conferences, sponsors tours, and engages in various other activist efforts. Its founding principles include:
Tikkun It publishes articles on social theory, religion and spirituality, social change, contemporary American and global politics and economics, Israel/Palestine, and other topics. It features issues that "both advance the pursuit of tikkun olam — social justice and the repair of the world — and break down issues of contemporary concern in completely new and thoughtful ways." It supports progressive spirituality and challenges established orthodoxies in all spheres of thought and politics. It's "dedicated to healing and transforming (a troubled) world." Its editor is Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Our Country Back from the Religious Right, and Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation. On May 8, 2008 on the HuffingtonPost.com, writing "On Zionism, Healing, and Israel's 60th Anniversary," he noted how Palestinians were dispossessed of their homes and villages by Jews "determined to be as ruthless towards others as others had been towards" them. "Yet, there are alternatives" not taken so conflict ever since has persisted. As for Zionism, he described what emerged as "fundamentally incompatible with the highest values of the Jewish tradition, and must be rejected even as we develop a compassionate attitude toward the Jewish people of Israel." To preserve Judaism, Lerner quotes the following Torah injunction:
Doing it right requires abandoning "a naive utopian fantasy" and building a society based on "open-heartedness, compassion and caring for others…." Abandoning Zionist extremism for traditional Jewish moral values is essential. Satmar They're "Jews Not Zionists" and quote Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum in 1958 speaking out against Zionist heresy:
Jews Not Zionists believe that Zionism is heresy, and "the existence of the so-called 'State of Israel' is illegitimate." Zionism violated Torah doctrine, the very essence of Judaism. It believes that human life is sacred and human rights aren't to be denied by those who would sacrifice them for national security or any other reason. "Judaism and Zionism are by no means the same. Indeed they are incompatible and irreconcilable." Good Jews can't be Zionists, and Zionists can't be good Jews. According to Jewish tradition, seven universal Noacide morality laws apply to everyone. Also the Ten Commandments for all monotheistic religions, and another 613 obligatory laws for traditional Jews. They eschew violence, military power, and brute force. They're about morality and spiritual purity. Zionists made belief in the Torah and fulfillment of religious obligations a private matter, not a common obligation for all Jews. They made Judaic dogma subject to party or parliamentary votes and set their own ethical and moral standards, suiting them alone. Many times in Jewish history, an extremist minority misled the majority. Worshiping the golden calf happened earlier. Today it's political Zionism. Before its emergence, piety, decency, learning, and belief in justice and mercy characterized most Jewish leaders. Now they're the minority. It's why they believe a good Jew can't be a Zionist, and a Zionist can't be a good Jew and aren't the legitimate spokespersons for anyone but themselves. From a religious point of view, they're heretics. Jews Against Racist Zionism They include distinguished figures who speak out for "anti-racist Jews and indeed all anti-racist humanitarians." They decry "anti-Arab anti-Semitic racist Zionists running Apartheid Israel and their Western backers." They're appalled by the continuing Palestinian, Iraqi, and Afghan genocides that have killed and dispossessed millions. They see Zionism as a threat to all Jews and humanity unless something is done to stop it. Neturei Karta International (NKI) NKI is an Aramaic term for "Guardians of the City," given to a group of Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem who "opposed the establishment of and retain all opposition to the existence of the so-called 'State of Israel!'" They demonstrate publicly and state their belief in the Torah and "authentic unadulterated Judaism." In 1938, NKI was founded in Jerusalem to struggle against Zionism. Most of its members now live outside Israel, many in New York where they're prominent, vocal, and ignored by the dominant media. For refusing to accept Zionism, they were harassed, incarcerated, and physically tortured by "Zionist police and agents." As a result, they scattered internationally and established synagogues, educational institutions, publishing houses and organizations espousing their beliefs. They're orthodox, but not ultra-orthodox or extremist. They've "added nothing to nor have taken anything away from the written and oral law of the Torah as it is expressed in the Halacha (traditional Jewish law) and the Shulchan Aruch (codification of Jewish law)." They're allied with many thousands of other Jews sharing similar anti-Zionist views. They oppose the "State of Israel (because) the entire concept of a sovereign Jewish state is contrary to Jewish law." It conflicts with traditional Judaism. They quote Talmudic doctrine teaching that Jews are prohibited from using force to establish a Jewish state or to rebel against other nations. "Jews are not allowed to dominate, kill, harm or demean another people and are not allowed to have anything to do with the Zionist enterprise, their political meddling and their wars." "The true Jews remain faithful to Jewish belief and are not contaminated with Zionism. The true Jews are against dispossessing the Arabs of their land and homes. According to the Torah, the land should be returned to them…. The world must know that the Zionists have illegitimately seized the name Israel and have no right to speak in the name of the Jewish people!" NKI seeks peace and reconciliation with people of all faiths and nations. Of greatest concern is reconciling with the Muslim world after decades of Zionist abuses. They support peace, justice, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. They decry Zionist propaganda, bullying tactics, censorship and lies. Its weapon is state terror. Its dogma is a profound disregard for human life and moral values. Its false idol is a "lack of truth on its side." NKI notes how greater numbers of people now question Zionism, its version of history, and values. They blame it for massive bloodshed and suffering and believe they'll be no Middle East peace until there's no more State of Israel, at least under Zionism. They think that a coalition of anti-Zionist Jews and Palestinians can unite as a moral force for peace and good in the world. They welcome the abolition of Zionism "in a peaceful manner." "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary" In a public April 30, 2008 petition, Harold Pinter was among 105 prominent Jews who said "we… will not be celebrating" Israel's May 2008 60th anniversary. They noted the 1948 slaughter and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the destruction of their villages, their erasure from history, the 1967 occupation, the continued persecution for decades, the defiling of international law, and utter contempt for human rights and peaceful coexistence. They stated:
"We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East," something impossible under Zionism. A Final Comment At its core, Zionism is fundamentally racist, extremist, undemocratic, and militant:
No ideology that destructive can endure. No regional peace and reconciliation is possible until it's repudiated. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
Quick Cash, Quick Sand, Part 1 - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 08 Dec 2009 07:27 AM PST Quick Cash, Quick Sand, Part 1City Ordinance Fails to Check Payday Lenders By Deia De Brito One of the neighborhood's most pervasive storefronts doesn't sell burritos or evangelical promises. The neon signs offer what many in a recession need. "Fast money! Need cash now? Go to where the money is!" The green stuff is thereĆ¢"behind bullet-proof glass. All one needs is a phone number, a bank statement, a pay stub, and an I.D. indicating adulthood. Oh, and a blank check for the store to deposit on payday. Ka-ching. The desperate walk away with up to $255 in cash. The lender makes $45 if the loan is repaid within two weeks and according to the Department of Corporations, about 90 percent of the time they are. Looking for another easy service at your fingertips? There's check cashing, a simple transaction that comes with a 1-3 percent charge on payroll or government checks and up to a 15 percent charge on personal checks. The city classified payday loans and check cashing as fringe financial services in 2007, but despite a city ban that keeps new services out of the Mission District and other areas like the Tenderloin and Market Street, they continue to flourish. Nowhere is that truer than in the Mission District, a neighborhood where many immigrants still find it easier to pay the extra fees than to get the city or Consular ID needed to open a checking account. Even some with checking accounts say they prefer to do simple, one-time transactions at fringe finance stores. What's more, no bank gives out personal loans as easily and quickly as a payday lender. Watch Videos and Read More Here. December 08 2009 at 07:29 AM |This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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